Random Technology Ltd, a one year-old spin-off from Swiss brokerage Random Informatique SA, chose the day before the Silverlake launch to tell us about its first product, a relational database management system, complete with SQL, and the type of end-user interface usually associated with personal computer databases, which runs on System 36, 38, the new AS/200 and 400 Silverlake machines and which will shortly run on DEC’s VAX range. The idea is to offer a common user and fourth generation programming interface to users of all four types of machines, all for around $3,000. Having Originally aimed the product at the System 36 and 38 machines, which it estimates have a 300,000 installed based worldwide, it seems like luck that it has completed its pre-launch testing just in time for the Silverlake announcement, and the company claims that it is in advanced negotiations with both IBM and DEC for them to take the product on board as an own-brand product. Failing that, it already has subsidiaries in Germany, France, Spain and Italy and would distribute in the UK, US and Canada via distributors. The product is unimaginatively called Database Manager and is described as being a virtual relational database machine. Although the System 38 and therefore Silverlake, has a very powerful database management system on-board, for these machines it acts simply as a front-end, translating to and from SQL from the System 38 database format and allowing menu-driven definition of screens and data fields instead of programming via RPG III. Paul Vogler, general manager of Random Technology, said programs written in this way will transport transparently between all the machine types supported, including the VAX. And he insists that his company has a close enough dialogue with IBM to know that there are no problems doing the same for the forthcoming Silverlake. Database Manager comes complete with communications software to attach to a personal computer, partly running on the host machine, partly on the MS-DOS micro, which needs to be supported by a specially adapted 5250 emulation card inserted in the personal computer. The VAX version will not be available for two months, but System 36 and 38 versions are ex-stock now. SQL support is scheduled for delivery at the same time as the VAX version. Random Informatique is a $50m a year computer broker, mainly of IBM machines, and this is its first attempt to diversify into software and manufacturing.
