We have several competitors that use MS Access with their POS system. The advantage to them is that they provide up to 5 users without an additional charge. This is more than enough for 70% of our target market. Can anyone help with some sales points comparing MS Access to the revelation Linear Hash database. I understand the advantages as a developer but am having trouble describing that to the end users. All they see is an extra $795 for three users.

We need all the help that we can get!

First,

MS Access has all the data tables in one big file. And this gets slower as the volume of records increases.

Second,

Robustness and locking - I bet table level locking is present on Access, whereas record level is possible with OI. If an Access database is ever corrupted (likely) by multiple users, or if a row is deleted inadvertantly, then you must revert to backups - you can lose *all* your data by a table corruption in Access, whereas in OI the damage is restricted to the same table.

Third, Runtimes can be distributed free in OI. Access you always must pay.

Fourth, you don't need SQL and JOIN to construct a query in OI.

Fifth, the user interface in Access is always painful - QBE is a complete pain. In OI, the query is more readily achieved.

Sixth, the normalization of data and use of indexing in OI is far more expedient than in Access. Symbolics and typeless language constructs aren't available in Access. Dictionaries aren't typed in OI, where they are in Access.

Seventh, if you alter data in Access, then move to another record, using the data control on a screen, the altered data is committed/written. In OI, you don't have this problem.

Eighth, OI handles a higher volume of records without performance degradation.

Ninth, OI's printing mechanisms are far faster than many Access printing mechanisms.

Tenth, Access isn't really robust for commercial grade applications. You always end up writing a bucketload of code in Access to try to get the data integrity to 100 percent. OI is totally robust from the outset.

Eleventh, Access requires days of development for a new feature, but OI is way faster to develop in.

Twelfth, Access does not automatically reclaim space in the data schema. If you have any temp tables that are frequently populated and cleared, the database size continues to grow. OI tables, provided sizelock is set correctly, will automatically free up unused space.

msorrel@greyhound.com

Greyhound Lines, Inc.

Thanks everyone…… we will be using this and anything else we get.

Well strictly the LK portion will - the OV portion will stay at the largest size it attains until compressed.

The Sprezzatura Group

World Leaders in all things RevSoft

But to be far, he asked about the benefits of Access over Linear Hash, so a lot of the GUI type things wouldn't make any difference. He could use a VB/Delphi type front end for that.

Mind you, I'd still use OI

View this thread on the forum...