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	Title: (THE EXECUTIVE COMPUTER) Making Databases More Accessible
	Author: Erik Sandberg-Diment
	Source: The New York Times
	Date: May 12, 1985
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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OF the three basic software applications that dominate the business world, the
popularity of database programs has lagged far behind word processing and
spreadsheet applications. Despite a database's enormous potential for
manipulating business information, it is only now slowly coming into its own.

Unlike word processing and spreadsheets, computerized databases have no common
ground in our day-to-day world. The analogies often drawn between a database
and a Rolodex or a file drawer are easy enough to comprehend, but they often
leave people thinking that the traditional ways of dealing with information
are sufficient. The advantages of database software versus pencil and paper
manipulation of such information as sales data, investment portfolios,
purchase orders, materials management and the like are not easily discernible.

The cover of darkness surrounding database programs is partly because they are
so difficult to handle. The classic database programs, such as dBase II, even
have their own programming language that must be mastered before the software
can be fully tapped. Most people, however, have no interest in learning how to
program. Database programs thus often appear to be hopelessly beyond their
inclinations and abilities.

But a new program, Cornerstone ($495 for the I.B.M. PC and compatibles from
Infocom, Cambridge, Mass. 02138, (617) 492-1031) may well change the popular
notions about database software. Billed as "the sophisticated database system
for the non-programmer," its contribution to the popularization of databases
is its flexibility.

Consider fields -- names, addresses, identification numbers and the like --
that are central to a database. The fields that can be used in most databases
are very restrictive. Anything out of the ordinary -- such as the need for an
additional line on an address -- requires redesigning or redefining the field,
which is like having new forms printed because no provision was made on the
originals for any extra lines.

Cornerstone, on the other hand, uses what are known as multivalued fields. If
an address requires an extra line or an individual has two telephone numbers,
and the original setup provided space for only one, the extra line can simply
be typed in and the field will expand to accommodate the addition. Just as
important is that it will do so without allocating equivalent space in all the
other records of the database.

Another benefit of Cornerstone is its unusual flexibility in the length of the
entries permitted in a field. Many database programs have rigidly defined
field entry lengths, which is why I receive a lot of computerized junk mail
addressed to Mr. E. Sandbergdim. The length of a name is no problem for
Cornerstone. An entry, in fact, can incorporate fairly verbose and detailed
annotation.

Let's say a firm has a computerized list of its customers. In the last month,
representatives of the company have contacted a number of those customers and
noted on the computer that 23 of the 600 customers expressed interest in a new
dc motor the company is about to produce. When the motor is ready to be
released and the firm needs to know whom to contact, Cornerstone can be asked
for a sort by "dc motor" and the computer will pluck the desired names,
addresses and other customer information from its memory.

THE program will permit up to 30 associative links to other files in the database.

The customer list can thus be sorted by zip code, to determine, say, how many
customer locations are within a region accessible on one sales trip, or by
accounts generating purchase orders for more than $2,000 during the last quarter.

The program's flexibility does not, incidentally, extend to entering data of
the wrong type. For example, if a field requires an entry for the amount of
credit extended to a customer, the customer's name will not be accepted on
that line. The same holds true for such obviously wrong entries like a date of
February 31, 1985, or a test score of 98 when the upper limit has been defined
as 50.

All of Cornerstone's fine data handling capabilities would be relatively
useless without a good report generator. This segment of a database program is
what takes all the information and pulls it together in the form of a finished
report. Up to 255 different data entry and report formats can be stored with
the database. Totals, subtotals and various other calculations can be
presented in a style to suit almost any requirement. A "Hide" command can be
used to generate a summation report listing only the subtotal and total of
certain calculations. Omitting the "Hide" directive results in a report
supplying all the bothersome details of those calculations.

Cornerstone is basically a database program almost as easy to use as the
PFS:File and PFS:Report combination and almost as broad in its applications
capabilities as dBase II. There are two somewhat serious drawbacks: the lack
of a command language and a sometimes confusing menu structure.

While future versions of the program may well incorporate programming
capabilities to satisfy advanced users, those individuals in need of advanced
features will probably find Cornerstone inadequate. As to the menu, I found
myself sometimes becoming lost. Over all, however, I recommend that anyone
considering the purchase of a database software package get a copy of the free
Cornerstone demostration disk and give the program a whirl.
