Q&A databases (as well as applications based on other software) can be converted to a true relational database. Java, a popular programming language, is used to convert the application forms and program logic. We have extensive experience converting Q&A and can create a Java-based application that looks and acts almost identical to a Q&A database. That includes Q&A's easy-to-use retrieve specs as well as import and export specs.

We have created a demo that illustrates what a converted application might look like and it makes evident how closely we can mimic the look and feel of a Q&A database (DOS or Windows).

The demo is of an extremely simple order entry application. The demo is based on three Q&A Windows databases, ORDER, CUSTOMER, and STOCK; the programming in those databases is now in Java, and the data is stored in a relational database.

Please take a few moments to view screen images of the Java Demo. The actual demo has some features not portrayed in these images, but the images are sufficient to show what a migrated Q&A database looks like.

Why would you want to convert to something other than Q&A (or Sesame) when it is so easy to use? The basic answer is that it is an end user database, designed for people who run their business by day and program Q&A by night. Many of our clients were the original developers of the Q&A databases currently in use. However, their businesses have been so successful that they have outgrown the capabilities of Q&A. Now when the owner/developers need more features to support a more complicated business, they no longer have the time to do further development, let alone learn something entirely new.

We can convert your existing application to a true relational database and reprogram it in Java. With a true relational database, you have "scalability," which means that the amount of data you have can grow virtually without limits because, if needed, you can choose another database to stand behind your application, a database with greater capabilities.

With Java, you can easily put your data on the Internet. Customers can see the status of an order. Agents can update the status of a job.

Because applications are programmed in Java, we are not constrained by the limitations of an end user database. We can deliver virtually any functionality you want. Data in multiple databases can easily be updated on the spot, with no need to wait for later batch posting processes run by hideously large DOS macros.

Java is inherently more powerful than Q&A. I have been working on a document that lists the enhancements you get just as a result of migration from Q&A to Java. The current version is JavaEnhancements.txt.

The demo comes with the "Derby" database preinstalled as a convenience. However, the program will work with several other databases. While Derby installs with the demo, the others require an appropriate database server to be installed separately; that effort is not worthwhile just for a demo. Derby (as installed with the demo) only supports a single user at a time. The other databases of course support many users at the same time.

When the program starts, you are asked to select which database to use. Select "Derby", the first choice.

The demo will automatically install into C:\JavaDemo and after installation it will start automatically. (The file you download is quite large because it includes Java and the report writer, JasperReports. They are packaged with the demo as a convenience so that everything installs at once and the program can be run immediately. Normally Java and JasperReports would be installed separately on your workstations.)

Download, install, and run the demo (version 3/20/2009)