MUIbase V1.6 ------------ MUIbase is a relational programmable database that uses MUI as user interface. MUIbase is not public domain or free software. If you use MUIbase then you have to register your copy after a short while. You are allowed to install and run MUIbase without registration for a period of 4 weeks. After that time you have to register your copy of MUIbase or delete it from your system. Reinstalling MUIbase does not extend the license. After registration you receive your personal MUIbase key-file which enables all crippled features of MUIbase. For more information about registering MUIbase, see the documentation in the Docs directory. The documentation is available in three formats: AmigaGuide, dvi, and html. Features ======== MUIbase is a fast and very flexible database for the Amiga. It is for users who want to manage data in a comfortable and easy way. MUIbase is able to manage any kind of data, e.g. addresses, CD series, movies, or your income and expense. The power of MUIbase lies in its clear and powerful graphical user interface and its programming capabilities. The latter makes it possible to automatically calculate and maintain nearly everything, starting from automatically summing up values, e.g. for calculating the total amount of income or the total amount of recorded time of a CD, up to automatically creating and printing letters for any purpose. MUIbase is the successor of AmigaBase, a hierarchical programmable database which is still available but considered obsolete with the appearance of MUIbase. All registered users of AmigaBase can get a free upgrade to MUIbase by sending their AmigaBase registration number and return address to me (Email preferred). MUIbase offers the following features: * Handling of multiple projects at the same time. * Attributes can be of type string, memo (multi line text), integer, real, date, time, bool, choice (one item out of many items), reference (easy way to reference a record of another table), button (for starting MUIbase programs), and virtual (compute value on the fly). * The string type can also manage lists of strings, files, and fonts. An OS 3.x datatype gadget allows displaying external images. * Unlimited number of records. * Dynamic loading of records. Records which are not needed may be flushed from memory (e.g. when memory is low). * Programmability. With the easy and powerful MUIbase programming language complex tasks can be implemented. The language also includes a SELECT-FROM-WHERE query for easy and fast data retrieval. * Ordering of records by any combinations of attributes. * Flexible and powerful search and filter facility. * Query editor which allows entering and managing of SELECT-FROM-WHERE queries. The queries can be saved and the results can be printed. * Import and export facility. * Powerful ARexx interface for accessing MUIbase from other programs. The ARexx interface offers a transaction mechanism similar to other relational databases. * Uses MUI as user interface. The interface is highly customizable. External images can be included in the user interface. * Full documentation including user and programming manual in AmigaGuide, HTML, DVI and Postscript. * Portability. MUIbase development has been done under the idea of easy portability. The system/gui part has been separated from the ANSI/C part such that porting MUIbase will result in only porting the system/gui part. The author is currently investigating a Java or Fltk implementation of the user gui. This would make the database available for nearly all computer systems, including Linux, Windows, and MacOS. The unregistered version of MUIbase is crippled in several ways. See the MUIbase documentation for a list of limitations in the unregistered version. New since V1.5 -------------- o ARexx port. The port name is 'MUIbase.n' where n is a number starting from 1 for the first invocation of MUIbase. Besides the usual MUI ARexx commands, the following commands are implemented: - connect - loads project and returns unique handle for future reference. - disconnect - closes project and releases handle. - connections - returns the list of current connections. - eval - Evaluates which can be any MUIbase lisp command and returns result as a string. - transaction - starts a transaction. - commit - saves project to disk. - rollback - reloads project from last saved copy. Each command sets the variable rc and if successful, that is rc = 0, also sets the variable result. E.g. connect sets rc to 0 and result to the connection handle, if successful. You can use the following code fragment to display the result of a MUIbase ARexx command. if (rc == 0) then say result else if (rc <= -10) then say lasterror else if (rc == -1) then say "Implementation error" else if (rc == -2) then say "Out of memory" else if (rc == -3) then say "Unknown command" else if (rc == -4) then say "Command syntax error" else say "Error: " rc The usual way to use the MUIbase ARexx port is 1) check if MUIbase.1 exists. If not, start MUIbase with the -n option to avoid opening the empty window display. 2) Do and store result in a variable called handle. 3) If you just want to do a simple query, call where cmd is any lisp expression which is interpreted and executed by MUIbase. Use single quotes around cmd. This way you can still use double quotes if you need to use strings inside cmd. The result of the cmd expression will be returned as a string, where integers, real numbers, date numbers and time numbers are represented in the usual format, strings and memos are surrounded by double quotes and lists are represented by a starting and closing parenthesis with spaces and newlines around list elements. If your query did changes to the database, these are automatically saved after eval returns (auto commit). 4) If you need a transaction of more than one eval cmd, use to start one, then one or more and finally a to save or to undo the changes in the transaction. 5) Last but no least, do to free the project. If you were in a transaction do not forget a or first, otherwise the disconnect call will come back with an error and you stay connected. o Auto show feature to automatically display referenced records whenever the user switches to another record in a table containing a reference attribute. o Small enhancement for printing queries by offering specification of a custom delimiter string. o Installing a new MUIbase version allows for another 4 weeks of testing for unregistered users. o Improved html documentation thanks to texi2html 1.64. o Some bug fixes.