Microsoft KB Archive/57579

= Why Basic 7.00 and 7.10 Don't Support Multiuser ISAM =

Article ID: 57579

Article Last Modified on 10/20/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System 7.0
 * Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System 7.1

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This article was previously published under Q57579



SUMMARY
Question:

Why is ISAM support in Microsoft Basic Professional Development System (PDS) versions 7.00 and 7.10 only single-user and not multiuser? Also, why was ISAM support for OS/2 protected mode not available in 7.00 but was released in version 7.10?

(Multiuser ISAM support refers to the ability for multiple processes, or users on a network, to access different records within one ISAM file at the same time, with locking of individual records. Basic 7.00 and 7.10 don't support multiuser ISAM; they only support single-user ISAM, where the whole ISAM file is locked during use by one program.)

Response:

The Microsoft Basic Professional Development System (PDS) is a feature-packed product designed to satisfy the majority of needs expressed to us by our professional Basic programmers. It includes the following:
 * Significant enhancements in performance (smaller and faster EXEs)
 * Significant enhancements in capacity (a 10- to 50-times increase in code and/or data space)
 * Significant enhancements in language (CURRENCY data type, static arrays in user-defined-TYPE records, local error handling, stack control, MS-DOS file control)
 * Extras (three Excel-based libraries, three Basic toolboxes for user interfaces, presentation graphics, and matrix math)
 * A new dimension added to file handling in the form of the high-performance ISAM database engine with a powerful, integrated Basic programming interface

As much as Microsoft wanted to include multiuser ISAM in Basic PDS version 7.00 or 7.10, doing so meant holding back other features (such as those above) from the programmers who have expressed such a great need for them. Clearly, PC connectivity is growing and so will the need for a multiuser ISAM in Basic. Just as Microsoft listened to customers in creating Basic PDS 7.00 and 7.10, we will continue to listen and will make every attempt to have our future products address the most serious needs made known to us.

The longer we allow the feature list for a given product release to grow, the longer everyone has to wait to get the feature(s) that may solve their immediate problem(s). If we had held Basic 7.00 or 7.10 off the market until multiuser ISAM was ready, no one would have had any of the above capacity, performance, or language features in a satisfactory time frame.

Only after thorough testing did we introduce protected-mode (but still single-user) ISAM support in Basic 7.10.

Our perpetual challenge in the product release planning process is to find the combination of features and schedule that will best satisfy the needs of most of our customers.

Additional query words: BasicCom

Keywords: KB57579

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