London-based Business Simulation Ltd has released a database application for Windows aimed at organisations lacking the expertise to develop their own applications. Cardbox for Windows is described as a very open-ended, intuitive, easy to use system that developed from the company’s work on MS-DOS database programs. Business Simulation says the product is not in the same league as a relational database but reckons it is an easy to use, yet powerful and fast system, with some relational features. It claims the indexing engine can work at more than 1m words an hour and that it is the first database to support Microsoft Corp’s Object Linking & Embedding. Cardbox for Windows is a network system and the company says this is the first time OLE2 has been network-enabled. There are a number of search methods: keywords, full text or wild cards. Searches can be done using fuzzy matching, finding similar sounding or spelt words. It also has Query by Example which permits complicated, multi-criteria searches on two databases. It has a facility to attach different types of images to records; photographs, drawings or documents of any size. Compression is achieved by either its own algorithm, the Joint Photographic Experts’ Group or fractal algorithm. Users can edit a whole group of records by editing just one, a facility the firm calls Batch Edit. One of the new aspects of this program is what is called Relational Linking. The firm says this as half way between flat file and relational databases; it links two databases together so that one database will search another. The program requires 3Mb and 2Mb RAM and runs on 80386 or 80486 personal computers. It costs UKP380 for a single user; network prices start at UKP580 for three users. It can also be taken on a trial basis on payment of UKP50, refundable on upgrade from the Cardbox-Plus MS-DOS version.
