Need Advice. What is Progress Language

[sthomas]

I just started working for a company that wants to invest $150,000 in a software package written in a language called Progress. It is a programming language as well as a database. I am one of two programmers at this company. They are asking my advice and I am pretty set on not using an unfamiliar language. My supervisor is very much in support of buying the package. However, we are going to need to tie into this database in order to create web pages, as well as custom applications written in VB. This package will probably do about 85% of what we need but will require 15% customization at $150 an hour from this company. The other alternative is to write it myself. It will need to include a billing, statements, Accounts payable, inventory etc. A BIG JOB.

#1. If Progress is a good language, please respond.
#2. If a rewrite is neccessary, does anyone know of any good objects that are already written for Billing, Inventory, etc.

I know this is a loaded question but just wanted some feedback.

Thanks

[jim mcnamara]

Progress is a fine product. I suspect he vendor is trying to drum up business by intimating that NOBODY can mess with Progress but him.

Progress is ODBC compliant which means you can use Crystal Reports, and VB to mess around with it. You can also link Access to the tables in a Progress db, and do all sorts of things. Progress also has internal reporting facilities and dml (data manipulating language), plus SQL. It's a truly GOOD product.

There is however, something decidedly not right.

It doesn't sound like whoever did your software search did a thorough job. At all. The product at the top of the list only meets 85% of requirements. This is absurd. I was just at a CIS conference in Albuquerque. There are HUNDREDS of vendors that have

already written for Billing, Inventory, etc.

virtually anything you can consider, and at almost every price range and platform.

Your business model is not so unique that there aren't 10 products out there that match it 98%.

My professional opinion - redo the search. Correctly.
This kind of thing derails a companies bigtime, and any CEO who puts up with it is letting himself into a quagmire.

[sthomas]

Thank you for that insight. You make me feel better about Progress as a database and programming language. The 85% thing is a hard one because this company has a legagy system written in a Language called VO. The VO system is so integrated into this company that the staff feels they will need to keep it. SO now we will have a VO system, and if we add the Progress system we will have a progress system. Now I will be out writting programs in VB hooking into Progress. My thought would be to get some standards in place and stick to them. Progress may be a good system but would it not make sense to get an SQL server in and try and convert the VO to SQL and either rewrite a new system or find one that is also SQL. Maybe I am making this platform thing a bigger issue than it is?????