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Archive-name: auto/comp.sys.sun.apps/Help-Desk-Management-System-Version-4-Available

The Help Desk Management System (HDMS), a database application currently
in production running the corporate help desk at Delmarva Power in
Newark, Delaware, is now available for anonymous FTP on ftp.delmarva.com
(138.39.7.10) as pub/hdms/HDMS.tar.Z.  We also have a mailing list for
the HDMS.  Subscription requests should be sent to
hdms-request@delmarva.com, while postings should be sent to
hdms@delmarva.com.  Local personnel are on this mailing list to answer
questions.

Note that our Internet-link is limited to 14.4 kbps, so (1) be polite
and don't FTP during the middle of the day, and (2) don't expect a speedy
transfer.  The file is about 1.5 Megs compressed, and expands to about
9.5 Megs after uncompressing.  We are in the process of upgrading to a full
56 KBPS on SURAnet Real Soon Now (September 92 hopefully).

The HDMS is an "openly available" (this basically means free, but read
the disclaimer in the package for complete details) application based on
the UNIFY 2000 RDBMS and the ACCELL/SQL application development
environment, both products from UNIFY Corporation.  (Note that these
*must* be purchased to install the HDMS.)

The HDMS has been released previously for UNIFY DBMS and ACCELL IDS
(also products from UNIFY Corporation), but this release represents a
migration to UNIFY 2000 and ACCELL/SQL.  The following notes may be of
interest, especially if you looked at the earlier release of the HDMS:

(1) UNIFY 2000 is a much more robust RDBMS engine than UNIFY DBMS was.
    As a result of this and work done on the scripts, problems such as
    duplicate problem numbers and such have been solved.

(2) There is now a *real* installation guide.  We tested it and were
    able to successfully bring up the database and application from the
    tar file and my directions.  (Note that the installer was *not* the
    person who wrote the installation manual.)

(3) The "prob" program, which is a cornerstone of the Problem Management
	 sub-system of the HDMS, has been *drastically* improved in that it
    has been modularized and "magic numbers" have been removed.  The
    commenting is not perfect, but we are working on that for our own
    benefit, and will make it available after completion.

(4) All of the C programs now have Makefiles.

(5) The documentation (for both users and administrators) has been
    drastically improved.

	- John                   

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John K. Scoggin, Jr.			Email:   scoggin@udel.edu
Supervisor, Network Operations			 scoggin@delmarva.com
Delmarva Power & Light Co.		Voice:	 302-451-5200
P.O. Box 6066				Fax:	 302-451-5321
Newark, DE 19714-6066
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