PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 1/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 BORLAND PARADOX ENGINE & DATABASE FRAMEWORK 3.0 QUESTION: When will the Borland Paradox Engine & Database Framework 3.0 be available? ANSWER: Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 is scheduled to ship in October 1992. Pricing and upgrade upgrade information will be announced in the near future. QUESTION: If I don't use Paradox, why should I upgrade? ANSWER: The Borland Paradox Engine is a powerful yet easy to use mechanism for storing and retrieving data from disk. With Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 there is no need to develop your own proprietary data format. Borland provides the highly optimized industry standard file format, and access capability which saves the user time when developing an application. QUESTION: Which compilers are compatible with the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0? ANSWER: Borland's family of C/C++ compilers, Microsoft C 6.01 or later, Turbo Pascal 6.0 or later, and Turbo Pascal for Windows 1.0 or later. QUESTION: Is Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 compatible with Paradox 4.0? ANSWER: PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 2/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 Yes. The Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 supports the new high speed file locking protocol used by Paradox 4.0, as well as support for existing Paradox 3.0 or 3.5 file formats. QUESTION: Will Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 be fully compatible with Paradox for Windows? ANSWER: Yes. The Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 supports the new file locking protocol used in Paradox 4.0 and Paradox for Windows. QUESTION: If I replace the DLL in my current Engine application with the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 DLL, what improvements will I see in performance? ANSWER: The performance improvements require using the Paradox 4.0 fast file format. A function call is provided to convert Paradox 3.0 or 3.5 files to Paradox 4.0 files to improve the performance up to 20%. QUESTION: Will the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 operate on dBASE files? ANSWER: Currently the Borland Paradox Engine only supports Paradox file formats. Support for dBASE is planned for future releases of the product. QUESTION: Is the Borland Paradox Engine supported by other products? ANSWER: PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 3/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 Yes. The Borland Paradox Engine includes a version of the library for use by any Windows application that can load and access a DLL. This includes applications such as Borland C++, Turbo Pascal, Visual Basic, and Toolbook. QUESTION: What languages are supported by the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0? ANSWER: The Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 has support for Borland C++, ANSI C, Turbo Pascal for Windows, Turbo Pascal, and Turbo Pascal with Objects. QUESTION: Does the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 support SQL and is it a server? ANSWER: The Engine does not have support for SQL nor is it a SQL server. But Paradox 3.5 and 4.0 support SQL Links as an upgrade option. QUESTION: Will applications developed with the Paradox Engine 2.0 require any code changes to use the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0? ANSWER: No. The Borland Paradox Engine is 100% upwardly compatible with code developed for the Paradox Engine 2.0. However, to take advantage of the new API function calls in Borland Paradox Engine, additional code is required. QUESTION: PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 4/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 What are some of the new function calls in Borland Paradox Engine 3.0? ANSWER: The new Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 includes high performance "raw" data transfer calls for record manipulation, an entire suite of functions for Binary Large Object (BLOB) data, new network functions, and more. QUESTION: Can Windows applications use the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0? ANSWER: Yes. The Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 is provided as a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) for Windows applications. Multiple applications can share the library so memory is used efficiently. QUESTION: Is the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 a Windows only product? ANSWER: No. The Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 supports DOS and Windows. For DOS applications the Engine is compatible with Borland's Virtual Run-time Object Oriented Memory Manager (VROOMM) overlay technology, which allows applications to exceed the 640K barrier imposed by DOS. QUESTION: What are the memory requirements for an application using the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0? ANSWER: For DOS applications the Engine has full support for Borland's VROOMM technology, where small portions of the library are loaded into memory when they are needed. The largest overlay of the engine requires 90KB of RAM. For Windows applications, a PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 5/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 DLL is provided and shared between applications for efficient use of memory. QUESTION: How will I convert my Paradox 3.0 or 3.5 files to the new Paradox 4.0 file format? ANSWER: The Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 has function calls that will automatically translate Paradox 3.0 or 3.5 files into the Paradox 4.0 file format. QUESTION: Which networks are supported by the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0? ANSWER: The networks supported by the Borland Paradox Engine are: Novell Netware, 3Com, 3Com3+Open, IBM PC LAN, AT&T StarGroup, Banyan Vines, Local-share net types, and other DOS 3.1 compatible networks. QUESTION: Is a run-time royalty fee required when applications that use the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0 are distributed? ANSWER: No. The Borland Paradox Engine has an unlimited, royalty- free, run-time license. QUESTION: What is the Database Framework? ANSWER: PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 6/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 The Database Framework is an object layer that encapsulates the Engine's API and provides high level objects that reduce the complexity of application development with the Engine. It is the first deliverable in our Borland Object Component Architecture (BOCA), and applications written with the Database Framework are 100% compatible with it. NOTE: As of 8/20/92, the Database Framework has been renamed to the Object Layer for copyright reasons. QUESTION: Is the Database Framework part of the Borland Object Component Architecture (BOCA)? ANSWER: Yes. The Database Framework is actually a subset of the Object Layer described in BOCA. QUESTION: Is object oriented programming required when using the Database Framework? ANSWER: Yes. The Database Framework is a class library of objects and requires the use of either C++ or Pascal with objects. QUESTION: Is the Database Framework an object oriented DBMS? ANSWER: No. Paradox is not an object oriented DBMS. The Database Framework provides an abstraction of Paradox tables into a virtual table with the functionality of Paradox. When BOCA is available with the InterBase Local Engine, these virtual tables the will have access to Paradox and dBASE files. PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 7/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 QUESTION: Will the Database Framework include source code? ANSWER: Yes. All of the source code used to build the Database Framework is included with the product which includes Pascal and C++. QUESTION: When the BOCA architecture ships will the code I've written with the Database Framework be compatible with the Object Layer of BOCA? ANSWER: Yes. Because the Database Framework is a part of the Object Layer, in BOCA, applications that use the Engine Database Framework will be 100% compatible with BOCA's Object Layer. QUESTION: Is the Database Framework part of the Open Database Application Programming Interface (ODAPI)? ANSWER: The Database Framework is a component of the Object Layer found in BOCA. Since ODAPI is an interface with that Object Layer, the Object Layer also supports ODAPI. QUESTION: How will I migrate to the future version of the Borland Paradox Engine as defined in BOCA? ANSWER: The Database Framework insulates the developer from the Borland Paradox Engine's API. When the BOCA engine is available, it will replace the Borland Paradox Engine 3.0. All existing applications that use the Database Framework will continue to PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 8/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 work, and will have limited access to dBASE files (without writing any additional code). Interoperability Issues ======================= QUESTION: Can I use the Paradox Engine 2.0 with Paradox 4.0 tables? ANSWER: The 2.0 Engine does not support Paradox 4.0 file format, so your Engine application will not be able to manipulate tables created or restructured by Paradox 4.0. You may still edit 3.5 tables in Paradox 4.0 and save them as 3.5 tables - just do not restructure them if they are to be used by an Engine 2.0 application. QUESTION: If I use Paradox Engine 2.0 and Paradox 4.0, are there any locking issues to be aware of? ANSWER: Yes. The 2.0 Engine does not support Paradox 4.0 locking, so you will not be able to view a table in Paradox 4.0 while simultaneously accessing it in an Engine 2.0 application (with the 2.0 Engine, each time a table is opened, a new lock file is created called TABLE_NAME.LCK, and in each directory containing any accessed files there is also a lock file created called PARADOX.LCK. Paradox 4.0 creates only one file for both purposes, called PDOXUSRS.LCK, although you may notice Paradox 4.0 creating a "dummy" PARADOX.LCK file as a safeguard to keep Paradox 3.5 and/or the 2.0 Engine out of the directory. Also, the net file name has changed from PARADOX.NET to PDOXUSRS.NET). QUESTION: PRODUCT : Borland C++ NUMBER : 1045 VERSION : 3.0 OS : ALL DATE : October 19, 1993 PAGE : 9/9 TITLE : The Borland Paradox Engn. and Database Framework v3.0 Are ObjectVision and Quattro Pro for Windows compatible with Paradox 4.0? ANSWER: Yes. ObjectVision 2.1 and Quattro Pro for Windows can access both 3.5 and 4.0 Paradox tables. The options for choosing a specific format are located in their respective configuation files. DISCLAIMER: You have the right to use this technical information subject to the terms of the No-Nonsense License Statement that you received with the Borland product to which this information pertains.