Features in Depth (updated)

dBASE 8.1 brings back the popular Multi-lingual support that users of dBASE have come to expect. The latest release of dBASE adds back the support for German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish and of course the default language of English.

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dBASE 8.1 has enhanced the ActiveX capability in every way. ActiveX support has been limited over the past couple of releases. Microsoft® has changed many of the underlying frameworks and interfaces and now dBASE better supports well-behaved ActiveX controls and automation.

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dBASE 8.1 updates a number of key components to enhance the capability of prior releases. Updates to Notebook and Menus allows users to use the components as they expect.

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dBASE 8.1 introduces a new level of convenience with the addition of the User BDE Alias page found in the Desktop Properties dialog. Now there is no need to jump into BDE Administrator to add a User Alias.

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dBASE 8.1 introduces a new internal graphics engine that allows for better support of the most commonly used graphics formats available today. This means support for BMP, PNG, ICO, GIF and others like animated GIF format.

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Implemented via 128 bit decimal floating point numbers that support up to 34 digits of precision. A decimal floating-point number is stored using a base 10 value, which reduces conversion errors that normally occur switching back and forth to base two floating-point values.

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Being able to use an ADO data source is great, but we did not stop there. We have also added in several custom ADO components that make working with ADO a breeze in dBASE PLUS 8.

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More has changed under the hood of dBASE PLUS 8 than just support of Microsoft’s latest operating system. We have also added support for connecting to ADO datasets.

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The new support for ADO includes the ability to create and use Microsoft based UDL files. A UDL File stands for universal data link (.udl) file is essentially a text file that contains the connection string for an OLE DB data source. This connection string can then be loaded into dBASE and used by the components and tools to connect to ADO data sources.

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Completely redesigned, the SQL Designer can be used to quickly pull all of your data together in a visual way. You can see the relationships between each dataset, and create result sets that meet the true business needs of your application.

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dBASE has always had the ability to run ActiveX controls since they were introduced by Microsoft. dBASE has started to add additional ActiveX controls to the product to fill-in areas of functionality that is currently missing from the standard components included in dBASE. The new controls are focused on areas people have requested: dJvClockX Control – A quick clock control for standing time management. Support both digital and analog look and feel, support Dates, and it also has full support for Alarms. dJvDriveComboX Control – This is a simple window Drive combobox. It will show all the registered drives on a system. Find and interact with those drives in a couple clicks. dJvDirectoryListBox Control – This is a Directory listing component and can be easily connected to the dJvDriveComboX component. This will allow for traversing a drive and directory on a registered drive. Many advanced features are included with its Properties, Methods, and Events. dJvFileListBoxX Control – dJvFileListBoxX is a file listbox that shows all of the files inside a particular directory on a registered drive. This component works very well with both the dJvDriveCombo Control and the dJvDirectoryListBox control. This component has many advanced features that are exposed from its Properties, Methods, and Events. dBASE also supports 3rd party ActiveX components. The .ocx or .dll that are accompanied with the ActiveX’s must be deployed with your application.

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In addition to supporting themes inside of dBASE PLUS 8, it also support docking of tool windows. Therefore, tool windows like Component, Format, Fields, and the Inspector can now be docked to the sides of the screen, stacked on top of each other with a tab interface, or strategically laid out to the developer content. In addition to supporting tool windows, the product also supports movable menus as well.

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dBASE PLUS 8 now includes an updated and modernized interface. These additional features include new professional icons, updated wizard graphics, and support for Microsoft Themes. The product appearance has been updated as the new default theme is based on the black color scheme, which is configurable by the user at any time including while the product is running.

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dBASE PLUS 8 has a wide range of new graphical features, that include Icons, Application Themes, new components, and also new textures. Developers can now use these textures to create modern looking interfaces that are very common today. These textures are used in the background property of the form and the product supports all common window sizes for easy application building.

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There is more to staying current than just maintaining functionality. While the user interface for dBASE PLUS 8 has itself been enhanced to look more modern, we realize that the applications dBASE users have created also need to be updated with the times. That is one reason dBase, LLC has partnered with Glyfx to provide a rich set of visually stunning graphics that can be used to enhance the look of any dBASE application.

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The new IDE supports Microsoft’s themes, these are packaged colors, fonts, and window looks. The current themes supported in dBASE PLUS 8 include most of the standard themes using in Microsoft office 2007 and 2010.

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One of the important features of an MDI interface, which dBASE PLUS 8 is based, is the ability to quickly find Windows, Wizard, tool windows in the interface. The new Window tab manager can be customized to the developer’s desire and really help find and manage open windows.

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The updated project file allows users to build applications with all needed resources (tables, forms, queries, bitmaps, and so on). In addition to keeping things organized, having a project file lets you Compile and build a project. It also allows you to set properties for the project as a whole and set properties for individual files. It will allow you to designate which file should be the first to open when your executable file is run.

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Getting help when and where you need it is important to everyone. In dBASE PLUS 8 we have updated the content and enhanced the in app help system just as we have been expanding our available training solutions for dBASE users. Knowing how to get things done right in dBASE PLUS 8 is as important to us here at dBase, LLC as it is to you.

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One of the biggest concerns on the minds of current dBASE users is the future. Will dBASE continue to work on future operating systems. With dBASE PLUS 8, we have certified that all major and minor features of the product continue to work well on Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 8.

A callback allows you to write a function or method in dBL code and setup a pointer to it that can be passed to an external program – such as Windows or the BDE or some other 3rd party software that supports callbacks. Callbacks can be used to notify your program of specific events occurring with an external program OR to allow your program to modify what an external program is doing.

These are included tools to help migrate from prior releases of dBASE.

Specialized tools for building applications for the web.

Allows dBASE application exe’s to be deployed and run on user’s workstations, servers, and web-servers.

Compiles source code into a highly compact object code (also called “byte code”) either on demand or only when needed – prior to running it.

A debugger that has a graphical user interface inside of the development environment and is a used to test and debug other programs (the ‘target’ program).

A highly optimized interpreter for executing dBASE object code (byte code) that has been generated by the dBASE compiler.

The Command window is used to directly execute one-line dBL commands. It is handy for testing simple expressions and immediately seeing the results in the results pane.

The Navigator provides a visual way to create, locate, access, and open individual files. It also lets you establish your working directories and search paths.

The form design window is a visual design surface on which you position the components you need for your form, then set their properties in the Inspector and code their event handlers and other methods.

The report window is a visual design surface to which you drag and drop the components you need for your report, then set their properties in the Inspector.

Building basic menus through the designers is a simple two-step process of adding items, then adding code to make the items do what you want them to do.

Use the Label designer to create labels and other reports that use more than one report band.

The Source editor lets you view or edit code for any dBASE Plus form, report, menu, query, data module, program, or any other type of text file.

3rd party libraries support for extending dBASE applications.

Use the Table designer to design or restructure a table.

The Data Module design window is a visual design surface for designing data modules that you can use in your forms, reports, and labels.

A set of non-visual classes that make working with databases easier.

dBASE can interact with any ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivty) data source and manipulate its data.

Supports all dBASE DBF table structures from level 3 thru level 7.

dBASE can interact with Paradox data structures.

dBASE can interact with FoxPro and Visual FoxPro data structures.

A set of components that are visual in design and make creating Microsoft Windows applications fast and easy.

A set of components that allow for simple integration to the underlying Operating System items like the File System.

One of the first functional database programming languages that the dBASE product pioneered.

dBL (dBASE Language) is an object Oriented langague for building rich database applications in dBASE.

Local SQL (sometimes called “client-based SQL”) is a subset of ANSI-92 SQL for accessing DB (Paradox) and DBF (dBASE) tables.