BORLAND ANNOUNCES VISUAL dBASE 5.5 AND THE VISUAL dBASE COMPILER; Greater Speed, New Productivity Tools, Robust Client/Server Capabilities, and Support for Both Windows 3.1 & Windows 95.PC EXPO/NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 20, 1995--Borland International Inc. today introduced Visual dBASE See dBASE versions. (language) Visual dBASE - A Rapid Application Development suite with a compiler and intranet tools to enable developers to publish data on the World-Wide Web. Originally a Borland product, the first version released by dBase, Inc. was Visual dBase 5.7. 5.5, a major new upgrade to its award-winning dBASE relational database relational database Database in which all data are represented in tabular form. The description of a particular entity is provided by the set of its attribute values, stored as one row or record of the table, called a tuple. management software, for the Microsoft Windows See Windows. (operating system) Microsoft Windows - Microsoft's proprietary window system and user interface software released in 1985 to run on top of MS-DOS. Widely criticised for being too slow (hence "Windoze", "Microsloth Windows") on the machines available then. 3.1 and Windows 95 operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. . Visual dBASE and a separate executable (.EXE Exe (ĕks), river, c.55 mi (90 km) long, rising in the Exmoor, Somerset, SW England, and flowing S across the Cornwall peninsula, past Exeter to the English Channel at Exmouth. ) compiler for Visual dBASE developers are scheduled to ship next month. Borland will be demonstrating the new products this week at PC Expo A trade show for resellers, corporate managers and technical professionals from CMP Media LLC, a subsidiary of United Business Media. First held in New York in 1983 with 120 exhibitors and 9,600 attendees, the show grew from the personal computer's early years to 550 vendors and more than in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Jacob Javitz Center hall 1C, booth No.139. "Visual dBASE is a mature, all-purpose database application development environment," said Mark DeVisser, Borland's director of dBASE marketing. "Regardless of the size or complexity of a project -- from building quick-and-easy desktop applications to advanced client/server front-end development -- Visual dBASE provides the right database solution." Previously known by its code-name, Voyager, Visual dBASE 5.5 is the only second-generation, object-oriented Xbase product. Based on leading-edge visual tools and a flexible, yet easy, programming language, Visual dBASE provides business professionals and application developers with the productivity and power to control their data. Besides support for both Windows 3.1 and Windows 95, the database features new productivity tools for users and developers, significant performance enhancements, and robust client/server capabilities. The separate Visual dBASE Compiler allows developers to create and deploy stand-alone .EXE applications royalty-free to users. "The Rapid Application Development tools in Visual dBASE are amazing. No other database development platform even comes close," said Alan Katz, president of Ksoft Inc., a software publishing and consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a in Johnson City, New York Johnson City is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 15,535 at the 2000 census. The Village of Johnson City was established in the Town of Union, New York and is a part of the "Triple Cities" along with Endicott, New York and . "For the first time in my 12 years as a Clipper and Xbase programmer, everything I need -- including a compiler and installer -- is available in a single development environment. I'm writing programs in one tenth of the time, with one tenth the code that are ten times better than anything I've ever done before. I've never before achieved this kind of productivity." Second Generation Object-Oriented Xbase Compared to its competition, Visual dBASE 5.5 is the only object-oriented Xbase product in its second release. Because of this, Visual dBASE includes more than 100 new features based directly on users' real-world testing of its award-winning predecessor, dBASE 5.0 for Windows, making Visual dBASE faster, easier-to-use, and even more powerful. One of the most significant innovations in Visual dBASE 5.5 is the addition of Visual Inheritance, the ability to visually create libraries of custom forms and controls that can be reused throughout developers' applications. If changes are made to an object -- for example, the color and size of a push-button (electronics) push-button - A roughly fingertip-sized plastic cover attached to a spring-loaded, normally-open switch, which, when pressed, closes the switch. Typical examples are the keys on a computer or calculator keyboard and mouse buttons. -- all applications that use that button will automatically inherit those changes, without programming. This greatly improves consistency in applications and decreases the time needed for application maintenance. Performance Enhancements Greater speed is a major benefit in the new release of dBASE. Due to Borland's new patent-pending Exclusivity Simulation Protocol (ESP (1) (Enhanced Service Provider) An organization that adds value to basic telephone service by offering such features as call-forwarding, call-detailing and protocol conversion. ) optimizing technology, Visual dBASE 5.5 is up to four times faster than dBASE 5.0 for multi-user data access over a network. Through other optimization, Visual dBASE is up to two times faster in almost all other areas -- including important every-day database tasks such as browsing data, loading forms, and running queries. "One of the first and most dramatic improvements we noticed was the speedy performance," InfoWorld Magazine reported in its June 5 First Look review of the new dBASE. "Programs written in Visual dBASE have a snappiness we're not used to seeing in applications built by anything less than a full optimizing compiler A programming language compiler that enhances the performance and/or reduces the size of the resulting machine program. Optimizing compilers require multiple passes in order to analyze the entire program and maximize the reuse of code throughout. See compiler. , such as Delphi. List boxes and browse windows were populated with data almost instantaneously as we scanned through the records of multi- table order-entry forms on our 66-MHZ 486." Productivity Tools for Users and Developers Visual dBASE has many new tools to help both users and developers get their work done better and faster, without programming. Among these are new Experts for creating tables, reports and labels; an enhanced Form Expert; over 20 new Visual Property Builders; and improvements to the Two-Way Form and Menu Designers. New Experts -- The Table Expert guides users in creating new database tables by suggesting common business table and field structures. It allows them to mix-and-match fields from any of the sample templates to easily create a sophisticated, yet customized database. Besides dBASE and Paradox (.DBF DBF Database (file name extension) DBF Divorced Black Female (personal ads) DBF Danmarks Badminton Forbund (Denmark) dBf Decibel and .DB) tables, the Visual dBASE Table Expert can also create SQL SQL in full Structured Query Language. Computer programming language used for retrieving records or parts of records in databases and performing various calculations before displaying the results. and other popular database formats by using ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) A database programming interface from Microsoft that provides a common language for Windows applications to access databases on a network. or Borland SQL-Link drivers (available separately). -- The Report Expert provides a quick and consistent way to create four different types of report layouts: detail or summary, tabular or columnar. -- The Label Expert gives users an easy and fast way to print mailing labels from their database on one of over 45 pre-defined Avery label standards. The Quick Address feature scans the database table for common field names such as "FNAME FNAME Florida Newspaper Advertising and Marketing Executives " and "ZIP" and can automatically design an address layout for the mailing label. -- The enhanced Form Expert is now fully customizable to add just the right look-and-feel to a user's forms. Color schemes, controls, and fonts are now completely editable in the Form Expert. Another addition is the ability to automatically create tabbed, multi-page forms with a click of the mouse. Visual Property Builders Visual dBASE 5.5 includes over 20 new and enhanced Visual Property Builders. As opposed to Experts, which help users complete a specific task step-by-step, these intuitive dialog-type boxes are specifically designed to help developers customize and fine-tune their applications. Traditionally time-consuming tasks for developers, such as building arrays, creating a list of fields, and assigning graphical resources to controls, can now be done much faster, visually. Robust Client/Server Visual dBASE brings advanced client/server features to a scalable environment for easy front-end development and SQL database access. It allows experienced dBASE and client/server developers to: -- Access local and remote data easily, using the same user interface and applications with each; -- Use SQL commands interactively or embed them into dBASE programs for better client/server performance; -- Mix-and-match SQL and dBASE commands, for greater flexibility and power; -- Access server-based stored procedures; -- Take advantage of advanced relational database features such as primary keys, referential integrity A database management safeguard that ensures every foreign key matches a primary key. For example, customer numbers in a customer file are the primary keys, and customer numbers in the order file are the foreign keys. , data dictionary A database about data and databases. It holds the name, type, range of values, source, and authorization for access for each data element in the organization's files and databases. capabilities, data encryption and security, and database administration. Through the Borland Database Engine Software from Borland that runs on a Windows client and unifies database access across multiple platforms. Using Borland's own IDAPI interface, it provides a middleware layer between the client and numerous databases, including dBASE, Paradox, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, Informix, Interbase , common to all of Borland's Windows products, Visual dBASE enables users to access the most popular corporate databases, including dBASE and Paradox, Oracle, Microsoft/Sybase SQL Server, Informix, Borland InterBase, and all ODBC-compliant data sources, such as DB2, Access, and AS/400. Windows 3.1 & Windows 95 Support Visual dBASE provides an ideal development solution for developers during their client's transition from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 because it supports both operating systems. A native 16- bit product, Visual dBASE has been architected to automatically detect whether the computer is running Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, and then takes advantage of that operating system's capabilities and user interface. In addition, applications developed with Visual dBASE and distributed with the Visual dBASE Compiler will also automatically support Windows 95 features. Visual dBASE and applications developed with Visual dBASE support many Windows 95 features, including long file names File names that exceed the common eight plus three (8.3) character limitation used in DOS and Windows 3.1. Unix, Mac and Windows starting with Windows 95 support long file names. For compatibility with the 8. , OLE 2.0 Automation, the Application Key, extended file attributes Extended file attributes is a file system feature that enables users to associate computer files with metadata not interpreted by the filesystem, whereas regular attributes have a purpose strictly defined by the filesystem (such as permissions or records of creation and , the universal naming convention See UNC. (UNC (Universal Naming Convention) A standard for identifying servers, printers and other resources in a network, which originated in the Unix community. A UNC path uses double slashes or backslashes to precede the name of the computer. ), and Microsoft interface standards such as context-sensitive menu and icon bars, right-click context menus, system metrics, and tool tips. "Visual dBASE gives me and my clients a huge advantage because it allows us to manage the move to Windows 95 when we are ready," said Jim Sare, a database developer based in the Detroit area. "For those customers who want to stay with Windows 3.1 for a while, I'm able to distribute sophisticated applications that run in only six megabytes of RAM. For clients moving to Windows 95 early, I'll be able to deploy high-performance applications with the new look-and- feel on the day that the operating system ships. The real beauty of the Visual dBASE solution is that this transition is automatic and transparent -- it requires virtually no extra work on the developer's part." Visual dBASE Compiler The Visual dBASE Compiler includes all the tools and utilities that developers need to distribute sophisticated, stand-alone Visual dBASE applications as royalty-free .EXEs to their end-users. Available as a separate product, the Visual dBASE Compiler seamlessly integrates into the Visual dBASE environment to provide an all-in-one application development and distribution package, complete with Help Compiler, Resource Workshop, and Application Deployer. -- With the Microsoft Help Compiler, developers can use Word, WordPerfect, or the Windows 95 WordPad to generate HLP (filename extension) hlp - A Microsoft Windows filename extension for hypertext WinHelp files. These are in a proprietary format, and are compiled from source files written in a dialect of RTF. See also gid. Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.winhelp. files and create context-sensitive Windows Help systems for their applications. -- The Borland Resource Workshop includes a set of intuitive tools that lets the developer build commonly-needed resources, such as bitmaps and icons for splash-screens and program group icons. -- The Application Deployer completes the last step of the development process by asking developers which files need to be distributed, compresses them, and splits them into 3.5- inch, 5.25-inch, or CD-ROM-ready disk images. The Application Deployer also adds the famous "freeway" install engine that Borland's own products use. "The new Visual dBASE Compiler is a dream come true -- Borland has lived up to my high hopes for this product," said Erik Breiter, a database consultant/programmer based in Simi Valley, California Simi Valley is an incorporated city located in the extreme southeast corner of Ventura County, California, bordering the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in the Greater Los Angeles Area. . "My clients judge my work by the usefulness and professional appearance of my applications. Visual dBASE gives me the tools to write real programs that people can really use and the Application Deployer can package them up into very polished install disks that I'm proud to deliver to my customers." Pricing and Availability Visual dBASE 5.5 and the Visual dBASE Compiler will be available next month from Borland and through all major distribution channels. The estimated street price for Visual dBASE 5.5 is $349.95. The estimated street price for the Visual dBASE Compiler is also $349.95. Special upgrade prices will be available for current users of dBASE and competitive products. For more information or to place orders, customers can call Borland at 800-233-2444. All estimated prices are in U.S. dollars and apply only in the United States and Canada. Dealer prices may vary. System Requirements Visual dBASE 5.5 requires a 386-based (or higher) personal computer with six megabytes of RAM, and a hard disk with 30 megabytes of free space for full install. Borland recommends eight megabytes or more of RAM. Applications distributed with the Visual dBASE Compiler have similar RAM requirements. The Compiler needs Visual dBASE 5.5 to be installed. Borland: Making Development Easier Borland International Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :BORL) is a leading provider of products and services targeted to software developers. Borland is distinguished for its high-quality software development tools, which include Delphi, Borland C++, dBASE, Paradox and InterBase. Borland s award-winning products are supported through comprehensive programs for small- and large-sized software developers, corporate developers, value added resellers and systems integrators. Founded in 1983, Borland is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California Scotts Valley is a small city located in eastern Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about ten miles (16 km) south of San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the beach in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 11,385. . For more information on Borland products and services, customers can access Borland Online, Borland's World Wide Web (WWW WWW or W3: see World Wide Web. (World Wide Web) The common host name for a Web server. The "www-dot" prefix on Web addresses is widely used to provide a recognizable way of identifying a Web site. ) site, at http://www.borland.com. CONTACT: Borland International Inc. Steve Curry, 408/431-4863 E-mail: scurry@wpo.borland.com or Pat Lucas, 408/431-4872 E-mail: plucas@wpo.borland.com |
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