A wide variety of supplemental and add-in products that assist database developers are available in the form of 16-bit VBXs for Visual Basic 3.0 and 16-bit Visual Basic 4.0 applications. Fewer products in this category were available to 32-bit Visual
Basic 4.0 and Access 95 database application developers when this edition was written. This appendix lists products and information sources for Visual Basic 4.0 developers that expand the capability of Visual Basic and improve database development
efficiency. Each of the third-party OLE controls and add-in applications described in Database Developer's Guide with Visual Basic 4 is listed in this appendix.
This appendix is divided into the following eight sections:
Within each category, products are listed in alphabetical order by product name.
Data-aware OLE controls use the native Data control of Visual Basic 4.0 to provide connectivity to Recordset objects. Database-related OLE controls are products that, while not bound, provide features of importance to Visual Basic database developers.
Parity Software's CallBocx is a suite of OLE controls, which add computer telephony features to Visual Basic 4.0 applications. Computer telephony lets you create voice mail, telephone classified advertising, 900 and 976 lines, international call-back,
banking by phone, automated order entry, help desk, call center, and other automated call processing systems. VoiceBocx uses multi-line voice modems to dial and answer voice calls, detect touch-tone digits from callers, make PBX transfers, and play and
record sound files. Other components add fax receive and transmit, provide switching and conferencing services, and offer voice recognition and speech synthesis.
Parity Software
870 Market Street, Suite 1155
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 989-0330
Fax: (415) 989-0441
Classic Software's Data control for Btrieve is a specialized Data control for use with Btrieve databases, which is modeled on Visual Basic 4.0's Data control. The control provides complete support for Btrieve 6.x and 5.x, including
control over indexes and variable length records.
Classic Software, Inc.
900 Victors Way, Suite 170F
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: (800) 677-2952; (313) 913-8075
Fax: (313) 913-4087
Sheridan's Data Widgets are a set of six data-aware OLE controls: DataGrid, DataCombo, DataDropDown, DataOptionSet, Enhanced Data Control, and DataCommand Button. The DataDropDown combo box is an example of how Microsoft should have implemented the
bound combo box in Visual Basic 3.0 and Access 1.1. (The width of the list element of the combo box is independent of the text box element.) Sheridan's DataGrid control emulates the appearance of Access's datasheet view.
Sheridan Software Systems, Inc.
35 Pinelawn Road, Suite 206E
Mellville, NY 11747
Telephone: (516) 753-0985
Fax: (516) 753-3661
CompuServe: GO SHERIDAN
BBS: (516) 753-5452
Media Architect's ImageKnife/VBX Version 1.3 is a full-featured image-editing application in the guise of a Visual Basic 3.0 custom control. Image-editing applications differ from conventional paint applications, such as Windows Paintbrush, by
providing extensive image sizing, brightness and contrast adjustment, and retouching features. ImageKnife/VBX is a replacement for Visual Basic's image control that handles images with up to 24-bit color depth. ImageKnife/VBX is a data-aware control that
you can use in conjunction with bitmap OLE 1.0 graphic objects stored in OLE Object fields of Access databases. Using ImageKnife/VBX 1.3 is described in Chapter 14, "Integrating Database Front-Ends with OLE 2.1."
Media Architects
1075 NW Murray Road, Suite 230
Portland, OR 97229
Telephone: (503) 297-5010
Fax: (503) 297-6744
BBS: (503) 297-9245
LEADTOOLS is a set of OLE controls for image processing, format support, and image compression. LEADTOOLS reads and writes 40 formats including BMP, PCX, TGA, WMF, EPS, TIFF, IBM IOCA, RAW, RawFax, WPG, WinFax, PCD, PSD, and PNG. The LEADing Image
Processing system provides functions such as rotate, resize, flip, reverse, resample, despeckle, deskew, scale to gray, and favor black. LEADing Tools display images on any graphic device with color reduction and expansion, scroll and zoom, print, and
TWAIN acquisition functions. LEADing Compression codecs include ITU-T.G3 and T.G4, JPEG, and CMP.
LEAD Technologies, Inc.
900 Baxter Street
Charlotte, NC 28204
Phone: (800) 637-6915; (704) 332-5532
Fax: (704) 372-8161
MicroHelp's OLETools include a calendar control with support for 17 different languages as well as pictures, a multi-column, user-resizeable list box and combo box that support pictures, and multiple-fonts command buttons that offer multiple states
with picture support. Input controls provide date, time, integer, and real datatypes with optional spinners. MhImage reads BMP, PCX, TARGA, TIFF, WMF, GIF, and ICO files with built-in zooming. MhWave provides waveform audio file storage and playback. MhTab
is a multiple tab container, and the MhTip tool tip control creates balloon help messages for controls. MhgMul is a multiple segment label control with "fill" capabilities for status and progress bars.
MicroHelp
4211 JVL Industrial Park Dr., NE
Marietta, GA 30066
Phone: (800) 922-3383; (770) 516-0899
Fax: (770) 516-1099
CompuServe: GO MICROHELP
BBS: (770) 516-1497
APEX Software Corporation's True DBGrid is an enhanced version of the DBGrid control included with Visual Basic 4.0. (APEX created the 16-bit and 32-bit DBGrid controls for Microsoft.) 16-bit and 32-bit True DBGrid provides grid-splitting (based on the
Microsoft Excel model); in-cell graphics, combo boxes, check boxes, and option buttons; display format masks; cell content drag and drop; automatic population of in-cell combo and list boxes; and automatic translation of database field values for display.
APEX Software Corporation
4516 Henry Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Telephone: (800) 858-2739; (412) 681-4343
Fax: (503) 297-6744
WWW: http://www.apexc.com
CompuServe: GO APEX
Videosoft's VSFlex/OCX OLE control is a decision-support data display and analysis tool that substitutes for the Grid control included with Visual Basic 4.0. Although VSFlex/OCX isn't a data-bound control, its unique capability to manipulate,
consolidate, and format tabular data warrants the product's inclusion in this section. VSFlex/OCX performs data-summary operations similar to Jet's crosstab queries, but doesn't require requerying the database to vary the view of the data. The properties
and methods of VSFlex/OCX include duplicates of the Visual Basic Grid control, so code you write to populate Grid controls can be used without modification.
VSView/OCX is a combination text-formatting control that lets you combine text, data, graphs, graphics, tables, and columns anywhere on VSView's page. VSView/OCX also provides printing and, more importantly, print preview features including zoom-in and
zoom-out views.
VideoSoft
2625 Alcatraz Avenue, Suite 271
Berkeley, CA 94705
Phone: (800) 547-7295; (510) 704-8200
Fax: (510) 843-0174
Microsoft supplies ODBC drivers for Microsoft SQL Server databases with the Professional and Enterprise versions of Visual Basic 4.0. Many other client/server database publishers and third-party software developers supply multiple-tier and single-tier
ODBC drivers. The following sections describe some of the most popular ODBC drivers that were available in early 1996.
Intersolv's DataDirect ODBC Pack supports ALLBASE, Btrieve, CA-Ingres, Clipper, DB2*, DB2/2, DB2/6000, dBASE, Excel, FoxBase, FoxPro, Gupta SQLBase, IMAGE/SQL, INFORMIX, InterBase, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Paradox, PROGRESS, Scalable SQL (formerly
Netware SQL), SQL/400, SQL/DS, Sybase System 10, Sybase SQL Server 4, Teradata, Text files and XDB. All DataDirect ODBC drivers support the ODBC Core, Level 1, and primary Level 2 functions.
Intersolv, Inc.
9420 Key West Avenue
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Phone: (800) 876-3101; (301) 838-5000
FLEXquarters' FLEX/ODBC is a 16-bit, single-tier ODBC driver for DataFlex database files, a proprietary indexed DBMS file format. Flex/ODBC translates SQL commands passed by the ODBC interface to DataFlex navigational commands that return query result
sets, in a fashion similar to ODBC drivers for dBASE, FoxPro, and Paradox files. (FLEX/ODBC does not support SQL Data Definition Language commands). Flex also offers an ODBC driver for Btrieve databases.
FLEXquarters
1125 W Baseline #2F
Mesa, AZ 85210
Telephone: (602) 732-9217
Fax: (602) 732-9590
OpenLink Software supplies 16-bit and 32-bit high-performance ODBC 2.x drivers for Oracle, Sybase, Informix, Progress, Unify, Ingres, and Microsoft SQL Server RDBMSs. OpenLink also offers OpenLink ODBC Scan, a utility application for determining
the comparative performance of and troubleshooting ODBC drivers.
OpenLink Software, Inc.
67 South Bedford Street,
Suite 400 West
Burlington, MA 01803
Telephone: 617-229-5805
Fax: 617-229-8030
CompuServe: GO OPENLINK
This section includes products that are designed specifically to aid in the development of Visual Basic 3.0 database applications. Some of the products listed in this section are specifically designed for use with Access .MDB database files and require
the retail version of Access 1.1 for their use.
DDF Builder enables you to design and create your own data definition files (FIELD.DDF and INDEX.DDF) for Novell Btrieve tables. DDF Builder also can create new Btrieve tables. If you plan to import or attach Btrieve tables created by other
applications to Access, you are likely to need DDF Builder to reconstruct the data definition files to meet the requirements of the Btrieve driver of the Access database engine. DDF Builder includes Novell's WBTRCALL.DLL. DDF Builder also includes a book,
The Illustrated Guide to Btrieve, published by MIDI America, that thoroughly explains the ins and outs of version 5.x of Btrieve.
Smithware, Inc.
1052 Madison Square
Madison, TN 37115
Telephone: (615) 860-3500, Ext. 25
InfoModeler is a database design and development tool for Jet and client/server databases from Asymetrix, Inc., publishers of ToolBook and several multimedia applications for Windows. Using InfoModeler is one of the subjects of Chapter 4,
"Optimizing the Design of Relational Databases." InfoModeler uses graphic Object-Role Modeling (ORM) to describe database entities; you describe attributes of entities with simple English statements in FORML (Formal Object-Role Modeling
Language). When you've completed your FORML description, InfoModeler creates the tables for your database and the fields for each table, then adds primary keys and field constraints (validation rules).
InfoModeler 2.0 is intended for Access 95 and Visual Basic 4.0 database developers who use Jet 3.0 .mdb databases as well as client/server RDBMSs. InfoModeler creates "generic" SQL statements to build databases with any RDBMS that supports
the SQL Data Definition Language. One of the most interesting features of InfoModeler is its capability to "reverse engineer" existing databases to create ORM diagrams and FORML descriptions. InfoModeler 2.0 also includes a complete version
control system for databases.
Asymetrix, Inc.
110 110th Avenue N.E., Suite 700
Bellevue, WA 98004-5840
Telephone: (800) 448-6543; (206) 454-7535
Fax: (206) 637-1504
Total Access is a comprehensive documentation, analysis, and reporting tool for Access 2.0 and Jet 2.5 databases. The data that Total Access uses to create its built-in reports is stored in tables that you can read with Visual Basic 4.0 database
applications. You also can customize Total Access's reports or create your own reports. Although Total Access was designed for Access database developers (you need Access 2.0 to use Total Access), it is equally useful for Visual Basic 4.0 database
applications that use the Jet 2.x .MDB database structure.
Financial Modeling Specialists, Inc.
8027 Leesburg Pike, Suite 410
Vienna, VA 22182
Telephone: (703) 356-4700
Fax: (703) 448-3861
This section includes descriptions of add-in products and custom controls that aid in the creation of Visual Basic 4.0 applications but are not specifically oriented to database applications.
AppFramework lets you capture templates for a wide variety of objects, including forms, controls, groups of controls, menus, code and class modules, functions, and code blocks. AppFramework stores the captured objects in a Jet database that can be
shared with other developers. You can start projects with complete application frameworks or apply individual templates and styles as you work.
Semiotix Systems, LLC
10620 East Bethany Drive
Aurora, CO 80014
Telephone: (800) 743-1230, (303) 743-1400
Fax: (303) 743-1410
Sheridan's ClassAssist is a Visual Basic 4.0 add-in that provides a Class Explorer to aid in organizing class hierarchies into multiple libraries that you can retain as private libraries or share with other developers. Class Explorer lets you derive a
new class, edit properties and methods of an existing class, or check in or out classes in a shared library. ClassAssist comes with six base classes: Listbox, Combobox, Command Button, State Button, Textbox, and Canvas. You create derived classes to create
specialized controls. Sheridan's WinAPI Oblets contain Windows API functions encapsulated in classes, eliminating the need to declare WinAPI functions.
Sheridan Software Systems, Inc.
35 Pinelawn Road, Suite 206E
Mellville, NY 11747
Telephone: (516) 753-0985
Fax: (516) 753-3661
CompuServe: GO SHERIDAN
BBS: (516) 753-5452
MicroHelp's CodeComplete is a suite of applications that includes the Splash Wizard, which creates introductory windows (splash screens) for applications and performs version-checking operations; Code Analyst, which cross-references projects;
AutoCoder, an add-in that creates templates for modules and headers as well as implements automatic global error-trapping. Message Assistant, Common Dialog Assistant, and HelpContextID Assistant speed development by writing message box and common dialog
code as well as generating help context ID value lists.
MicroHelp
4211 JVL Industrial Park Dr., NE
Marietta, GA 30066
Phone: (800) 922-3383; (770) 516-0899
Fax: (770) 516-1099
CompuServe: GO MICROHELP
BBS: (770) 516-1497
Visual Components' Formula One 3.0 is a full-featured spreadsheet implemented as 16-bit and 32-bit OLE controls. Formula One uses a Microsoft Excel-style user interface, including tabbed worksheets within workbooks, and can read and write Excel 5.0
workbook files. Workbooks can contain as many as 256 worksheets and supports three-dimensional cell references.
First Impression 2.0 is a charting alternative to the Chart OLE controls included with the Professional and Enterprise editions of Visual Basic 4.0. Version 2.0 includes a built-in Data grid that lets you interactively enter and update chart values.
Charts can be drawn in true 3D perspective, rather than the oblique rendering offered by most charting tools.
Visual Components, Inc.
15721 College Blvd.
Lenexa, KS 66219
Telephone: (800) 884-8665; (913) 599-6500
Fax: (913) 599-6597
CompuServe: GO VISTOOLS
BBS: (913) 599-6713
The Graphics Server SDK provides low-level access to the functions contained in Gsw16.exe and Gsw32.exe, the applications that support, respectively, the Graph16.ocx and Graph32.ocx OLE controls included in the Professional and Enterprise editions of
Visual Basic 4.0. The ChartBuilder OLE control is an extended version of Visual Basic's Graph OLE control that enables you to add hot spots to graphs. Using the ChartBuilder control is described in Chapter 12, "Extending Your Use of the Data Access
Object."
Pinnacle Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 888
Kent, WA 98035-0888
Telephone: (800) 788-1900; (206) 251-1900
Fax: (206) 251-5057
Desaware's SpyWorks-VB is an enhancement product that includes 16-bit and 32-bit OLE controls, and several additional executable files to aid in the creation and debugging of Visual Basic applications that call the Windows API functions. SpyWorks-VB
includes a subclassing tool that enables you to intercept the Windows message stream for any form or control and a custom control that enables you to employ Windows API functions that employ callback methods. Callback methods require a pointer to the
address of the callback function; Visual Basic does not provide a method to obtain the addresses of functions.
VersionStamper-VB lets you embed into your Visual Basic 4.0 executable file information about all of the dynamic link libraries and OLE controls used by the application, along with required current versions, file date and time, and a choice of warning
conditions. VersionStamper-VB uses this information to check the versions of the components that are available on the target system.
StorageWorks-VB lets you create OLE structured storage files that organize complex data in a hierarchical system. Data can be identified by keywords, and each data item can contain other data items also identified by keywords. OLE structure storage
supports transactions, so you can implement undo operations and provide incremental save operations in your Visual Basic 4.0 applications.
Desaware
1100 E. Hamilton Ave., Suite 4
Campbell, CA 95008
Telephone: (408) 377-4770
Fax: (408) 371-3530
CompuServe: GO DESAWARE
SylvanMaps/OCX is an OLE control for geographic mapping and analysis, often called geographic information systems (GISs). The OLE control displays Arc\Info shape files, TIGER, DLG, CD\MAPS, and .DWG map data with control over how the maps appear, and
lets you join ODBC data sources to map entities. SQL statements and "Geo-querying" lets you view map entities based on query result sets, or you can query an attached database geographically. Visual spatial analysis links data to map polygons
such as census tracts to show relationships in different colors. Address matching assigns map coordinates to street addresses.
Sylvan Ascent Inc.
Post Office Box 4792
Santa Fe, NM 87502
Telephone: (800) 362-8971; (505) 986-8739
Fax: (505) 986-0906
Sheridan calls VB Assist 4.0 an "enhanced development environment for Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0." VB Assist includes 57 individual improvements to the design mode of Visual Basic 4.0 in these general categories: control manipulation,
property management, and database extensions. The Data Assistant tool aids in the design of forms by letting you drag and drop fields from a database in order to bind them to controls on forms. The Form Wizard of the Data Assistant automatically creates a
form based on the structure of the underlying table. The DB Assistant is a tool to create and maintain databases, table structures, and indexes.
Sheridan Software Systems, Inc.
35 Pinelawn Road, Suite 206E
Mellville, NY 11747
Telephone: (516) 753-0985
Fax: (516) 753-3661
CompuServe: GO SHERIDAN
BBS: (516) 753-5452
VBXRef is a cross-referencing and project-management tool for Visual Basic applications. VBXRef enables you to create concordance reports that display the names and scope of all variables, functions, and subprocedures; plus you can select and print any
or all of your functions, subprocedures, and forms in up to four different fonts. You can use the project-management features of VBXRef to move and remove modules, forms, DLLs, and individual procedures with drag-and-drop methods.
MicroHelp
4211 JVL Industrial Park Dr., NE
Marietta, GA 30066
Phone: (800) 922-3383; (770) 516-0899
Fax: (770) 516-1099
CompuServe: GO MICROHELP
BBS: (770) 516-1497
Voysys Corporation's voysAccess 2.0 is an add-on toolkit to create telephony-enabled applications such as automated order status, employee benefits inquiry, and worker scheduling systems. voysAccess 2.0 is a 32-bit OLE control that provides functions
such as answering the telephone, receiving Calling Line ID, receiving TouchTone digits, "speaking" database information, recording voice responses, and dialing to pagers. The voysAccess Developer's Toolkit includes the OLE control, a voice
recording/editing tool, pre-recorded voice file library, and sample applications.
Voysys Corporation
48364 Milmont Drive
Fremont, CA 94538
Phone: (800) 800-786-9797; (510) 252-1100
Fax: 510-252-1101
Developers who include online help in their Access applications can choose from a variety of commercial Windows help-file authoring applications. Two of the leading products, each of which takes a different approach to help-file creation, are described
in the sections that follow.
WexTech Systems' Doc-To-Help application is a collection of Microsoft Word document templates (.dot files) combined with special-purpose 16-bit and 32-bit Windows DLLs. Doc-To-Help enables you to create electronic help files for an application from its
formatted documentation. Although you can convert existing application manuals to Doc-To-Help's format, the most efficient use of the application requires that you first create the manuals yourself using Doc-To-Help's templates. When you complete your
document, Doc-To-Help converts the document to a .rtf file and compiles the .rtf file to a Windows .hlp file. Doc-To-Help includes the Microsoft Help Compilers for Windows 3.1+, Windows 95, and Windows NT.
WexTech Systems, Inc.
310 Madison Avenue, Suite 905
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 949-9595
Fax: (212) 949-4007
Blue Sky Software's RoboHELP 95 and WinHelp Office 95 applications are oriented to creating Windows 95 help files directly, rather than from a pre-existing application manual. Like Doc-To-Help, RoboHELP 95 consists of Word 7.0 templates and 32-bit
Windows DLLs. RoboHELP 95 enables you to exercise full control over the individual elements of your 32-bit help system, such as assigning special values to help context strings and ID numbers. Using RoboHELP 95 is discussed in Chapter 26, "Creating
Help Files for Database Front-Ends."
Blue Sky Software Corporation
777 Fay Avenue, Suite 201
La Jolla, CA 92037
Telephone: (800) 677-4946; (619) 551-2485
Fax: (619) 551-2486
Visual Basic's OLE container control lets you display graphics or play sound and music from files created by OLE 1.0 and OLE 2+ server applications. The multimedia OLE server applets of Windows 95, Sound Recorder and Media Player, are adequate for
simple multimedia databases, but you need commercial multimedia toolkits when you want to control VCRs or laserdisc players from your Visual Basic 4.0 application. The following sections describe representative commercial 32-bit OLE 2+ server applications
that you can use with Visual Basic.
CorelDRAW! 6.0 is the sixth iteration of a highly successful vector drawing application that is a favorite of graphic artists. CorelDRAW! is capable of importing images in a variety of vector formats. The CD-ROM version of CorelDRAW! 6.0 includes
hundreds of TrueType fonts and several thousand clip art objects.
Corel Systems Corporation
1600 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Z 8R7
Telephone: (613) 728-8200
Fax: (613) 728-9790
Lenel Systems' products are a unique set of OLE multimedia server applications that enable you to link to virtually any type of file-based multimedia data, as well as to display video images from remotely controllable VCRs (such as the Sony ViSCA
product line) and laserdisc players. MultiMedia Developer Tools are 16-bit and 32-bit OLE controls for playing waveform audio (.wav) and video (.avi) files from within Visual Basic 4.0 applications and displaying still graphics in a variety of formats. One
of the principal advantages of using MultiMedia Tools to link graphic images is the application's capability to create a thumbnail image that minimizes the size of image databases that use Jet's OLE Object field datatype to display the presentation of the
image.
MediaRecorder Toolkit lets you capture full-motion video from camcorders, VCRs, and laserdisc players. MediaRecorder Toolkit provides palette capture, still frame image capture, compression options, and supports all popular Windows-compatible video
capture adapters. Lenel Gallery integrates thumbnail images into Visual Basic 4.0 applications. All Lenel multimedia components are available as OLE controls, VBXs, OLE Automation servers, and C++ libraries.
Lenel Systems, Inc.
290 Woodcliff Office Park
Fairport, NY 14450
Telephone: (716) 248-9720
Fax: (716) 248-9185
Visio 4.0 is an OLE 2.1–compliant, stencil-based drawing application that uses drag-and-drop techniques to simplify the creation of the most common types of drawings and illustrations required for business communication. Visio 4.0 is an OLE
Automation server and supports OLE Document Objects (DocObjects) for compatibility with the Office 95 Binder application, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, and other DocObject-enabled client applications. All of the line drawings in this edition of
Database Developer's Guide with Visual Basic 4 were created with Visio 4.0.
Visio Technical 4.0 adds enhanced technical drawing tools, including a spline tool, improved interaction with Autodesk's AutoCAD, OLE Automation for creating bills of material and parts lists, and direct Lotus Notes/FX connectivity.
Visio Corporation
520 Pike Street, Suite 1800
Seattle, WA 98101
Telephone: (800) 248-4746; (206) 521-4500
Fax: (206) 521-4501
WWW: http://www.visio.com
One of the measures of the success of a PC application is the number of periodicals that cover the use of the application exclusively or which devote a substantial portion of their editorial content to it. The sections that follow describe periodicals
that are of special interest to users of either Visual Basic or Access.
Access/Visual Basic Advisor is a magazine devoted to Microsoft Access and Visual Basic programming. Articles target users of Access and Visual Basic with beginning- to intermediate-level skills. The majority of the contributors to
Access/Visual Basic Advisor are authors or co-authors of books about Access. Each issue includes tips on how to use Access and Visual Basic more effectively. Advisor Communications International, Inc., also publishes Databased Advisor and
FoxPro Advisor. You can supplement your subscription to Access/Visual Basic Advisor with accompanying diskettes that include files for the Access and Visual Basic applications described in each issue's articles.
Advisor Communications International, Inc.
4010 Morena Blvd., Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92117
Telephone: (800) 336-6060; (619) 483-6400
Fax: (619) 483-9851
Microsoft Interactive Developer (MIND) is a new monthly magazine published by Fawcette Technical Publications that covers Microsoft's Internet technologies, including Visual Basic Script, the Internet Services API (ISAPI), ActiveX
controls (lightweight OLE controls), and other ActiveX components, such Active Movie and Active VRML. The first issue of MIND appeared in March 1996. The editorial content of MIND originates from Microsoft Corp.
Fawcette Technical Publications
209 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Telephone: (415) 833-7100
Fax: (415) 853-0230
Smart Access is a monthly newsletter directed to Access developers and power users. Articles cover a variety of advanced topics, ranging from relational database design to using the Windows API functions in Access Basic. Because Smart
Access is directed to independent and in-house developers, many of its articles are devoted to runtime Access and the Access Distribution Kit. A diskette that includes sample databases, Access libraries, and related files accompanies each issue. Smart
Access also offers a variety of tips and techniques for writing more effective macros and Access Basic code. You can import many of the code examples into Visual Basic 4.0 forms and modules. The magazine's parent company, Pinnacle Publishing, Inc.,
publishes a variety of journals on other database applications.
Pinnacle Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 888
Kent, WA 98035-0888
Telephone: (800) 788-1900; (206) 251-1900
Fax: (206) 251-5057
Visual Basic Programmer's Journal is a bimonthly publication devoted to programming in Visual Basic. Articles about Visual Basic 4.0 database applications, OLE 2.x clients and servers, three-tier database applications, VBA, and Access,
appear regularly in VBPJ. Fawcette Technical Publications runs the Windows Components Forum (GO VBPJ) on CompuServe and the VBPJ Development Exchange Web site (http://www.windx.com).
Fawcette Technical Publications
209 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Telephone: (415) 833-7100
Fax: (415) 853-0230
The magazines listed in this section are devoted to the general topic of client/server and desktop database design, performance, and front-end applications. Also included in this section are descriptions of two newsletters that provide valuable
background on and forecasts for Windows and its applications.
Database Programming and Design magazine is directed to users of mainframe database products, as well as users of client/server RDBMSs running on minicomputers, RISC workstations, and 80x86-based PCs, in enterprise-wide computing environments.
Database Programming and Design
Miller-Freeman, Inc.
600 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Telephone: (800) 269-0169; (303) 447-9330
Databased Advisor is a monthly magazine devoted to database topics of general interest with emphasis on xBase and Paradox programming methods.
Advisor Communications International, Inc.
4010 Morena Blvd., Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92117
Telephone: (800) 336-6060; (619) 483-6400
Fax: (619) 483-9851
DBMS, another Miller-Freeman publication, primarily covers the field of PC and workstation client/server computing, although it also covers standalone desktop database applications such as dBASE, Paradox, and FoxPro. DBMS is published 13 times
per year. (A DBMS Buyer's Guide issue is published each June.)
DBMS Magazine
Miller-Freeman, Inc.
411 Borel Ave., Suite 100
San Mateo, CA 94402
Telephone: (800) 456-1859; (303) 447-9330
Fax: (415) 905-2233
Microsoft Directions is a monthly newsletter published by former Microsoft executives who claim to have "extensive organizational contacts" within Microsoft Corp. Each month, Microsoft Directions features in-depth articles
focusing on one or two aspects of Microsoft's product strategy.
Redmond Communications, Inc.
15127 N.E. 24th Street, Suite 293
Redmond, WA 98052
Telephone: (206) 882-3396
Fax: (206) 644-7670
SQL Forum magazine's subhead reads "The Journal for the International SQL Server Community." SQL Forum is a bimonthly journal devoted primarily to the Sybase version of SQL Server. SQL Forum features in-depth analysis of
the technical aspects of SQL Server.
SQL Forum
P.O. Box 240
Lynnwood, WA 98046-0240
Telephone: (206) 382-6607
Jesse Berst's Windows Watcher was the first monthly newsletter devoted to analyzing and forecasting trends in the Windows "industry." A subscription to Windows Watcher is indispensable if you want to keep up-to-date on the
peregrinations of Microsoft's development programs for future versions of Windows (such as Cairo) and Windows applications. Windows Watcher provides lists of important Windows applications in the development stage ("Product Watch"), as
well as popularity charts of Windows products that are based on North American and European sales by major software distributors ("Sales Watch"). You can reach the Windows Watcher web site at http://www.windowswatcher.com.
Windows Watcher
15127 N.E. 24th St., Suite 344
Redmond, WA 98052
Telephone: (800) 575-5717; (610) 892-1959
Fax: (610) 565-1858
The primary sources of technical support for Visual Basic database developers are the Microsoft-sponsored forums on CompuServe. Independent MVPs (Most Valued Professionals) and Microsoft product support specialists (PSS) answer developers' and
end-users' questions about Visual Basic and related Microsoft products. Developers and ISVs (independent software vendors) are regular participants in these forums. Visual Basic Programmer's Journal, Database Advisor, and DBMS
magazines sponsor forums that cover a wide range of database-related topics. If you don't have a CompuServe account, call CompuServe at (800) 848-8199 for a sign-up package.
Macmillan Computer Publishing (MCP), the parent organization of Sams Publishing, sponsors a CompuServe forum (GO MACMILLAN). The forum provides information on books published by MCP under the imprints of Sams Publishing, Que Books, New Riders
Publishing, Alpha Books, Hayden Books, Adobe Press, and Brady Publishing, plus Que Software. The libraries include lists of books available from MCP, tables of contents, sample chapters, sample files, programs, and other material extracted from MCP books.
Files and discussions of database topics appear in Message Section 4 and Library 4, Database.
The Visual Basic libraries of the MSBASIC Forum (GO MSBASIC) contain a wide range of useful applications written in all versions of Visual Basic. Updates and patches for Visual Basic 4.0 are provided in Library 1 of MSBASIC, MS Info, and Index. Library
2, VB 4.0 Add-Ins, provides a variety of freeware and shareware products that enhance Visual Basic 4.0.
The MSACCESS Forum is one of the most active product-support forums on CompuServe. The files that you can download include sample databases and Access libraries created by Microsoft and independent Access developers and consultants, as well as
end-users of Access applications. You can import much of the code contained in Access modules into Visual Basic 4.0 database applications using the techniques described in Chapter 17 of this book, "Translating Access Basic and VBA Code to Visual Basic
4.0."
Section 10 of the Windows Extensions Forum (GO WINEXT) provides technical support for the Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) API. As Microsoft adds its own certified drivers to extend ODBC connectivity to new database applications, the drivers
often are posted to Library 10 of the WINEXT Forum. Microsoft supports third-party ODBC driver developers in this forum; read the messages in Section 10 to keep abreast of the new ODBC drivers under development by Microsoft, RDBMS publishers, and other
independent software vendors.
The Windows for Workgroups Forum (GO MSWRKGRPS) has a variety of sections that cover peer-to-peer networking and the applets that accompany Windows for Workgroups, such as Schedule+ and Microsoft Mail. Support for the 16-bit API functions that you can
use to create an interface between Access applications, Schedule+ (SP), and Microsoft Mail (Simple MAPI) now appear in the MSWRKGRPS Forum.
Microsoft's Networks Forum (GO MSNET) is directed to networking issues with Windows 3.1+ and Windows 95, plus Microsoft System Management Server (SMS).
Microsoft provides support for users of Windows NT 3.5+ in the Windows NT Forum (GO WINNT). The WinNT Forum also includes updated information on the features of other BackOffice applications for Windows NT (such as SNA Server), bug fixes, and tools.
The majority of the documentation files in the WINNT Forum are in Word.
The Microsoft Knowledge Base (GO MSKB) is a database of technical publications, bug reports, workarounds, and press releases on Microsoft products. You can search for the latest tips for making better use of Visual Basic by specifying Visual Basic as
the product name and searching with the keywords that specify the topic in which you are interested. You can download sample applications to which MSKB articles refer from the Microsoft Software Library (GO MSL).
Advisor Communications International, Inc., sponsors a forum devoted to database topics, the Databased Advisor Forum (GO DBA). Library 14 of the DBA forum is devoted to Microsoft Access and Visual Basic. Many of the applications described in
Access/Visual Basic Advisor magazine are available for downloading from the DBA Forum.
DBMS Magazine operates the DBMS Forum (GO DBMS), which covers topics of general interest to database developers. Client/server database systems and SQL topics receive the emphasis in this forum.
The Internet rapidly is overtaking commercial online services as a source of information and, to a lesser extent, peer-to-peer support for Visual Basic database developers. The Microsoft Network (MSN) also provides bulletin boards for Visual Basic and
Access. When this edition was written, Microsoft was in the process of integrating MSN with the Internet as a value-added service.
The MS Visual Basic Support Desktop (Go Word msvb_sd) provides a members' BBS, Visual Basic FAQs (Frequently-Asked Questions), links to a variety of Visual Basic-related Microsoft Web pages, and a link to the Microsoft Knowledge Base via the Internet.
The Microsoft Access 95 Forum (Go Word msaccess) provides a number of BBSs devoted to 32-bit Access and the Jet database engine, including support services for Access 95.
The Microsoft Developer Product Information Pages (http://www.microsoft.com/DevOnly/prodinfo/) provides links to news about Microsoft's Visual Basic and Access product lines.
The Macmillan Information SuperLibrary (http://www.mcp.com) is an award-winning Web site that provides a complete online catalog of all computer-related books published by Macmillan Computer Publishing. The SuperLibrary
also includes an online newsletter, press releases, and online bookstore. A wide variety of source code from MCP books, shareware, freeware, and demo software is available for downloading.
The VBPJ Development Exchange (http://www.windx.com) includes the following sections: Developer's Resources, Visual Basic Tools, Visual C++ Tools, Access Tools, Visual FoxPro Tools, BackOffice Tools, and OLE Tools.
The VBPJ Development Exchange Web site is a service of Fawcette Technical Publications, publishers of Visual Basic Programmer's Journal and Microsoft Interactive Developer magazine.
Fawcette Technical Publications calls its Avatar Web site (http://www.avatarmag.com) "The Interactive Developer's Online Magazine." Avatar is designed to complement Microsoft Interactive Developer
Magazine, published by Fawcette. The Avatar Magazine site was in the alpha testing stage when this edition was written and is expected to be in full operation by mid-1996.
The comp.lang.basic.visual.databases and comp.databases.ms-access newsgroups are two of the most active Usenet areas devoted to Microsoft Visual Basic database and Access programming issues.
