[olug] DataFlex

[adunlop]

We use Deltaflex as a payroll/accounting system.  Is that potentially  
the software being discussed?  If it is, it may be an ancient program  
but it really is one of the best available for a lot of accounting  
purposes.

Aaron

On Jun 23, 2009, at 8:45 AM, Obi-Wan wrote:

>>> I have a client who has a rather old app someone wrote for them that
>>> handles all their payroll. The client said it is a 20-year old app,
>>> but I think it has had a few updates along the way, though it still
>>> appears to be DOS based.
>>>
>>> I'm not familiar with DataFlex at all, but looking at their web  
>>> site,
>>> you can get a personal license for DataFlex for Linux for free. Is
>>> anyone here familiar with it? Looking at the site, it just looks  
>>> like
>>> a development framework. If I downloaded the development tools,  
>>> would
>>> I be able to access the data and export it to a more common format
>>> (even tab deliminated) to try and import to another app?
>
> So DataFlex is the app they've currently got, or what you want to  
> switch
> to?  www.dataflex.org is a VoIP solution provider.  That doesn't sound
> like the same DataFlex you're talking about.
>
> As for leaving ancient apps:  If they want to convert all their data
> to the new format, that may not be as simple as you'd hope.  It wasn't
> uncommon for developers back then to invent convoluted, proprietary
> data formats and then keep the specs private.  Exporting it then  
> becomes
> a matter of reverse engineering it given a giant string a bytes and
> what little you know of what type of information is stored there.  If
> that's the case here, then exporting their data could be prohibitively
> difficult.
>
> Or, they my have stored everything in tab delimited text.  It's hard  
> to
> say for sure without looking.
>
> -- 
> Ben "Obi-Wan" Hollingsworth                              
> obiwan at jedi.com
>   The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the
>     Giver of all good things, so if I stand, let me stand on the
>       promise that You will pull me through.  -- Rich Mullins
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