Date   : Thu, 08 Dec 1983 17:53:00-PST
From   : ABN.ISCAMS@usc-isid
Subject: Re: DBMS NEEDED FOR CPM APPLE

Ron (et al)

I queried 1LT Pires about that momentous database (and the hardware he
planned to run it on).  Turns out the specs he discussed (6000 records,
1000 characters per record, 250 chars per field, 48 fields) were MAX,
way out, absolute extremes for each specification, and not all together!
In other words, nope, he won't have one huge DB with 600 records, each
having 1000 chars per record, 48 fields, 25 chars per field!

But he MIGHT have 6000 records with much smaller sizes, or a couple of
hundred records with 48 fields, or 3 fields with 250 chars per field.
And available DBMS's won't handle those extremes (at least not to our
knowledge).  That's why the query.

By the way, he and I are discussing "pre-processing" to reduce record
length or numbers of fields or other DBMS-imposed constraints to trim
the filed data down to a swallowable size (in the event an appropriate
DBMS cannot be found for under megabuck range).  (We DO think of the
taxpayer's money, after all!)

Regards, and thanks for the query to keep us on our toes!

David Kirschbaum
SGM, USA
Corps Automation Mgt Office
HQ XVIII Abn Corps, Ft Bragg