After a long wait, Acornsoft has finally released the database manager we all knew must eventually arrive to complete the View 'family'.

Like the word processor (View) and the spreadsheet (ViewSheet), ViewStore is supplied on a ROM to be plugged into one of the paged ROM sockets on the BBC micro.

It comes in the usual smart Acornsoft packaging complete with a 115 page manual, reference card, keystrip, utilities disc and fitting instructions.

ViewStore is a random access database and as such will not work with the cassette filing system. It will, however, operate with the DFS, NFS and the new ADFS. The ability to operate with the ADFS means that it can also be used with Acorn Winchester hard disc drives and should also work on an Electron with Plus 3. I should point out that ViewStore does not work very well with the old Acorn 0.9 DFS and Acornsoft advise the fitting of the latest Acorn DNFS 1.2.

Apart from working with the standard model B BBC computer and the model B+, ViewStore will work with the 6502 second processor and with shadow RAM boards such as the Aries B-20 and new B-32.

Maximum file size in ViewStore is a staggering 4096 megabytes! In reality, the maximum file size is dictated by the drive connected to the computer. With the standard Acorn DFS, ViewStore has the drawback of only being able to utilize one disc surface for a datafile. This is unlike, say, StarBase or Datagem where multiple disc surfaces may be used as one continuous file. Using the ADFS with a double sided drive, however, will allow up to 720K. A Winchester gives between 10 and 30 megabytes.

Leaving aside this drawback of file size with the DFS, the rest of the specification of ViewStore reads like no other database yet released for the BBC micro. Maximum record size is 60K in theory, but limited by the screen mode that you choose to operate in. Yes, ViewStore will operate in any of the BBC's screen modes.

The maximum number of fields allowed is 254, and the maximum field size is 239 characters. Unlike other databases I have used, ViewStore operates both with the usual card layout and a spreadsheet layout too.

In spreadsheet layout, the screen scrolls sideways field-by-field, and up-and-down from record to record using the cursor keys. The displayed width of each field can be set by the user so although the field may be up to 239 characters, you can arrange to display only the part you generally need to see. Thus more fields can be accommodated on the screen at one time. Should you need to see the rest of the characters in the field, ViewStore has the unusual facility of letting you scroll the field window back and forth.

Each field can be given a title or referred to by number. Should you name the field you are restricted to 15 characters but this is no problem as ViewStore allows you to enter a description of the contents of the field at the time you set up the database. This can be up to 79 characters long and is displayed at the top of the screen as you move from field to field.

The data in each field can be alphanumeric, textual, numeric, date or American date. Data input validation is defined by the user when setting up the database, and as well as distinguishing between text, numerical data and date, the user can specify high and low limits to be entered in a field. Furthermore, a list of the permitted entries in the field can be specified too.

In card layout mode, the screen displays the maximum number of records that will fit. The design of the card layout is determined by the user and is effected by a system of marking and placing, using the cursor keys.

ViewStore is entered by typing *STORE which takes you to the command screen as in View and ViewSheet. The various files used in ViewStore are kept in certain directories and via the PREFIX command you can tell ViewStore which drives they are stored on.

To create a new database, a utility called SETUP is used. This puts a blank data file and format file onto the disc. When loaded into ViewStore you go to the edit mode and then enter the details for the format of the database and the header. This determines the layout of the database as regards fields, indexes, key width for sorting, and data validation. After this has been done you can enter your data.

One of the benefits of having separate format and datafiles, as in ViewStore, is that you may create as many format files as you require to operate on one set of data.

Your datafiles can also be changed in ViewStore, with the CONVERT utility. This allows the size of a datafile to be increased or decreased and permits the size of each record within that file to be changed also.

The IMPORT utility is designed to convert datafiles from other databases so that they can be read into ViewStore. This is an excellent idea and in practice worked with all the files I attempted to convert from other databases provided they were in ASCII format.

Searching for records in ViewStore is done using index files. Each field can only be searched if it has its own index file created. ViewStore allows up to 9 indexes which are continually updated, and as many read-only as you require. The read-only type are updated by the INDEX utility whilst the updateable ones are done automatically as records in the database are changed or added.

Apart from indexed searching, ViewStore has a utility called SELECT to create subsets of data. SELECT can be used on any number of fields with AND, OR and arithmetic operators also available. As with many of the other operations in ViewStore, leading and trailing wildcards may be used too.

After the records have been selected, they can be sorted, again on any number of fields and with a key length of up to 250 characters. In use, I found the sorting in ViewStore very fast indeed.

Subsets created by SELECT can be CONVERTed into datafiles if required and can also be used with the other utilities in ViewStore.

Outputting the data from ViewStore can be done to a SPOOL file or sent to a printer. The REPORT utility can give you a simple listing or one whose format is user-defined. User-defined reports can be made very complex with totalling and subtotalling of numeric fields, and calculations done using number registers. The results can be sent to a linking file and read into ViewSheet if desired. The report can be in spreadsheet or card type layout with text added, printer codes, headers and page numbering.

Other forms of output from ViewStore are via the other utilities supplied. LABEL will print labels for mailing lists etc., while MACRO produces macros for use with View and LINK will extract numeric data for reading into ViewSheet. The manual supplied with ViewStore is very comprehensive but requires careful study. There is an example database called CARS provided on the utilities disc, and a large proportion of the manual is given over to working with this to illustrate all the features of ViewStore.

In the space of this review I have really only outlined the main features of what is an extremely sophisticated and powerful database, and unlike any other I have used on the BBC micro.

ViewStore's one major drawback is its ability to utilize only one disc surface for a datafile, but then I blame the Acorn DFS in this respect for not allowing configuring of more than one disc surface, and for being only single-density [An ADFS upgrade is now available for the model B - see News page].

Any other criticisms of ViewStore must be regarded as nit-picking. Within the constraints of the BBC's memory and filing system, Mark Colton has produced a remarkable piece of software and at £58.90 inc. VAT, it is excellent value for money.

ViewStore is not the simplest of database packages to understand and some time and effort will be needed to appreciate fully what it is capable of. Despite that, there is no doubt in my mind that this is now the definitive database package for the BBC micro and the one that all others will be judged against in the future.