VP-Info

VP-Info is a database language for the personal computer. VP-Info was a competitor to the Clipper and dBase applications in the late 1980s and 1990s. VP-Info runs on MS-DOS, DR-DOS and the PC-MOS/386 operating system. It can be run on modern computers using an emulator such as DOSBox or dbDOS. The last release of VP-Info was named Shark.

Origin

In the early 80s, David Clark met Dr. George Gratzer, a mathematics professor at the University of Manitoba, at ComputerLand in Winnipeg where Dr Gratzer was looking for someone who could program in dBase. Mr Clark had been using dBase II, but was frustrated by its limitations for reporting on more than 2 tables at a time. While working for Standard Knitting (a client of Dr. Gratzer's and Mr Clark's), David wrote a report generator called dComp that would allow up to six related data files to be in use at one time and run faster than the slow, dBase II. Mr Clark and Mr Gratzer subsequently formed a partnership in a company called "Sub Rosa" that developed dComp into a full dBase II compatible language/database called Max that had more speed and "power tools" than even dBase III contained. Mr Clark designed and developed the program while Dr Gratzer wrote the reference and tutorial manuals. This product was published by Paperback Software and sold over 30,000 copies (worldwide) in 1987 alone. The published reference manual for VP-Info was over 900 pages and the program was distributed in an extra thick back cover which was an innovation for all Paperback Software products at that time.