Chip, It sounds like I'm running roughly a software generation behind you. I first played with dBase IV (maybe it was dBase V, I had both versions at one time). I did a basic inventory type program for a company I was working for. In the early/mid 90's, when I got into farm equipment, I penciled out a structure for a customer relationship management program. I never did set it up, but I've looked at the structure since, and still think it would be useful now. However, I'll never roll it out as I'm now working for a larger company with multiple locations. Making something work for one or three people in one office is a whole lot different than making it work for a dozen or more in five locations.

Funny you should mention Clipper. I purchased that program. I bought the upgrade version accidentally but didn't realize my mistake until after I opened the box. The store wouldn't take it back since it was opened (claiming Canadian law), and the company wouldn't take it back or upgrade me as they said I bought it from the store. To this day, I remember that Computer Associates left me hanging, and won't knowingly buy one of their products again.

I ended up renting a full copy (for a few years you could do that here) and found that the only difference was one text file that had an unlock code in it. I did make my first and only attempt at password cracking over this situation. I had a copy of Turbo Pascal, so I set up a routine to pass every possible ascii code to Clipper. After a day, I just shut it down. Brute force on a 386 computer was a bit slow.

After all that, I never did type a single line of code in Clipper. Seems to me, the password cracker was one of only a handful of small programs I did in Pascal as well! I had lots of dreams. No staying power, I guess. I admire programmers that can take an idea to completion.