Heading North to find fast indexes and BBQ
June 21, 2012
The Eloquence database has become a drop-in replacement for IMAGE/SQL as part of HP 3000 migrations. The version 8.20 includes fast text searches using new indexes, and a 2.5-day seminar taught in North America takes place next month on July 25-27. Making travel plans soon might be in order -- plus there's a legacy of BBQ to follow the training.
MB Foster’s 25th Annual BBQ -- a cookout, for any unfamiliar with such a gathering -- caps off the gathering, taking place Saturday, July 28 at the Foster HQ in Ontario, about 45 minutes from the Ottawa airport. During the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which precede the BBQ, extended training on the latest version Eloquence unfolds at the headquarters. This is the first year that Birket Foster has extended an open invite to anyone in the 3000 community to his event. Details are on the website.
MB Foster has released a detailed agenda (above) for those two-plus days leading to the BBQ. Eloquence has gotten regular improvements and new features for many of the years of the 3000 Transition Era. It's more than a database; it's an environment including its own language. Marxmeier understands 3000 structures enough to have created a QUERY/3000 which now runs on non-3000 platforms.
Over the course of the seminar, "There will be an opportunity to see and discuss the utilities that come with Eloquence B.08.0, B.08.10 and details of the recently-released B.08.20 version, with the 08.20 features including Full Text Indexing and ability to do indexing on numeric fields." Signing up for the seminar is a matter of a quick email, or a call to 800-ANSWERS, extension 204.
As you might expect, MBF-Reporter -- a software tool that can be used on 3000 systems as well as others -- gets demonstrated and explained during the seminar's second day. It's integrated with Eloquence in a way to help users who have a need for speed, as Birket Foster says. "What 8.20 indexing can do for you" is a highlight that can let a manager come away with concepts and structure for extending the power of corporate databases.
Accomodations for the July seminar and BBQ can be had at the Southway Inn, 2431 Bank Street in Ottawa just a few minutes from the airport. MB Foster's got a Corporate Rate of $139 CDN per night for the asking.