vDos or dbDOSv & dBASE Classic...

[gc9773]

New user here... About a year or so ago, I found a copy of dBase IV 2.0 and attempted to run with Dosbox to no avail. Found vDos and it works GREAT to include printing. This is for a personal user, no company, but I do run the program off a network server (UNIX, FreeBSD) so am getting to ready to buy a license. A few questions, however...

I found that dBASE Classic is still available and can be purchased with the dbDOSv emulator. Not wishing to purchase both licenses, can I query those here as to whether the upgrade to the current version of dBASE (DOS) is worth it? Additionally, if the purchase of dBASE is worth it, then would it be better supported by dbDOSv or is vDos the superior product? In other words, has the codebase for the current version of dBASE changed significantly, in the opinion of those here, and how would dbDOSv compare to vDos?

My options appear to be as follows:

1. Legacy dBASE IV 2.0 with licensed copy of vDos
2. Licensed dBASE V with licensed copy of vDos
3. Licensed dBASE V with licensed copy of dbDOSv

I can install and configure Postgres, and am very familiar with SQL. The problem is, using Postgres for what I do is akin to killing a fly with a hammer. I like dBASE and am familiar with the product, it scales well for what I am doing. Additionally, I have been using "Libreoffice" for some time now and while I do find the "Writer" utility useful, I'm not as satisfied with the database portion, "Base".

I appreciate any guidance with this!

Garry

[Jos]

You seemingly already have a dBase version up and running.

"dBASE CLASSIC is based on the original dBASE V for DOS" would mean it is (hopefully) just dBase V.
If using an older version, an upgrade to dBaseV would probably be best. Copies of that on the Internet, but I don’t know if those are legit.

At www.vdos.info/reviews_links.html I state: "Comes with a frontend to manage(?) your DOS program collection. Versions 1-7 were DOSBox based. Recent dbDOSv versions use (a crippled) vDosPlus 2015 (see below)".
dbDOSv is basically an outdated (2015) vDos, wrapped in a registration shell. So crippled, also because vDos being portable is out of the window.

Jos

[gc9773]

Mar 5, 2023 23:07:45 GMT 1 Jos said:

You seemingly already have a dBase version up and running.

"dBASE CLASSIC is based on the original dBASE V for DOS" would mean it is (hopefully) just dBase V.
If using an older version, an upgrade to dBaseV would probably be best. Copies of that on the Internet, but I don’t know if those are legit.

At www.vdos.info/reviews_links.html I state: "Comes with a frontend to manage(?) your DOS program collection. Versions 1-7 were DOSBox based. Recent dbDOSv versions use (a crippled) vDosPlus 2015 (see below)".
dbDOSv is basically an outdated (2015) vDos, wrapped in a registration shell. So crippled, also because vDos being portable is out of the window.

Jos

That was a fast response! Thank you, Jos! Yes, from the reading I have done, vDos would appear to be the superior product. And yes, I have a copy of dBASE IV 2.0 running just fine, no issues with printing or otherwise, and I run vDos directly from a shared folder (Samba 4.16, workgroup only, no domain).

Having found the website selling dBASE V, was wondering what improvements had been made to the codebase after more than 20 years. I'll shoot them a message and see what they say. I tried calling but there was no answer, this was during the holidays, so maybe that was the issue.

Garry