Getting Started with dBASE - DBASE IV OPERATING IN WINDOWS XP

Author

DBASE IV OPERATING IN WINDOWS XP

DEAN BRANSON

2005-06-15, 8:23 pm

I AM TRYING TO RUN A DBASE IV APPLICATION IN WINDOWS XP THAT I WROTE WHICH HAS MANY FORMS, QUERIES, AND REPORTS AUTOMATED. I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY RUN THIS PROGRAM FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN WINDOWS 98, BUT HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO SOLVE ANY OF THE PROBLEMS OCCURING BEC
AUSE OF XP.

I HAVE TRIED CHANGING ALL THE COMPATIBILITY TABS WITH THE ONLY SUCCESS BEING THAT THE SCREEN SIZING WORKS OK NOW.

A CRITICAL PROBLEM IS THAT I CANNOT INDEX MANUALLY, OR THROUGH THE CONTROL PANEL OR WITH PROGRAM LANGUAGE ANY DATABASE. I GET
A MESSAGE THAT THE "FILE IS ALREADY OPEN". THIS MEANS THAT I CAN'T WRITE ALTERNATE STEPS TO WORK AROUND THE FACT THAT I MUST SORT
THE DATA IN ORDER TO USE IT.

ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THAT WHENEVER THE PROGRAM CALLS FOR PUTTING
A MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN WITH I.E. AT 6,8 SAY .......... IT SAYS THAT IS NOT A DBASE COMMAND. YOU CAN SELECT IGNORE AND THE PROGRAM GOES
ON. MENUS CREATED WITH FORMS GENERATOR WORK FINE.

MOST OTHER PARTS OF THE PROGRAM WORK OK.

ANY IDEAS THAT MIGHT HELP ON THIS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

DEAN BRANSON

Marilyn Price

2005-06-24, 8:23 pm

In article <qetUEoecFHA.1760@news-server>,
HDBRANSON@CITYOFTERR
EHAUTE.COM says...
> I AM TRYING TO RUN A DBASE IV APPLICATION IN WINDOWS XP THAT I WROTE WHICH HAS MANY FORMS, QUERIES, AND REPORTS AUTOMATED. I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY RUN THIS PROGRAM FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN WINDOWS 98, BUT HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO SOLVE ANY OF THE PROBLEMS OCCURING B
ECAUSE OF XP.
>
> I HAVE TRIED CHANGING ALL THE COMPATIBILITY TABS WITH THE ONLY SUCCESS BEING THAT THE SCREEN SIZING WORKS OK NOW.
>
> A CRITICAL PROBLEM IS THAT I CANNOT INDEX MANUALLY, OR THROUGH THE CONTROL PANEL OR WITH PROGRAM LANGUAGE ANY DATABASE. I GET
> A MESSAGE THAT THE "FILE IS ALREADY OPEN". THIS MEANS THAT I CAN'T WRITE ALTERNATE STEPS TO WORK AROUND THE FACT THAT I MUST SORT
> THE DATA IN ORDER TO USE IT.

At the dot prompt, type:
? version(0)

If it's earlier than dBase IV 1.5xx69 (if I remember correctly), then
the problem is a known one and upgrading is the easiest solution. If
you have any of the visual versions, then dBase 5.0 for DOS is also on
the disk and will fix this problem.

> ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THAT WHENEVER THE PROGRAM CALLS FOR PUTTING
> A MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN WITH I.E. AT 6,8 SAY .......... IT SAYS THAT IS NOT A DBASE COMMAND. YOU CAN SELECT IGNORE AND THE PROGRAM GOES
> ON. MENUS CREATED WITH FORMS GENERATOR WORK FINE.

??? Is the command
AT 6,8 say...

or is it
@ 6,8 say....

The second one is the correct syntax.

--
Marilyn Price
M. P. Data

DEAN BRANSON

2005-06-28, 1:23 pm

MARILYN THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE.

I AM USING DBASE IV VERSION 2.0XX54 3/09/93

I DO NOT HAVE ANY OF THE VISUALS. I HAVE A DBASE FOR DOS WHICH NEVER
DID WORK ON WINDOWS 95. I GAVE UP ON FINDING A DBASE WHICH WOULD WORK IN 95 OR 98 UNTIL RECENTLY. IS IT POSSIBLE TO STILL FIND DBASE V
FOR WINDOWS AND WILL THAT ACCEPT OR TRANSLATE MY PROGRAMING, FORMS AND RESPORTS WHICH HAVE SUCCESSFULLY OPERATED FOR YEARS IN 95 OR 98.

THE SYNTAX ERROR WAS ONLY IN MY EMAIL. SORRY.

THANKS AGAIN

DEAN BRANSON

Marilyn Price Wrote:

>
> ??? Is the command
> AT 6,8 say...
>
> or is it
> @ 6,8 say....
>
> The second one is the correct syntax.
>
> --
> Marilyn Price
> M. P. Data

David Kerber

2005-06-28, 8:23 pm

In article <jU9XDGBfFHA.1760@news-server>,
HDBRANSON@CITYOFTERR
EHAUTE.COM says...
> MARILYN THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE.
>
> I AM USING DBASE IV VERSION 2.0XX54 3/09/93
>
> I DO NOT HAVE ANY OF THE VISUALS. I HAVE A DBASE FOR DOS WHICH NEVER
> DID WORK ON WINDOWS 95. I GAVE UP ON FINDING A DBASE WHICH WOULD WORK IN 95 OR 98 UNTIL RECENTLY. IS IT POSSIBLE TO STILL FIND DBASE V
> FOR WINDOWS AND WILL THAT ACCEPT OR TRANSLATE MY PROGRAMING, FORMS AND RESPORTS WHICH HAVE SUCCESSFULLY OPERATED FOR YEARS IN 95 OR 98.

We had no end of problems with our business-critical dBase IV programs
on Win 9x. But when we switched to Windows NT (including 2000 and XP),
things mostly work fine. There is some minor tweaking required to get
things to print to the correct printer, but it is quite usable.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

Marilyn Price

2005-06-29, 7:23 am

In article <jU9XDGBfFHA.1760@news-server>,
HDBRANSON@CITYOFTERR
EHAUTE.COM says...
> MARILYN THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE.
>
> I AM USING DBASE IV VERSION 2.0XX54 3/09/93

If memory serves, there was a bug in that version that intermittantly
gave the "file already exists" message, but we never pegged the exact
circumstances. I've had no problems with dBase 5.0 for DOS, however.

> I DO NOT HAVE ANY OF THE VISUALS. I HAVE A DBASE FOR DOS WHICH NEVER
> DID WORK ON WINDOWS 95. I GAVE UP ON FINDING A DBASE WHICH WOULD
> WORK IN 95 OR 98 UNTIL RECENTLY. IS IT POSSIBLE TO STILL FIND DBASE V
> FOR WINDOWS AND WILL THAT ACCEPT OR TRANSLATE MY PROGRAMING, FORMS
> AND RESPORTS WHICH HAVE SUCCESSFULLY OPERATED FOR YEARS IN 95 OR 98.

Possibly, but I wouldn't switch to dBase 5.0 for Windows. Either bite
the bullet and upgrade to the current version, which will run best if
you rewrite your program for the 21st century, or search some of the
places people buy used software for a copy of dBase 5.0 for DOS. Some
have had success on eBay, for example.

> THE SYNTAX ERROR WAS ONLY IN MY EMAIL. SORRY.

Ah. Then I don't know what the problem is, as both dBase IV 2.0xx16
(01/21/94) and dBase 5.0 for DOS work correctly for me in every version
of Windows I've ever tried them in.

> THANKS AGAIN

By the way, you may want to turn the caps lock off while in these
newsgroups. On-line etiquette says that posting a message in all caps
is equivalent to shouting and we can "hear" you quite fine in mixed
case.

Thanks.

--
Marilyn Price
M. P. Data

John Marshall

2005-07-01, 7:23 am

Dean:

I made the leap from DbaseIII to Plus2.5 early this Spring. While there was a substantial learning curve, I cannot tell you the capabilities that have emerged, the speed improvement and compatability. Virtually every one of my programs worked as wri
tten, with the exception of the 'THEN' clause no longer attachedd to each 'IF'. Other than that the @say's needed to be reworked to go from a DOS screen to a window with form controls and entry fields tied to the code. I beleive there is a tool to simpl
ify/automate this transition. All things considered, noone wants to enter into such a journey, but looking back on it now, it was the best move I have made this year!

(and yes, you can get old versions from ebay)

JM

DEAN BRANSON Wrote:

> MARILYN THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE.
>
> I AM USING DBASE IV VERSION 2.0XX54 3/09/93
>
> I DO NOT HAVE ANY OF THE VISUALS. I HAVE A DBASE FOR DOS WHICH NEVER
> DID WORK ON WINDOWS 95. I GAVE UP ON FINDING A DBASE WHICH WOULD WORK IN 95 OR 98 UNTIL RECENTLY. IS IT POSSIBLE TO STILL FIND DBASE V
> FOR WINDOWS AND WILL THAT ACCEPT OR TRANSLATE MY PROGRAMING, FORMS AND RESPORTS WHICH HAVE SUCCESSFULLY OPERATED FOR YEARS IN 95 OR 98.
>
> THE SYNTAX ERROR WAS ONLY IN MY EMAIL. SORRY.
>
> THANKS AGAIN
>
> DEAN BRANSON

>
>
> Marilyn Price Wrote:
>
>
>

Gerald Lightsey

2005-07-01, 8:23 pm

On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 07:34:21 -0400, in the dbase.getting-started group,
John Marshall said...
> I made the leap from DbaseIII to Plus2.5 early this Spring.
> While there was a substantial learning curve, I cannot tell you
> the capabilities that have emerged, the speed improvement and
> compatability. Virtually every one of my programs worked as written,
> with the exception of the 'THEN' clause no longer attachedd to each
> 'IF'. Other than that the @say's needed to be reworked to go from a
> DOS screen to a window with form controls and entry fields tied to
> the code. I beleive there is a tool to simplify/automate this
> transition. All things considered, noone wants to enter into such a
> journey, but looking back on it now, it was the best move I have made
> this year!
>
> (and yes, you can get old versions from ebay)

Congratulations! That is a huge paradigm shift for you. Considering
that the end of spring occurred only a few days ago your success is
remarkable.

Gerald

John Marshall

2005-07-02, 7:23 am

Fortunately (or not), when you have users tapping in anticipation, there is only one way to go - and one speed - flat out. The code transition was actually the learning experience in itself, I was able to reuse almost all of the operational code and bega
n with screen I/O. Later I transitioned USE and SET RELA statements with lots of filters into sql joins. Finally the reports reaped the benefits of the previous two. As for timing, I purchased the package in February and my first windows release was op
erational April 1. Since the, and because of the joys of DEO's I have issued improvements weekly and a new version in May. I have just completed the change to fully client server ready and that to me was another powerful learning curve filled with tons
of valuable new tools ready for the future.

JM

Gerald Lightsey Wrote:

> On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 07:34:21 -0400, in the dbase.getting-started group,
> John Marshall said...
>
> Congratulations! That is a huge paradigm shift for you. Considering
> that the end of spring occurred only a few days ago your success is
> remarkable.
>
> Gerald

Gerald Lightsey

2005-07-03, 3:23 am

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 08:25:42 -0400, in the dbase.getting-started group,
John Marshall said...
> Fortunately (or not), when you have users tapping in anticipation,
> there is only one way to go - and one speed - flat out. The code
> transition was actually the learning experience in itself, I was
> able to reuse almost all of the operational code and began with
> screen I/O. Later I transitioned USE and SET RELA statements with
> lots of filters into sql joins. Finally the reports reaped the
> benefits of the previous two. As for timing, I purchased the
> package in February and my first windows release was operational
> April 1. Since the, and because of the joys of DEO's I have
> issued improvements weekly and a new version in May. I have just
> completed the change to fully client server ready and that to me
> was another powerful learning curve filled with tons of valuable
> new tools ready for the future.

Once again your progress is phenomenal. There have not been many who
have successfully ported a DOS application to oodml as quickly. Many of
us had years to transition through VdB 5.x and then on to oodml. You
did benefit from having a much more solid 32 bit version available to
you than the dBASE 7x versions we persevered through in the late 90's.

Best wishes,

Gerald

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