| I used DPL about 7 years ago (on TOPS-20). It's more similar to
Datatrieve than to a database system. Like DTR, you could build little
menu driven systems for maintaining and reporting on the data. I
believe the files were typical TOPS ASCII stream files. Each domain
and index was a separate file. DPL used to maintain only 1 index
for each data file. Other indicies could be built, but they were not
updated as data was added/deleted/modified (though this restriction
may have been eased in later years). I don't remember much about the
data manipulation language, but it certainly was not SQLish. It was
closer to DTR, but there were a lot of differences. I think that there
may be a problem with pushing DTR since DPL had more features than
DTR (When I was learning DTR, I remember there were lots of things DTR
couldn't do that DPL would let me do. what those are exactly, I don't
remember.)
|
| You might want to give the Center for Migration Services a call on
this one. DPL ( Data Processing Language ) was a product of National
Information Systems (NIS). It was replaced several years ago by a
product called ACCENT-R. NIS has a DPL to ACCENT-R conversion utility.
There is an ACCENT-R product which runs on the DECsystem-10's and 20s
as well as VAX/VMS.
It was used for quick and dirty data entry and retrieval systems, much
like Datatrieve. I used it extensively at the site I worked at before
coming to DEC 8 years ago. It has been replaced with SMARTSTAR (third
party) at that site now.
It is similar to System 1032 if you are familiar with that product. It
really doesn't convert easily to anything else other than ACCENT-R. If
the customer has a lot of programs written in this and wants to keep
his investment, his best bet will be to convert to ACCENT-R. The cost
for redevelopment and rewrite will be extensive.
Michael Davidson
Center for Migration Services
dtn 526-2002, (719)260-2002
|