Has IRis 3.0 been released?
Yes. The initial release started shipping on April 30, 2002.

Do current IRis users need to pay for the upgrade ?
Yes. IRis 3.0 is a major upgrade with new features and capabilities previously unavailable in earlier versions.

What is the difference in an upgrade and an update?
Updates are free, while upgrades have a fee associated with them. Check the Downloads section of our web site for available 2.3 updates.

How is the conversion from IRis 2.3 handled?
The IRis 3.0 installation disk will install the program to your computer (or network server, if applicable). During the installation, the program will pause and ask you for the location of your IRis 2.3 data files. IRis 3.0 will copy the 2.3 files into version 3.0 -- in other words, your 2.3 files will not be overwritten, or erased, by the 3.0 installation/conversion process. The conversion routine is also accessible if you want to bring in some IRis 2.3 data after 3.0 is installed.

What happens to my IRis 2.3 application?
The IRis 2.3 application and data will remain on your hard drive until you physically go in and delete it. SunCoast recommends storing this information for a short period of time, as a backup, or archive, if you have room for it.

Now that I have version 3.0, can I give my 2.3 version to another agency?
No. According to the license agreement, if you upgrade your software, you still own just the one license - you are simply replacing the version.

What programming language was used to develop IRis 3.0?
The majority of the application was written in the latest version of Visual FoxPro, version 7.0; components of Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 were used for the remainder.

Is IRis a “relational” database program?
Yes. The IRis 3.0 application currently includes 133 fully relational database tables. These tables hold your data.

What are the limitations of the database tables in IRis?
According to Microsoft, each Visual FoxPro table can hold up to 2 Gigabytes of information, with no performance issues reported even when exceeding this limit.

Is 2 Gigs too small?
This is just the limit of a single (1) table; IRis actually has 133 tables (so far).

To our knowledge, the largest FoxPro program written to date processes all the data that runs the 24/7 operation of the Euro Tunnel (the railway that runs under the English channel, between England and France). Their application uses data sets in excess of 128 Gigs of data.

How does the 2 Gig limit affect IRis users?
There is no known problem with the FoxPro language or IRis that would limit the software application to “max out” at a certain number of records.

Example (applies to both IRis 2.3 and 3.0):

To reach the 2 Gig file size limit in a single table, you would need to have entered, conservatively, about two million contact/caller records. Since any referrals, indexes and such are stored as separate files, you’re talking about filling a 3-4 Gig hard drive with nothing but contact/caller records. Or, think of it this way: If you enter 100,000 caller records in a year, you would be able to keep 20 years worth of history before you reach the file size limit.

As the data in IRis grows, will it cause IRis to become slower or break down performance?
One of the reasons we chose to develop IRis using Visual FoxPro is because of its Rushmore technology processing/search engine which optimizes the indexing performance of applications written in VFP. It is precisely this technology that prompted Microsoft to purchase the FoxPro language from its original developer. The Rushmore technology is, and has been, the leading technology for over a decade.

All databases require periodic indexing. VFP and Rushmore provide an incredibly stable, powerful, and--above all—fast, indexing technology to VFP applications. Indexing performance only becomes an issue when users are consistently removing data records and then restoring them or re-inputting new records with very similar index keys. All databases (in any programming language) require periodic indexing and compacting, which is why IRis 3.0 comes with a built-in feature for both.

Does SunCoast offer an archive utility program for IRis?
Yes. The IRis 2.3 caller archive program is available as a free download from the SunCoast web site. Many of our customers have used this utility with no problems reported. Development of the archive utility for version 3.0 is underway and will be available shortly.

What if we have over 2 million programs/agencies in our database? We can’t archive those!
There are a couple of solutions:

What is the expected release date of IRis 3.1?
For the first few months following the initial release, users can expect weekly updates. The first formal update to the initial release is due out in July.

How do IRis 3.0 users update their application?
After completing the registration form through the Internet, users are given access to the current update file on the SunCoast web site. Users download the file to a temporary file on their hard drive. Once the downloaded file is opened, it will automatically install the update.

Do Multi-Users have to update each workstation connected to the server?
No. The update file is installed to the network server.

How long does it take to perform the updates?
The time it takes to download the update file will depend on the speed of your Internet connection -- with a 56K modem, it takes about 1 hour to download; with a DSL/Cable modem, it takes less than 10 minutes. Installing the update takes about 2 minutes.

Does IRis 3.0 contain new features and capabilities, or did you just update the appearance of the user interface to make it look more updated?
With approximately 97% of the code completely rewritten, IRis 3.0 is a big step up from previous versions. In addition, as requested by current IRis users, many new features have been added to version 3.0. Please visit the SunCoast web site at www.suncoastprograms.com to see a list of new features/capabilities or to view a Power Point presentation. Or, order a Demo of 3.0 and see for yourself, it’s FREE!

What are the minimum system requirements?
Please refer to the SunCoast web site or contact sales@suncoastprograms.com for documentation.

Does IRis 3.0 contain performance management features?
Performance management is programmed at the application level; not the server level. IRis developers have used various built-in VFP features to monitor and enhance performance of IRis in both the single-user and multi-user environments.

Does IRis contain a record-locking feature?
By design, when a record is opened, IRis 2.3 and 3.0 automatically lock the record. This means that when any other users try to open a file already in use, access will be denied until the record is released by the first user. This feature is important to preserving the integrity of your data by eliminating the possibility of two operators accessing/modifying the same record simultaneously, which would cause records to be overwritten and changes to be lost. With IRis, this is not a concern.

With the multi-user version of IRis 3.0, how many concurrent users can access IRis at the same time?
IRis 3.0 has been optimized for concurrent multi-user use according to the guidelines Microsoft has established for its multi-user environment. The IRis 3.0 executable does not run on a server in the multi-user scenario, but runs off the client machine using data located on the server. There is no limit to the number of concurrent users able to access a FoxPro-based application. The limitations are caused by the hardware used and/or corrupted data. ANY database system that is not properly maintained will cause user problems.

Does IRis 3.0 contain administrative security features?
Complete multi-layer client information security is actually built-in to IRis 3.0. Activity-level permissions can also be easily created to prevent unwanted access to portions of the application. Permissions are based on NT-Windows 2000 technology.

What about support?
SunCoast offers a full range of support for the entire line of IRis Software Products. There is also a free on-line IRis-Users Group – an invaluable source of information for people coping with issues. IRis, without customization, should require little to no support.

Our staff has little or no database management/programming expertise -- do we need a FoxPro professional on staff to run IRis?
You do not need a FoxPro expert on staff to run your IRis or manage your database, unless you want to. All necessary database management components are built into IRis 3.0, and require only the knowledge of how to use the mouse. A working knowledge of the Windows operating system will also be helpful.

How hard is it to customize IRis 3.0?
One of the benefits of using VFP to develop IRis 3.0 is that it allowed us the flexibility to build an application that is extremely easy for our customers to customize themselves. You don’t have to have loads of experience as a database programmer; everything from changing the layout of your screens and order/placement of the fields to generating a variety of reports, plus the ability to write your own reports or export the data to third-party programs (such as Access, Excel, Word) for data manipulation is easily done with IRis 3.0.

Can we use third-party programs to manipulate our data?
IRis 3.0 is self-contained, so you do not need to use outside programs to produce wonderful statistical reports. However, if you want to, features have been built-in to the program that allow you to export your data to programs like Access, Excel, Word and Crystal Reports.