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[ Go to June 1997 Table of Contents ]
WinLab Reviews
-- by Serdar Yegulalp
EasyBASE is billed as exceptionally simple, but oversimplification can cause problems. If you need friendliness and ease of use, try our WinList product FileMaker Pro 3.0. Like FileMaker, easyBASE offers easy-to-use functional database formats, such as a contact manager. However, it can be difficult to modify these apps or build your own. EasyBASE uses desktop metaphors to make the process less technical. Unfortunately, the metaphors are confusing. A straightforward approach, with clear explanations, would be better. Although simple to use as a whole, easyBASE has limitations. Databases can't contain binary objects or memo fields, and you can't enforce changes between relational tables. Also, there's no way to see how references between tables are enforced. And since this is a 16-bit program, you'll see some performance degradation under 32-bit Windows. In addition, easyBASE can't embed binary objects, but databases can link to outside documents. Still, this is not as good as OLE. With work, we were able to create somewhat sophisticated database layouts. We linked similar fields from separate databases with dependent fields automatically filtered and updated. We then produced a form that correlated data from separate databases sharing a linked field. EasyBASE works with standard dBASE files that can be used by other programs, such as Access 2.0. Additionally, a report-generation system prints or saves reports as files. If you prefer a straightforward beginner's database with more horsepower, you'll be far more comfortable with FileMaker Pro 3.0 from Claris.
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