Zoomracks
Encyclopedia
Zoomracks was a shareware
database management system
for the Atari ST
and IBM PC
that used a card-file metaphor for displaying and manipulating data. Its main claim to fame was an early and somewhat contentious software patent lawsuit filed against Apple Computer
's HyperCard
and similar products.
Zoomracks, introduced in 1985, represented data in a form that was visually represented by a filing card, known as "QUICKCARD"s for some unclear reason. Cards could be designed within the program as a "template", using general-purpose data fields known as "FIELDSCROLL"s, which could hold up to 250 lines of 80 characters. Cards were collected into a "RACK", which was essentially a single database file. They display was character-based and did not make use of the Atari's GEM
interface even though this was the primary platform for the product. Unlike similar database programs of the era, Zoomracks did not support different types of data internally, everything was represented as text.
When a rack was opened the cards were displayed as if they were in a sort of linear rolodex
, and the user could "zoom in", non-graphically, on any particular area to see more details of the cards in that area, and then zoom in again to see all of the fields on a particular card. The racks could display their cards sorted in a variety of ways, making navigation much easier than with a real-world rolodex, which is sorted only by a single pre-defined index (normally last name). Data could be moved from database to database simply by cutting a card out of one stack and pasting it into another. Up to nine racks could be opened at one time.
Zoomracks II, introduced in 1987, added support for report generation and some basic mathematics. In order to extract a certain subset of the information in a rack and lay it out for printing, the original Zoomracks required the user to cut and paste the desired cards into a new rack. In Zoomracks II a report (possibly only one per rack?) could be defined, laid out as needed complete with headers and footers.
Zoomracks II also added a rudimentary "macro" system that allowed the user to assign a series of commands to a letter on the keyboard. A series of programming commands could be added by the user to the resulting macros, including basic loops, if/then and data input. Macros were physically stored as cards in a separate rack, and could be used "against" any other rack, although the usefulness of this seems questionable (code is generally tightly bound to the data it works on).
Zoomracks was well received and won "Best Database" by Compute!
magazine in January 1989. This does not appear to have translated into widespread use or sales, however, although much of this is likely due to Atari's deteriorating sales in the late 1980s.
Zoomrack's author, Paul Heckel (formerly of Xerox PARC
), received US Patent #4486857 for "Display system for the suppression and regeneration of characters in a series of fields in a stored record", describing the basic on-screen operation of the system. After allegedly attempting to license it for some time, in 1988 he filed a series of lawsuits against Apple, Asymetrix (makers of the HyperCard clone ToolBook), IBM (who used ToolBook) and others, as well as offering licenses to end-users of these products in case their uses infringed. Zoomracks itself seems to have disappeared, even by this point in time, and many commented on the lawsuit as a way to make money off a "dead" product, a theme that is very common today.
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
database management system
Database management system
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...
for the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
that used a card-file metaphor for displaying and manipulating data. Its main claim to fame was an early and somewhat contentious software patent lawsuit filed against Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
's HyperCard
HyperCard
HyperCard is an application program created by Bill Atkinson for Apple Computer, Inc. that was among the first successful hypermedia systems before the World Wide Web. It combines database capabilities with a graphical, flexible, user-modifiable interface. HyperCard also features HyperTalk, written...
and similar products.
Zoomracks, introduced in 1985, represented data in a form that was visually represented by a filing card, known as "QUICKCARD"s for some unclear reason. Cards could be designed within the program as a "template", using general-purpose data fields known as "FIELDSCROLL"s, which could hold up to 250 lines of 80 characters. Cards were collected into a "RACK", which was essentially a single database file. They display was character-based and did not make use of the Atari's GEM
Graphical Environment Manager
GEM was a windowing system created by Digital Research, Inc. for use with the CP/M operating system on the Intel 8088 and Motorola 68000 microprocessors...
interface even though this was the primary platform for the product. Unlike similar database programs of the era, Zoomracks did not support different types of data internally, everything was represented as text.
When a rack was opened the cards were displayed as if they were in a sort of linear rolodex
Rolodex
A Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information currently manufactured by Newell Rubbermaid. The Rolodex holds specially shaped index cards; the user writes the contact information for one person or company on each card...
, and the user could "zoom in", non-graphically, on any particular area to see more details of the cards in that area, and then zoom in again to see all of the fields on a particular card. The racks could display their cards sorted in a variety of ways, making navigation much easier than with a real-world rolodex, which is sorted only by a single pre-defined index (normally last name). Data could be moved from database to database simply by cutting a card out of one stack and pasting it into another. Up to nine racks could be opened at one time.
Zoomracks II, introduced in 1987, added support for report generation and some basic mathematics. In order to extract a certain subset of the information in a rack and lay it out for printing, the original Zoomracks required the user to cut and paste the desired cards into a new rack. In Zoomracks II a report (possibly only one per rack?) could be defined, laid out as needed complete with headers and footers.
Zoomracks II also added a rudimentary "macro" system that allowed the user to assign a series of commands to a letter on the keyboard. A series of programming commands could be added by the user to the resulting macros, including basic loops, if/then and data input. Macros were physically stored as cards in a separate rack, and could be used "against" any other rack, although the usefulness of this seems questionable (code is generally tightly bound to the data it works on).
Zoomracks was well received and won "Best Database" by Compute!
COMPUTE!
Compute! was an American computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994, though it can trace its origin to 1978 in Len Lindsay's PET Gazette, one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET computer. In its 1980s heyday Compute! covered all major platforms, and several single-platform...
magazine in January 1989. This does not appear to have translated into widespread use or sales, however, although much of this is likely due to Atari's deteriorating sales in the late 1980s.
Zoomrack's author, Paul Heckel (formerly of Xerox PARC
Xerox PARC
PARC , formerly Xerox PARC, is a research and co-development company in Palo Alto, California, with a distinguished reputation for its contributions to information technology and hardware systems....
), received US Patent #4486857 for "Display system for the suppression and regeneration of characters in a series of fields in a stored record", describing the basic on-screen operation of the system. After allegedly attempting to license it for some time, in 1988 he filed a series of lawsuits against Apple, Asymetrix (makers of the HyperCard clone ToolBook), IBM (who used ToolBook) and others, as well as offering licenses to end-users of these products in case their uses infringed. Zoomracks itself seems to have disappeared, even by this point in time, and many commented on the lawsuit as a way to make money off a "dead" product, a theme that is very common today.
External links
- Zoomracks II – review and description