Ashton-Tate Corp says it has started beta testing dBase IV for VAX VMS systems and that the early feedback from test sites is very positive. Which must be encouraging news for the troubled software company, supposedly up for sale and and minus a chairman since Ed Esber bowed to critics and resigned as chairman and chief executive (CI No 1,417). dBase IV for VAX is a character-based version of dBase IV, an application development language and fourth generation programming tool. Ashton-Tate says that the VAX/VMS version has the same look and feel as the MS-DOS version, and the same capabilities as MS-DOS and dBase IV Developer’s Edition. It can operate either as a self-contained data management system or as a front-end client for VAX Rdb/VMS servers via the SQL component of DEC’s Network Applications Support. The Rdb Server may be located either on the same host as dBase IV or linked through a DECnet connection. The fourth generation developer tools include a code generator, template language, integrated debugger, program editor, and interactive tools. dBase IV for VAX provides a migration path from the MS-DOS environment to DEC’s micro and workstation environments so that applications running on MS-DOS machines can also run under VMS. The bad news is that availability and pricing have still to be revealed.
