Good Day,

I need to convert our BDE apps and would like to know what is the most 
recommended path to take.

A little overview:
We are a small (2 man shop) that sells a commercial EDMS and provide trial 
versions.  A percentage of our clients only require a single user desktop 
package, many will start out with a small LAN version and others want a C/S 
version.  Of the C/S versions the two main (98%) will require either MSSQL 
or ORACLE as their backend DB.

Currently with the BDE we can offer all of these options with one single 
code source.
We would like to continue to offer a non-C/S version (desktop) for our trial 
versions and allow for upgrade $$$ to C/S if needed.

So what would be the best option to convert over to (ADO, DBExpress, etc...) 
to allow for multiple DB platform connections and still offer a desktop DB?

TIA,

Craig

DBExpress. We said this when we deprecated the BDE 10 years ago. See 
http://edn.embarcadero.com/article/28688

Craig Burke wrote:
> Good Day,
>
> I need to convert our BDE apps and would like to know what is the most
> recommended path to take.
>
> A little overview:
> We are a small (2 man shop) that sells a commercial EDMS and provide trial
> versions.  A percentage of our clients only require a single user desktop
> package, many will start out with a small LAN version and others want a C/S
> version.  Of the C/S versions the two main (98%) will require either MSSQL
> or ORACLE as their backend DB.
>
> Currently with the BDE we can offer all of these options with one single
> code source.
> We would like to continue to offer a non-C/S version (desktop) for our trial
> versions and allow for upgrade $$$ to C/S if needed.
>
> So what would be the best option to convert over to (ADO, DBExpress, etc...)
> to allow for multiple DB platform connections and still offer a desktop DB?
>
> TIA,
>
> Craig

Hello Quinn,

Thank you for your response.

What would you recommend as a simple db that would replace the paradox side 
of our current clients that do not want a C/S solution?
Many do not have IT to assist with things.  Must be seamless and simple and 
able to port data from their paradox tables.  We also have routines that 
import ASCII files from active ERP systems.  Does dbexpress provide an ASCII 
driver?

TIA,
Craig


"quinn wildman"  wrote in message 
news:466683@forums.embarcadero.com...
> DBExpress. We said this when we deprecated the BDE 10 years ago. See
> http://edn.embarcadero.com/article/28688
>
> Craig Burke wrote:
>> Good Day,
>>
>> I need to convert our BDE apps and would like to know what is the most
>> recommended path to take.
>>
>> A little overview:
>> We are a small (2 man shop) that sells a commercial EDMS and provide 
>> trial
>> versions.  A percentage of our clients only require a single user desktop
>> package, many will start out with a small LAN version and others want a 
>> C/S
>> version.  Of the C/S versions the two main (98%) will require either 
>> MSSQL
>> or ORACLE as their backend DB.
>>
>> Currently with the BDE we can offer all of these options with one single
>> code source.
>> We would like to continue to offer a non-C/S version (desktop) for our 
>> trial
>> versions and allow for upgrade $$$ to C/S if needed.
>>
>> So what would be the best option to convert over to (ADO, DBExpress, 
>> etc...)
>> to allow for multiple DB platform connections and still offer a desktop 
>> DB?
>>
>> TIA,
>>
>> Craig

There are many choices to choose from. I am biased, so I'll tell you my 
bias. I think InterBase would be a great solution. For application which 
do not require a C/S server solution I think the ToGo edition of 
InterBase would be a great fit.

Regardless of the database you choose, you'll need some sort of data 
pump utility to move your database from Paradox to the new database of 
your choosing. Generally, there are many products like this around. 
However, connecting to Paradox might be a little problematic. Most allow 
an ODBC connection, so if you use Microsoft's ODBC driver for Paradox 
that might work.

The data pump utility I usually refer people to is here: 
http://cc.embarcadero.com/item/23688 It will require an ODBC connection.

If you have client server edition of Delphi 7 or earlier, you could used 
Data Pump application from it. The Data Pump is basically just a front 
end to TBatchMove, so you could write it yourself if do not have the 
required pieces.

DBExpress does not have an ASCII driver. However, InterBase can read 
fixed length text files as foreign tables which could then be imported.

Craig Burke wrote:
> Hello Quinn,
>
> Thank you for your response.
>
> What would you recommend as a simple db that would replace the paradox side
> of our current clients that do not want a C/S solution?
> Many do not have IT to assist with things.  Must be seamless and simple and
> able to port data from their paradox tables.  We also have routines that
> import ASCII files from active ERP systems.  Does dbexpress provide an ASCII
> driver?
>
> TIA,
> Craig

Thank you Quinn, I'll look into InterBase.

- Craig

"quinn wildman"  wrote in message 
news:467499@forums.embarcadero.com...
> There are many choices to choose from. I am biased, so I'll tell you my
> bias. I think InterBase would be a great solution. For application which
> do not require a C/S server solution I think the ToGo edition of
> InterBase would be a great fit.
>
> Regardless of the database you choose, you'll need some sort of data
> pump utility to move your database from Paradox to the new database of
> your choosing. Generally, there are many products like this around.
> However, connecting to Paradox might be a little problematic. Most allow
> an ODBC connection, so if you use Microsoft's ODBC driver for Paradox
> that might work.
>
> The data pump utility I usually refer people to is here:
> http://cc.embarcadero.com/item/23688 It will require an ODBC connection.
>
> If you have client server edition of Delphi 7 or earlier, you could used
> Data Pump application from it. The Data Pump is basically just a front
> end to TBatchMove, so you could write it yourself if do not have the
> required pieces.
>
> DBExpress does not have an ASCII driver. However, InterBase can read
> fixed length text files as foreign tables which could then be imported.
>
> Craig Burke wrote:
>> Hello Quinn,
>>
>> Thank you for your response.
>>
>> What would you recommend as a simple db that would replace the paradox 
>> side
>> of our current clients that do not want a C/S solution?
>> Many do not have IT to assist with things.  Must be seamless and simple 
>> and
>> able to port data from their paradox tables.  We also have routines that
>> import ASCII files from active ERP systems.  Does dbexpress provide an 
>> ASCII
>> driver?
>>
>> TIA,
>> Craig

We haven't made the jump yet, but we like what we've seen with Sybase 
Advantage.  We've done some test ports of some Paradox/BDE code and found a 
lot of compatibility.

I believe that it may be free for single user installations...

T

"Craig Burke"  wrote in message news:466130@forums.embarcadero.com...

Good Day,

I need to convert our BDE apps and would like to know what is the most
recommended path to take.

A little overview:
We are a small (2 man shop) that sells a commercial EDMS and provide trial
versions.  A percentage of our clients only require a single user desktop
package, many will start out with a small LAN version and others want a C/S
version.  Of the C/S versions the two main (98%) will require either MSSQL
or ORACLE as their backend DB.

Currently with the BDE we can offer all of these options with one single
code source.
We would like to continue to offer a non-C/S version (desktop) for our trial
versions and allow for upgrade $$$ to C/S if needed.

So what would be the best option to convert over to (ADO, DBExpress, etc...)
to allow for multiple DB platform connections and still offer a desktop DB?

TIA,

Craig

My answer comes a bit late.

Have alook at MSSQL Express if you need a desktop DB. As you said, MSSQL is 
already supported by your app, so this goes with no additional effort.

Cheers
bernd

"Craig Burke"  schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:466130@forums.embarcadero.com...

Good Day,

I need to convert our BDE apps and would like to know what is the most
recommended path to take.

A little overview:
We are a small (2 man shop) that sells a commercial EDMS and provide trial
versions.  A percentage of our clients only require a single user desktop
package, many will start out with a small LAN version and others want a C/S
version.  Of the C/S versions the two main (98%) will require either MSSQL
or ORACLE as their backend DB.

Currently with the BDE we can offer all of these options with one single
code source.
We would like to continue to offer a non-C/S version (desktop) for our trial
versions and allow for upgrade $$$ to C/S if needed.

So what would be the best option to convert over to (ADO, DBExpress, etc...)
to allow for multiple DB platform connections and still offer a desktop DB?

TIA,

Craig

Bernd Maierhofer wrote:
> Have alook at MSSQL Express if you need a desktop DB. As you said, MSSQL is
> already supported by your app, so this goes with no additional effort.

MSSQL is supported if you use an OS available in 2002 and whatever 
version of MSSQL was available in 2002....

I am not sure, what you mean. MSSQL (Microsoft SQL Server) 2005 and 2008 
both are available as Express Editions and run perfectly well on nowadays 
OSs.

Bernd

"quinn wildman"  schrieb im Newsbeitrag 
news:480584@forums.embarcadero.com...

Bernd Maierhofer wrote:
> Have alook at MSSQL Express if you need a desktop DB. As you said, MSSQL 
> is
> already supported by your app, so this goes with no additional effort.

MSSQL is supported if you use an OS available in 2002 and whatever
version of MSSQL was available in 2002....

What I mean is BDE officially only supports what was available in 2002.

Bernd Maierhofer wrote:
> I am not sure, what you mean. MSSQL (Microsoft SQL Server) 2005 and 2008
> both are available as Express Editions and run perfectly well on nowadays
> OSs.
>
> Bernd
>
> "quinn wildman"  schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> news:480584@forums.embarcadero.com...
>
> Bernd Maierhofer wrote:
>> Have alook at MSSQL Express if you need a desktop DB. As you said, MSSQL
>> is
>> already supported by your app, so this goes with no additional effort.
>
> MSSQL is supported if you use an OS available in 2002 and whatever
> version of MSSQL was available in 2002....
>