Clipper is a well-established compiler for dBASE-type database manager input. The original dBASE system for PCs was essentially an interpreter and was often complained about because of its slowness. Several faster, compiled clones have since appeared, Fox-Base and Clipper among them.

This new book consists of four sections. The first section, containing four chapters, details the available functions in Clipper. A particularly valuable feature is an identification of when any function appeared in the system. This information is important because the current version of Clipper is 5.0, and software producers who use Clipper to generate commercial programs should know what to avoid to insure universal applicability. A useful chapter covers object-oriented programming.

The second section discusses in detail interfacing Clipper to assembler and C code. This section is well written and has many useful example code fragments. Section 3 considers add-ons, defined by the author to mean using combinations of supplied functions to generate new functions without the necessity of writing C or assembler code.

Finally, the formulation and creation of entirely new functions is considered. The author’s example is the construction of a special program to “call a cash register, download information, convert it to dBASEIII format, and then analyze the receipt and employee information.” Two valuable parts of this section are chapter 11, on the use of a mouse, and chapter 12, which contains an exhaustive discussion of graphic interfaces and display board structure.

Seven appendices describe Inkey return values, ASCII codes, assembly language commands, math coprocessors, and (most valuable of all) the addressing of peripheral chips. No bibliography is provided, but the index is excellent.

This book is suitable for the professional programmer. It is well produced and inexpensive, and I recommend it.