Press releases would have you believe that (a) RDBMS is a
passé technology with most developers itching to migrate to object
oriented-databases (b) GUI front-ends such as VB or PowerBuilder are routinely
used by most developers (c) Knowing Java is an essential prerequisite for
surviving as a developer and (d) MS-DOS is dead. Such press releases are
completely off the mark when it comes to India. The database of choice in the
Indian environment continues to be xBase.
If you think that’s too extreme a statement, consider the
following:
-
A large percentage of consumer banking transactions in
Indian banks are routed through xBase databases. Banks such as UTI Bank,
Centurion, Punjab National Bank, and the Bank of Madura have xBase systems
in many of their branches. -
I estimate that 90 percent of all small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) use xBase in some form–usually in packaged or custom
applications for areas such as financial accounting or inventory. My guess
would be that in more than 50 percent of these cases, xBase forms the
backbone of a mission critical system. -
All the 100 crore-plus turnover corporates that I’m in
contact with use xBase in non-trivial applications. -
Small software shops in towns like Ganganagar, Ferozepur,
Ludhiana, etc, are churning out new xBase applications by the dozen.
Why is the market still using xBase when far more advanced
technology is available? This is a complex question to which there is no single
answer. A combination of factors is at work.
Let’s start with the database end. xBase databases are
non-relational with no guarantees for integrity or availability. But they’ve
performed well and have proven to be fairly reliable. Most SME applications have
data volumes below 100 MB and FoxPro has proven capable of managing 10-20 MB
databases. Then comes speed. Well-written xBase programs are much faster than
their RDBMS siblings. In fact, xBase products have really benefited from
advances in hardware technology. Applications written for a 66 MHz 486 with a
slow hard disk literally fly on 500 MHz systems with fast disks. xBase database
environments are lean and require little knowledge to administer. You don’t
need a highly-paid database administrator–a major plus point for small firms.
All in all, xBase products are more than capable of handling the data found in
most Indian businesses.
Then comes the GUI. Mouse-based GUI interfaces make
applications such as word processing or spreadsheets easier to use, but have
little to offer to transaction-oriented applications. Applications such as
financial accounting require field by field character-oriented input. Developers
find the xBase language the easiest way to create such interfaces.
Thirdly, there’s the language itself. The xBase languages
has just the right mix of database commands and language constructs. It’s
simple to learn and allows you to construct programs of great power. SQL
constructs may offer greater power but don’t allow you to control a database
the way xBase does.
Lastly, there’s the people factor. There are tens of
thousands of well-trained xBase programmers available. These people know their
work and can produce good applications within reasonable time frames. This is in
stark contrast to tools like VB, where those who know the tool have no knowledge
of the application and vice versa.
The bottom line xBase on DOS is still a good way to develop
applications with small data volumes. Don’t get bullied into switching tools.