Reference Reference
Frances M. Peake, professional database developer has this to say about Alpha Five Made Easy . . .
Susan Bush and I met at the Alpha Five Developer's Conference in December of 2000. I was the professional developer. Susan used Alpha Five in her business. After a short conversation with Susan, I realized that she was much more than an end-user. She has made a study of Alpha Five over the years, pushing the product to its limits to serve her business needs.
Shortly after the conference, Susan came to our South Florida Database User Group meeting. She offered to give a presentation on a multi-step import procedure she had devised in Alpha Five. She impressed the group with detailed handouts and screen shots. Then she hosted the next few meetings while I was out of town. When I returned to the User Group meetings, Susan pitched the idea of doing a seminar to help Alpha Four users make the transition to Alpha Five thus our joint ventures, “Get Outta DOS” and then “Get into Alpha Five!” seminars were born.
When I returned to the User Group meetings, Susan pitched the idea of doing a seminar to help Alpha Four users make the transition to Alpha Five thus our joint venture, ABC Seminars, was born. We agreed that, with all the preparation it would require, the seminar would not be a big money maker. So I asked, "What would you want to get out of it?" She stated very emphatically, "I want to do an Alpha Five book." I can't remember whether I said this out loud, but my first thought was "Are you out of your mind?" But I knew it was true, Susan was going to write her Alpha Five book.
The book that you hold in your hands is not simply the product of Susan's experience as an advanced-level Alpha Five user. It is a product of her vision and seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm. It is also a product of many, many hours of research, writing, editing and above all, attention to detail. Like so many of us in the Alpha Five community, Susan saw a need for additional training and support materials for Alpha Five. Any of us who have ever contemplated actually writing such a book and imagined ourselves as the author of, "Step 1. Right-click the mouse…Step 2. Choose Properties…" can only begin to appreciate what Susan has accomplished here.
This book can be used as both a tutorial and reference manual. Susan has achieved a healthy and practical balance between tutorial and reference by offering short, compartmentalized exercises. The book and disk that accompanies it are designed so that you can start at any chapter. For example, if you want to jump right into designing forms, you will not be lost if you have not followed the lessons from Chapter 1. You will find that every chapter is chock-full of valuable information for Alpha Five users of all levels.
The value of Susan's experience using Alpha Five in a real-world business environment cannot be underestimated. It is evident throughout the book in the plain-English explanations of each Alpha Five feature and in the examples she uses. You will appreciate the generous use of screen shots to guide you through the exercises. Best of all are the tips and hints she provides to help shorten the learning curve so that you can get the most out of Alpha Five.
On behalf of Alpha Five users and enthusiasts everywhere, thank you Susan for writing these books!
- Frances M. Peake, President, Proctor & Peake, Inc.
- Go to www.proctorandpeake.com for information on web & database solutions.
