DATATRIEVE
| Company type | Proprietary software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Database management |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | Jim Starkey (project overseer) |
| Headquarters | Merrimack and Nashua, New Hampshire , United States |
| Products | Database querying and report generation tool |
| Owner | Digital Equipment Corporation |
DATATRIEVE is a tool designed for database querying and report generation, initially created by Digital Equipment Corporation. It functions on the OpenVMS platform as well as various PDP-11 operating systems. With a command syntax that closely resembles everyday English, DATATRIEVE represents an early instance of a Fourth Generation Language (4GL).
Overview
DATATRIEVE interacts with flat files, indexed files, and databases by utilizing record definitions located either in the Common Data Dictionary (CDD) or within RMS files. It continues to be extensively employed in numerous OpenVMS systems.
History
Originating in the late 1970s and early 1980s, DATATRIEVE was developed by DEC’s Central Commercial Engineering groups based in Merrimack and Nashua, New Hampshire. The project was overseen by database architect Jim Starkey, with several team members later achieving significant positions in database management and software engineering.
The first iteration for the PDP-11 was released in 1977, followed by the VAX version of DATATRIEVE in 1981 as part of the VAX Information Architecture suite.
The unofficial mascot associated with DATATRIEVE was the wombat; its help feature included a “HELP WOMBAT” command that provided facts about actual wombats.
The structure of DATATRIEVE’s queries and commands mimics the form of English sentences but demands exact syntax rather than free-form natural language input:
DTR> FOR FAMILIES WITH NUMBER_KIDS = 2
CON> PRINT KID_NAME, AGE OF KIDS WITH AGE GT 20
In addition to querying, DATATRIEVE permits data updates:
DTR> FOR FAMILIES MODIFY EACH_KID OF FIRST 1 KIDS
Enter KID_NAME:
It also facilitates operations that span multiple datasets, enabling combined data views through joins:
DTR> PRINT NAME, TYPE, PRICE OF
CON> YACHTS CROSS OWNERS OVER TYPE