Windows Advantages of Alpha Five
TC008
by Bill Warner
I've been designing apps in Alpha for over 9 years, and switched to Alpha Five about 3 years ago. But some of my older customers are still using Alpha Four, and I was asked by one of them to modify their program. So, for the first time in quite a while, I went back to the old workhorse to make some changes. I can best summarize the experience with one word - AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!
When I first converted to A5, I absolutely hated it! Nothing seemed to work the same (at times, nothing seemed to work), and it was all so strange. I perservered, realizing that much of my reaction was simply because the program was different. What I didn't realize at the time was how wonderful the Windows interface is.
Here's an example: I had to create a new report that was similar to an existing report. However, it was not similar enough to use the feature in Alpha Four that allows you to borrow a report. So, I set out to design the new report, realizing that I should be able to use some components of the old one.
To do the same thing in Alpha Five, I would open the old report, and then open the new report, and switch back and forth between the two, copying and pasting the components (calc fields, text labels, report headers) that I needed.
This is when it first struck me. In Alpha Four, you can't open two reports at the same time. So, I would open the old report, look at the info, close it, open the new report, and copy the info. And as I started this rather tedious process, I was struck yet again. Copying and pasting in Alpha Four is not nearly as easy as it is in Alpha Five. Therefore, what I could have accomplished in about 10 minutes in Alpha Five took about 30 in Alpha Four.
As I continued, I found other features that I have come to take for granted in Alpha Five that were a struggle in Alpha Four. For example, I had to place a button on the form to access the report. Since the form is pretty full, I had to find an empty spot for the button that was still presentable. I didn't have the option, as I do in Alpha Five, of moving other fields just a little bit to make room for it. In Alpha Four, there are 23 rows vertically, and that's it! You can't move a field down half a row; you can't move multiple fields a couple pixels closer together; you can't make the fields slightly shorter to allow room for more fields or buttons.
Here is an example: Below is a screen shot of part of a typical Alpha Four data-entry screen:
Next, here are three versions of the same field layout in Alpha Five:
Notice that the first form has the fields spread apart vertically. The second shows them smaller and closer together, saving space for other fields (I could have also made the fields narrower). The third form shows different borders, as well as different font sizes and styles. While these features aren't absolutely necessary for data entry, they can make it easier to find the important fields on the form, such as the job number.
Now, please don't misunderstand -- I don't hate Alpha Four. In fact, I still think it's a very good program, and is still suitable for many applications1. But I've learned that Alpha Five is a truly great program. While it's more difficult to learn, it has far greater capabilities. As a developer, I find that I can do much more with it, or accomplish similar tasks in less time.
1 There are many applications in which the DOS user-interface is perfectly suitable, such as simple data-entry for programs with a limited number of fields. For these situations, the speed and simplicity of Alpha Four are unbeatable.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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