The newest version of Ashton-Tate’s database management and application development software package is dBASE IV. This book consists of 30 chapters grouped in four parts plus seven appendices. While the title of the book mentions only dBASE IV version 1.1, it covers versions 1.0 and 1.1 and describes major differences between the two. No previous experience with dBASE IV is required, but some basic familiarity with databases and their programming language concepts is helpful. Nearly all constructions described in the book are clarified with examples for a sample accounts receivable system for an imaginary company.

Part 1, “Application Design and Prototyping,” consists of 12 chapters that describe a systematic method for analyzing dataflow requirements in order to define database structures. Some information about dBASE operators, variables, functions, and indexes is introduced. Using this basic knowledge, a good prototyping approach is given. Few methods of customizing the developer’s environment are presented. The fundamental concept of joining files is explained near the beginning, which seems like a good method for studying database systems. Easy input and output forms are analyzed and programs to process them are described. The development of a menu system by the application generator is explained, and the first version of an accounting system for the company is written.

Part 2, “Programming Fundamentals,” consists of 6 chapters; it describes basic programming commands and structures needed to write more complex programs and modify the generated programs. These include conditional statements, several types of loop statements, and function and program call statements. The programming strategy is state-of-the-art for dBASE facilities. Liskin presents the use of memory variables and arrays for simple input and explains their scope. She presents the structure of the format file generated from a screen form and describes the menu structure of an application created in the application generator. The author proposes to use a generated program’s code to teach the reader how to write general-purpose routines that can be used in different applications with little or no modification. This part ends with a short course of testing and debugging techniques.

Part 3, “Basic Application Components,” consists of 5 chapters that describe how to use programming structures previously introduced to write programs that execute more efficiently and are more flexible than those studied in Part2. These structures include most of the basic application components needed to assemble a complete system without using the application generator or the form layout editors. The approaches in this part are concerned with input data validation, accessing multiple files, using procedure files, and controlling print jobs. Using these techniques, sophisticated programs involving database update and inquiry are written.

Part 4, “Refining and Optimizing the Application,” consists of 6 chapters that describe how to optimize, customize, and enhance an application to serve the needs of the users. Liskin explains how to build a friendly and helpful user interface providing online help, displaying a menu on request, and using an error-handling program. Some useful utilities for database maintenance and system maintenance are presented. Approaches to preventing unauthorized access to dBASE IV files and fields are described. Multiuser applications for networks receive little attention. The final chapter describes how the documentation for users and for programmers must be written.

This book may be helpful for in-depth study of the dBASEIV system or as a self-teaching or classroom textbook. Some parts of it could be shortened, because for many readers the description may be too sophisticated, but this sophistication is another side of the multifaceted approach of this book. The text is organized much better than the original documentation, and examples are explained well. Nothing is said about SQL, the query generation and template language in dBASE IV, however; these facilities may be useful for some programmers. The book can be used as a good addition to the reference manual and a clear methodological textbook for writing sophisticated programs in dBASE IV.