>I am interested in how the 4th Dimension software works as a >collections management database. I would appreciate any user >feedback (especially from Mr. Lewis who did not include an email >address). > > >Patricia Kirkland >University of Nebraska >Dept. of Museum Studies (graduate student) >Email: [log in to unmask] We are using 4th Dimension to develop a collection management system for ethnographic fieldwork materials. This consists of field notes, maps, photos, video and audio tape and other research materials. Our objects are stored in ARGhUS ;-), so that portion of our 4-D project is not very fully developed. 4-D is different from most database programs in that it is much more of a development environment than a product you modify for your own needs. It has a very well developed programming language, optional graphing and word processing modules, a compiler and several networking and server options and is frequently used as a front end for Oracle. It is very powerful (arguably the most powerful platform available in terms of options at the desktop level), not very fast if it is not compiled, and takes a long time to learn to program, but it can be made as user friendly to operate as your skill at interface design allows. The interface engine is very good. In fact it makes a passable multimedia development environment. It is difficult to learn because of the bewildering variety of options not because it is particularly arcane. You can also write externals in other languages like C or Pascal or import HyperCard externals. It has a variety of ways to deal with images, digital video and sound resources and even has a set of telecommunications tools. Data entry tools and controls are truly amazing: entry filters, lists, mandatory fields, you name it is probably there and if it isn't you can write your own procedure to achieve the desired result. Anything you can imagine your database doing you can make happen, although it may take some time to do it. Once you become familiar with it, and this takes *a great deal of time* with many manuals scattered about, it is actually very civilized to program. We use it because the programming language is very adept at manipulating text strings. For example, one of the problems we had was converting lists of attributes in narrative form from an older database and links them to a series of files of attribute terminology. I was able to write a procedure that takes the text, isolates the individual terms by the comma or semicolon that punctuate the attribute description, search the attribute file and create a new record if needed and establish the data relations. Now we press a button, come back a few hours later (well, usually overnight) and our data is converted automatically. Since you can use global procedures it was very easy to use the same code for breaking out this information for fieldworkers, artists, subjects, ethnic groups, etc. Generally I like 4-D a great deal, but it is not for the faint of heart. Unless you want to hire a developer it will take a considerable investment of time to produce a finished product. For straight forward problems you are probably better off with something like FoxPro or Paradox, especially if you have to do a lot of number crunching or have other issues were speed is a concern and you do not want to pay for a compiler. I hope this lengthy testimonial is useful to others, but maybe it would be more appropriate to talk about specifics via e-mail. Peter Wehr Michigan State University Museum [log in to unmask] ****************************************************************************** Peter Holben Wehr [log in to unmask] / [log in to unmask] Michigan State University Museum E.Lansing, MI 48824-1045, (517) 355-0368 ****************************************************************************