Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!necntc!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!cbosgd!osu-cis!tut!mdf
From: mdf@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Mark D. Freeman)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Re: SCO XENIX applications programmes
Message-ID: <3049@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Date: 9 Dec 87 19:36:03 GMT
References: <1843@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: mdf@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu.UUCP (Mark D. Freeman)
Organization: StrongPoint Systems, Inc.; Columbus, OH. (guest of Ohio State U.)
Lines: 46

In <1843@cup.portal.com> Bruce_M_Ong@cup.portal.com writes:
>   I am trying to configure system for a group of nurses who run a
>physical re-habilitation center.  I would like to know if anyone in this
>base has used SCO's word processing system, LYRIX, and what you think
>of it. I honestly realize that because of the way XENIX handles different
>terminals we cant expect LYRIX to be as good as WordPerfect, but I would
>like to know how easy it is to use LYRIX (remember, if it is something like
>VI then you can forget it - the nurses will not like that at all and I will
>have to go with Microport and use DOS MERGE to get to WordPerfect, altho
>I hope I dont have to do that).

I just got in a copy of Microsoft Word for SCO XENIX.  It appears to be
a port of their version 3.1, not 4.0.  It is still light years beyond
anything else I have seen on SCO before.  I have not seen Lyrix,
however.  Microsoft Word is one of the best-selling MSDOS word
processors, and I am sure it will handle the nurses' needs.

>   Also - as for their FOXBASE +, has anyone had any experience with it?
>And does it produce binary files or it is basically still an interpreter
>like DBIII?

Foxbase+ is both.  It act as an exact replacement for dBas III+ as an
interpreter (right down to the dot prompt and almost all of the
interactive commands).  It will also take your .prg files and compile
them into pseudo-code .fox files.  (This is how R/M COBOL works as
well.)  From a purists point of view, this doesn't seem good.  However,
it smokes Clipper under MSDOS, and Clipper produces true .OBJ files for
use with the MSDOS Linker.

The main drawback to Foxbase+ under SCO is that it is one version
behind the MSDOS version.  Most of the nice extensions (like
user-definable functions) are not available in the SCO version.  If all
you want to do is port dBase code, it will give you everything you
currently have.

Another drawback is that under MSDOS, you can purchase an unlimited
right to give away Foxbase+ runtimes for about $500.  With SCO, you
must pay $150 for each runtime, with no cap.  Ah well.



-- 
Mark D. Freeman							(614) 262-3703
StrongPoint Systems, Inc.			    mdf@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
2440 Medary Avenue		 ...!cbosgd!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mdf
Columbus, OH  43202-3014	    Guest account at The Ohio State University