Software Reviews : DATAEASE 2.12 Reviewed by Deena Weinstein,DePaul University Publisher: Software Solutions,Inc.,305 Bic Drive,Milford,CT 06460 (telephone: [phone]) Year of Publication: 1984 Materials: Manual in three-ring binder,100-page tutorial manual,25-page reference guide,tutorial diskette,demonstration diskette,two unprotected program diskettes Price: $595 Machine Specificity: IBM Pc and compatibles System Requirements: 256K memory,2 disk drives;hard disk,printer,and 320K or more recommended Effectiveness: Excellent User-Friendliness: Excellent Documentation: Excellent

Abstract

Summary: Traditionally database users had to choose between ease and power. DATAEASE is both powerful and rather easy to use. Com-pared to the industry standard, dBASE II (and even to its much more user-friendly upgrade, dBASE III), DATAEASE provides none of the in- timidation of the "lone dot" on the screen. It is an extensive menu-driven relational database program that can be fashioned into a plethora of specific applications. Those who have not yet availed themselves of a powerful database program will get a delightful shock, enabling them to abandon the view of the computer as a glorified typewriter or an electronic spreadsheet. Those who have only used filing programs or specialized programs for mailing lists or other record-keeping functions will have the pleasure of creating customized programs without learning programming.