What's in a name?

If you have been a long-time member of the Alpha family, you are likely to be familiar with the progression from Alpha Four to Alpha Five to Alpha Anywhere. However, if you are a new user, it may be a bit confusing. I liken it to my blended family. Those in the know can figure out the relationships – others need a two page diagram.

We need for you to understand it because the changes have affected our book titles.

The Quick Story

The Full Story

Alpha Four: Alpha Software began back in the DOS days with its initial database product called Alpha Four.

Alpha Five:

The change from DOS to Windows required an entirely new way to develop databases, hence the name change to Alpha Five.

In time web design was added to its capabilities. The Grid offered a revolutionary way to use any data type with simple “pick and click” design.

Then along came smart phones and tablets, creating the mobile era. The UX component was originally designed as a “Dialog” component,^[1] but early experimentation showed it was ideal for mobile due to its low payload. Work began on expanding its use and the component name was changed from Dialog to UX (short for User Experience).

Alpha Anywhere:

In order to fully describe its versatility, the name was changed to Alpha Anywhere (powered by Alpha Five Version 12). The fee structure was changed to subscription.

All of that seems fairly straight forward, except that Alpha Five V12 remains the engine for Alpha Anywhere. That is why you will find the program files for Alpha Anywhere in the c:\ Program Files (x86) > A5V12 \ directory.

It also explains why Alpha Anywhere is not version specific. In other words, even though a release may be promoted as Alpha Anywhere 3.0, 3.1, etc., it is still powered Alpha Five V12.