<!--
	Title: (The Latest on Databases) Cornerstone
	Author: Alfred Poor
	Source: PC Magazine, v4(14)
	Date: July 9, 1985
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

You have just entered a dark and empty database. Above you there are some
commands and a highlighted cursor. Below you are some empty prompts. What is
your next move?"

That was the greeting I expected when I first loaded *Cornerstone*, the first business
program from Infocom. This company started with *Zork* and has since become
one of the top producers of interactive fiction games. But in spite of its recreational
relatives. *Cornerstone* is all business — except, of course, for the pin-on button in the
box that warns: “Don't panic!”

It is an apt warning. Once you figure out how to open the trick latch on the plastic
box it comes in, you find lots of pieces, including a few little pamphlets and three
large manuals (averaging 200 pages each). How easy can this database be, if it's packing
so much printed material?

The answer is that it can be very easy. *Cornerstone* is one of the most powerful
Category 2 programs around, but it’s not at all difficult to put to work. It is entirely
menu driven, and it assembles a command line showing the options that you have selected.
You may highlight your menu choices with the arrow keys, type the first
few letters, or type the whole command.

<figure class="float-right-half">
	<img src="/public/img/articles/pcmag-cornerstone-review/cornerstone-screen-shot.jpg" alt="Cornerstone screen shot">
	<figcaption><strong><em>Cornerstone</em> is very powerful, and it is entirely menu driven.</strong></figcaption>
</figure>

The same easy selection method works throughout the program. You can specify a
field as being "enumerated," which means that it only accepts values that
match a list of acceptable choices; type enough of the choice to make it unique,
and the program will enter the rest for you. *Cornerstone* also understands English; it
will calculate the correct date if you type "today," from the system date "yesterday,"
or even "last Tuesday."

Should you ever get lost, don't panic — press the F1 key for context-sensitive help
that appears in a window that opens up in the middle of the screen. *Cornerstone* uses
a similar windowing technique to display options, such as the list of enumerated values
that are available for a given field.

*Cornerstone* lets you create custom screens and report formats. You have
quick access to data on the screen and can quickly request sorts and/or selections (selection
criteria can be saved for repeated use). The program lets you specify a variety
of verification and formatting features for data fields, such as mandatory or
unique.

<table class="float-right smaller" style="border: 1px solid;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="background: var(--dark); color: var(--light);"><em>Cornerstone</em> 5.1</td></tr>
<tr><td style="background: var(--mdgrey); font-size: 0.25em">&nbsp</td></tr>
<tr><td>
	<p class="tight">Infocom<br>55 Wheeler St.<br>Cambridge, MA 02138<br>(617) 492-1031</p>
	<p><strong>List price:</strong> $495<br><strong>Category:</strong> 2</p>
	<p style="margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><strong>User interfaces:</strong><br>
		Menu-driven? Yes<br>
		Interactive commands? No<br>
		Procedure files? No<br>
		On-line help? Yes<br>
		Use of IBM keyboard? Fair<br>
		Menu creation? No
	</p>
	<p><strong>Records per file:</strong> 32,000<br>
		<strong>Files simultaneously open:</strong> 120<br>
		<strong>Record types per database:</strong> 1<br>
		<strong>Fields per record:</strong> 158<br>
	</p>
	<p class="tight" style="margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><strong>Report flexibility:</strong><br>
		Column headings? Yes<br>
		Multiple lines per record? Yes<br>
		Calculated fields? Yes, per record and summary possible<br>
		Subtotals? Yes, 1 level, with page eject
	</p>
	<p class="tight"><strong>Files per report?</strong> 31</p>
	<p class="tight" style="margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><strong>Data import/export:</strong>
			Export-<em>1-2-3</em>, <em>MailMerge</em>, DIF, SDF;
			import-<em>dBASE II</em>, PFS, ASCII
	</p>
	<p class="tight" style="margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><strong>Data entry screens:</strong> Custom, painted</p>
	<p style="margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; margin-bottom: 0;"><strong>Data field types:</strong>
		Character, numeric, date/time, (with date math), logical</p>
	<p class="tight"><strong>Copy protection:</strong> Yes</p>
	<p class="tight" style="margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;"><strong>Requires:</strong> 256K RAM, DOS 2.0 or
		later, two disk drives, monitor.</p>
</tbody></table>

Best of all, you can quickly connect two files through a common field, so that
they can share data. This makes it possible to create complex data structures with little
effort. You can design tables to perform lookups, and retrieve addresses, prices, or
other useful information.

One of the three manuals is a tutorial that consists of interactive disks and exercises
that use a sample database to illustrate the program's features. I found that I
could get by just fine on the sample database exercises, but some people will appreciate
the disk lessons, which show the commands at work in a controlled environment.

*Cornerstone* is not without drawbacks. With this much power, it would be nice if
you could assemble some of those command lines in a file to be executed in a
batch. Even Lotus’s *1-2-3* lets you write macros to do this sort of thing. But with
*Cornerstone* you always have to rummage through the menus to get anything done.

The manuals try so hard to be easy to read and use that they are too large. Breaking
them into three separate volumes helps, and each of the two reference books
has an index covering the contents of both. Still, they suffer from a fair amount of repetition;
perhaps they could be organized and written a bit more concise.

But these are small complaints. Infocom throws in two full, ready-to-run applications:
Client Tracking and Sales. If you want a program that can handle multiple
files but are not ready to tackle a procedural language package (such as *KnowledgeMan*
or *dBASE III*), *Cornerstone* should be near the top of your “check-it-out”
list. Its combination of power and ease of use make it stand out from the
crowd.

<div class="clear-float"></div>
