In this context, I believe they will be porting their ERP application to jBase, not looking for ERP software packages, and the system they are talking about is the hardware. Typically, legacy Pick applications either port to a modern Pick lookalike shell running on Unix or NT (jBase is one of these), or switch to a completely new application outside the Pick marketplace. The fact that they are sticking with Pick (jBase) indicates they have chosen the former path.
Pick was originally developed as a business information tool that ran on bare hardware. Ports took months and were only available for a very few platforms. About 10 years ago, Pick and a number of clones (Ardent UniVerse, etc) began porting to Unix. In the past five years they ported to NT. Recently they ported to Linux. The Pick environment runs as a shell on these Ports.
The problem with legacy Pick (like McDonnell Douglas) is that there is no connectivity to the outside world. The only way to get data into and out of it is via 9-track tape and serial port, typically. Any modern Pick shell running on Unix or NT would beat this easily. Can you say samba?
One of the features of Pick is it non-first-normal form database structure, using strings with delimiters to store all data. This is extremely flexible, and something that Kenwood is not going to leave. jBase incorporates this structure. They will probably be able to leave their application software largely unaltered.
Pick does have an interesting similarity to Linux. The early ports to Intel hardware had 8 serial lines running off a 286, blowing away DOS and Windows for speed.
Another interesting bit of trivia - this ancient McDonnell Douglas system incorporates the date windowing that was recently the subject of a patent. This isn't a recent development - they've been using this windowing for 25 years!
In 1974 a company called Microdata began selling the first commercial version of the Pick operating system. Microdata was purchased by McDonnell Douglas in 1981. One of the features of the OS is the date windowing described. Based on all the other practical features of the Pick environment it doesn't surprise me that they included this fix first. A good Pick stating point is the comp.databases.pick FAQ.
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In this context, I believe they will be porting their ERP application to jBase, not looking for ERP software packages, and the system they are talking about is the hardware. Typically, legacy Pick applications either port to a modern Pick lookalike shell running on Unix or NT (jBase is one of these), or switch to a completely new application outside the Pick marketplace. The fact that they are sticking with Pick (jBase) indicates they have chosen the former path.
Pick was originally developed as a business information tool that ran on bare hardware. Ports took months and were only available for a very few platforms. About 10 years ago, Pick and a number of clones (Ardent UniVerse, etc) began porting to Unix. In the past five years they ported to NT. Recently they ported to Linux.
The Pick environment runs as a shell on these Ports.
The problem with legacy Pick (like McDonnell Douglas) is that there is no connectivity to the outside world. The only way to get data into and out of it is via 9-track tape and serial port, typically. Any modern Pick shell running on Unix or NT would beat this easily. Can you say samba?
One of the features of Pick is it non-first-normal form database structure, using strings with delimiters to store all data. This is extremely flexible, and something that Kenwood is not going to leave. jBase incorporates this structure. They will probably be able to leave their application software largely unaltered.
Pick does have an interesting similarity to Linux. The early ports to Intel hardware had 8 serial lines running off a 286, blowing away DOS and Windows for speed.
Another interesting bit of trivia - this ancient McDonnell Douglas system incorporates the date windowing that was recently the subject of a patent. This isn't a recent development - they've been using this windowing for 25 years!
More info at the Pick FAQ
In 1974 a company called Microdata began selling the first commercial version of the Pick operating system. Microdata was purchased by McDonnell Douglas in 1981. One of the features of the OS is the date windowing described. Based on all the other practical features of the Pick environment it doesn't surprise me that they included this fix first. A good Pick stating point is the comp.databases.pick FAQ.