Newbie question

NAB37

I will be the first to admit that I don't know what I'm doing. But I have dabbled a little here and there so I'm willing to give this a try...maybe you will too? I work at a company with some very antiquated software. We have a program that was built using no less that 8 different DOS-based applications strung together. We've managed to keep this thing working for quit a while now and still add new data to the source files and recompile them regularly. But, we're getting pretty nervous about the age and complexity of this application and want to replace it with a database-driven application. The input to the application is a text file that contains a bunch of 5-digit alpha-numeric codes like "E5101" or "E5101QTY=2". Each code represents either some very specific instructions to our manufacturing shop or some Bill of Material data (BOM). For example the "E5101" code means to take the part we're building, put some glue into the hole, and then insert a bushing into that hole and let the glue dry. The example of the "E5101QTY=2" is a BOM code and it basically means that we will need two of the bushings that are used for the assembly. I hope this is clear as it is a simple but powerful concept. Now, the output of the application is another text file which contains these same codes but in a logical order. For example the code to issue some raw material needs to come before the code to cut that material and that needs to come before a code to paint that material. And BOM codes need to be separated from codes that are work instructions. So the order of the codes has been revised based on some rules/tags/parameters that we have been assigning. Finally, my question is how should I approach replacing this application with a database? Meaning, do you have some suggestions about what types of products are already out there for doing this, or can you point me to some projects here that are similar in function? It is really pretty simple in some ways, take a limited set of strings and reorder them based on a set of rules. But the rules are as complex as a geneology tree, which is one of the main software components that comprise this application. It was developed at the Mormon university BYU where they are big into tracing their ancestry. This worked for industrial applications because to correctly order these codes the user needs to be able to build something like a database and have a way of relating the contents. But this was done before databases had been formalized. So, please be kind to a newbie and give me

David Mujica

http://www.codeproject.com/Messages/3290539/newbie-question.aspx[^]

Blue_Boy

I guess company in which you are working,they need to buy new software to replace that old software.

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NAB37

Yes David, thanks for your response, the only one so far that is meaningful! I do plenty of flow charting and process mapping so that's already been covered. I do understand our current system inputs/outputs/relations. I think the real questions center around whether there are some products out there that could be used/adapted to this or if not then what type of database structure/model would be recommended. In this case can any examples or samples from this board be referenced?