The original Low/No code environment™

dBASE™ PLUS 12 continues to add additional features and functionality that will allows developers and business people to build great Windows® applications with very little code, but with a huge impact.   In addition, the dBASE power-user has a full set of tools that allows them to create very complex Windows® based and web-based applications.    

The new dBASE™ PLUS 12 enhances many features and adds a significant number of new features that will help users get the most out of dBASE™!

The focus of this help document is to make it easy to find the new features and gain a little understanding of how they work.

The #1 new feature is integrated JSON support.  JSON (JavaScript Object Notation is a standard data-exchange format that is being used more and more by companies around the world.  dBASE™ PLUS 12 integrates in a fully compliant JSON engine into the dBASE coding structure under the DBL interface.  This means the JSON support is basically native support from a dBASE™ perspective.    

The dBase team has heard loud and clear that you need new components to get the job done and have the tools you need to build cutting-edge Windows® based applications.  dBASE™ PLUS 12 offers a wealth of new functionality with our added NEW compoents:    

RichEdit:    

The new RichEdit component allows for easy manipulation of .RTF (Rich Text Format) documents, which are compatible with Windows® Word®, Open-Office, and many other applications that support this file type.  The component can be found on the standard Component palette.  The new RichEdit allows you to manipulate the text, hightlight areas, and gives full control over this file type.  The RichEdit is designed for manipulation, while the RichText is for static content.

RichText

The RichText is much like a label; it is read-only and allows you to place .RTF (Rich Text File) as static text on a form or report.  This is the sister component to the RichEdit, which allows for manipulation of the rich text, while the RichText is focused on output to another device such as a printer.

DateTimePicker

This new component makes working with dates and times much easier than standard interactions.  dBASE™ PLUS 12 introduces the new DateTimePicker and it has a wealth of features and functionality to help date and time users be more productive.

Grid

dBASE™ PLUS 12 also increases the capability of the original Grid component, especially around the Header functionality.

JSON   

The introduction of the new JSON support, now allows for easy web-based applications that can now generate a full C.R.U.D.  approach.  C.R.U.D. stands for Create, Read, Update, and Delete.  Thus, you can now easily create web-applications in minutes and this update builds on the updated web updates found in dBASE™ PLUS 11.

INNO Setup Script

One of the key features that saves dBASE user a lot of money is the built-in installation software based on the Inno Setup and Inno Script.  This feature alone can save users anywhere from $199 to $3500 dollars depending on the product they choose from the 3rd party world.

dBASE™ PLUS 12 updates the Inno integration with the new Skins, over 20+ installation skins that can be used to make your installer stand out among the standard installers used today.  

Use of the skins is integrated in the setup process so that the user can easily pick the skin that best represents their application’s look and feel.

Wizards

dBASE™ PLUS 12 continues to build on many of the Wizards that have helped tens of thousands of developers build applications with very little code.  dBASE™ PLUS 12 allows for exciting new capabilities with the new components.

Designers

dBASE™ PLUS 12 offers many great wizards to help generate much of the applications being built.  However, dBASE™ PLUS 12 offers full designers for the product as well.  The dBASE™ designers give the user ultimate flexibility on building software.  Many dBASE™ users use the wizards to get them started and then use the designers to customize the wizard output.

Look and Feel / Images

We updated the Look & Feel of dBASE™ PLUS 12 when building Windows® based Applications and cross-platfrom output of Windows® based web-applications.  The new look & feel streamlines the interface and adds better consistancy across the product.

The update to the look and feel includes adding larger size component icons and adding larger component icons in field, component palettes, and in the updated code tree-view.