Clipper is a compiler for dBASE programs. It was originally made necessary by the extreme slowness of the original dBASE interpreter. The use of the Clipper compiler involves some expertise, and a number of add-on program libraries have emerged to facilitate its operation.

This book contains a number of promotional items such as a list of contents, foreword, preface, and biographies of the series editor and of the author. The body of the text consists of descriptions of the 102 functions that are provided on an included floppy disc.

The material is well organized. Each item contains a description, syntax, returned item, file name, arguments, a typical use, a note of any global variables, and any cross references. Following this is a lengthy discussion of the function and one or more fully coded examples.

The author provides three appendices. The first is a good introduction to the use of libraries based on MASM but applicable to other assemblers. The second appendix describes in detail how to customize the included library, and the third appendix is, effectively, an index to the main contents. The book also includes a brief bibliography.

Both novice and professional Clipper users will find this compendium useful.