Borland Announces Paradox 7 for Windows 95 & Windows NT; Database Power Made Easy for Users and Developers.SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 1995--Borland International Inc. today announced Paradox 7 for Windows 95 & Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. . The new database, which is scheduled to ship in December, offers unmatched levels of ease-of-use, speed, and office suite integration, as well as new developer tools and a smooth transition for existing Paradox users to Windows 95. "Paradox for Windows 95 and Windows NT continues Borland's commitment to providing database users and developers with tools that take full advantage of the newest 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. ," said Gary Wetsel, president of Borland International. "The roll-out of Paradox 7 and our other 32-bit tools will establish Borland as a leading provider of products for these new platforms." What's New in Paradox 7 Paradox 7 breaks new ground in end user ease-of-use with new Experts that automate virtually every common database task and a range of usability enhancements that help beginning users start working with their data immediately. It also offers superb database integration with Novell's PerfectOffice 7 and Microsoft Office Microsoft's primary desktop applications for Windows and Mac. Depending on the package, it includes some combination of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook along with various Internet and other utilities. 95. In addition, the database includes new visual productivity tools that allow power users and professional application developers to easily extend the Paradox environment to deliver the most advanced Windows database applications. Smooth Transition to Windows 95 "Paradox 7 is an excellent example of Borland's overall mission to provide our customers with the industry's smoothest transition to Windows 95," said Richard Gorman, Borland's vice president of products. "Unlike some of our competition, the new Paradox will support virtually all existing applications and data created with the previous Windows 3.x Windows 3.x can refer to either an individual or all of the following versions of Microsoft Windows:
As a Windows 95 logo-compatible database, Paradox 7 will also take full advantage of the 32-bit architecture and high performance of Windows 95 and Windows NT, as well as the new user interface enhancements and functionality of Windows 95, such as: o Common Windows 95 dialog boxes o Long filenames o Send Mail and other MAPI (Mail API) A programming interface from Microsoft that enables a client application to send to and receive mail from Exchange Server or a Microsoft Mail (MS Mail) messaging system. Microsoft applications such as Outlook, the Exchange client and Microsoft Schedule use MAPI. functionality o Drag-and-drop OCX (OLE Control EXtension) A component software technology from Microsoft that enables a Windows program to add functionality by calling ready-made components. Generally called "OLE controls" or "OLE custom controls," they appear to the end user as just another part of controls o Tabbed notebooks and property sheets o OLE 2.0 Automation -- Controller and Server o Tool Tips o Floating and dockable toolbars o Right-click context-sensitive menus o Windows 95 Explorer integration The Easiest to Use Windows 95 Database Based upon hundreds of man-hours of end-user testing in Borland's state-of-the-art usability labs, the Paradox development team has simplified nearly every part of the product to make it the easiest Windows 95 database to learn and use. Paradox's powerful features are now much more accessible, and common database tasks have been further streamlined -- so every user will be more productive immediately. From creating tables and ready-to-use, customized applications, to performing mail merges and making mailing labels, Paradox 7 has been enhanced with many new Experts and other tools for greater ease of use. "Borland has done an incredible job implementing user feedback into this product -- it really shows in Paradox 7's ease-of-use," said Ty Brown, a database developer based in Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in southern California. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 189,594. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, by Seal Beach on the north, by Costa Mesa on the south, by Westminster on the northeast, and by . "With the new Experts and other usability improvements, end users will now be able to go far building a database all by themselves. Paradox 7 is one cool tool." Experts for End Users: Paradox 7 introduces a number of new Experts to help automate the most-common database tasks and makes it easier to save the Experts' work for repetitive jobs, such as a report that is run every week. The new scrollable Expert control panel gives users easy access to all of the Experts in Paradox 7. o The new Quick Start Expert provides first-time users a way to get started quickly and easily with Paradox 7. With no previous knowledge of Paradox or database concepts, new users can be productive immediately by following this Expert's step-by-step instructions. o The new Database Expert allows novice users to create ready-to-use database applications the first time they use the product -- complete with tables, forms, and reports. By answering a series of questions, users are able to customize one of many pre-defined applications to fit their specific needs and get their database up-and-running fast. o The new Table Expert gives users guidance in creating new tables. Users follow the step-by-step process to choose common table structures and field definitions. The Table Expert also allows users to customize their new tables by mixing and matching fields from any of the pre-defined tables or custom tables that can be added. o The new Mail Merge Expert helps users automatically create mail merge documents using popular word processors like Novell's WordPerfect or Microsoft Word A full-featured word processing program for Windows and the Macintosh from Microsoft. Included in the Microsoft application suite, it is a sophisticated program with rudimentary desktop publishing capabilities that has become the most widely used word processing application on the market. , or the Paradox Report writer. o The new Chart Expert provides users with a step-by-step process for creating graphical views of their data. Users can choose from 18 different graph types. o The new Import Expert allows users to import ASCII ASCII or American Standard Code for Information Interchange, a set of codes used to represent letters, numbers, a few symbols, and control characters. Originally designed for teletype operations, it has found wide application in computers. data simply by answering the Expert's questions. Data can be imported as fixed-length or delimited de·lim·it also de·lim·i·tate tr.v. de·lim·it·ed also de·lim·i·tat·ed, de·lim·it·ing also de·lim·i·tat·ing, de·lim·its also de·lim·i·tates To establish the limits or boundaries of; demarcate. , and users have the option to save import settings in order to save time on repetitive tasks. o Improvements to the Form, Report, and Mailing Label Experts have increased the functionality of each of these powerful tools. All three Experts are now even easier and more powerful. "The new Experts are a great mechanism for getting users started using a database for the first time -- they have blossomed into extremely useful tools," said Leon Chalnick of Professional Information Consulting in Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city located in southern Los Angeles County, California, USA, on the Pacific coast. It borders Orange County on its southeast edge. It is about 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown Los Angeles. . "The ready-to-use mini-applications that the Database Expert creates will be quite useful for beginners right-off-the-bat. They can also serve as really great `launching pads' as users become more experienced." Other End-User Enhancements: Other additions have been made to Paradox 7 to make it the easiest database for Windows 95, such as: o The Paradox 7 CD Quick Tour is an animated tour designed to acquaint users with the product's new features and functionality. o Windows 95 User Interface and Menu System -- Through customer feedback and extensive usability testing Usability testing is a means for measuring how well people can use some human-made object (such as a web page, a computer interface, a document, or a device) for its intended purpose, i.e. usability testing measures the usability of the object. , Borland has streamlined and reorganized Paradox's intuitive user interface and menus to make navigating through the product smoother than ever. Because much of the interface is based on the Windows 95 style, users will be much more productive since they are already familiar with using the operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. . For users new to Windows 95, the learning curve will be simplified because skills that have been learned about the operating system can also be applied to Paradox. Office Suite Integration Paradox 7 has many new improvements that make it a better database choice for use with Novell's PerfectOffice 7, Microsoft Office 95 and other popular business programs: o New Act-alike Menus allow PerfectOffice and Microsoft Office users to apply skills they have already learned in their suite product to Paradox 7. o Microsoft & Novell Suite Toolbar A row or column of on-screen buttons used to activate functions in the application. Many toolbars are customizable, letting you add and delete buttons as required. Toolbars may be fixed in position or may float, which means they can be dragged to a more convenient location in the options have been added to allow Paradox to show up as an icon on the Microsoft Office and Novell PerfectOffice toolbars. This saves suite users time in switching programs and closely integrates Paradox 7 into these two popular suites. o The New Mail Merge Expert helps users create mail merge documents using either suites' popular word processor -- Novell's WordPerfect or Microsoft Word. o New OLE Automation Controller See COM automation. & Server functionality allows greater use of Paradox 7 with other OLE Automation-enabled products. This allows Paradox to automatically drive tasks in other applications, or have other applications automatically drive Paradox tasks. "Suite users will feel comfortable using Paradox 7 -- regardless of which suite they are using," said Frederick Felman, Borland's group product manager for Paradox. "It gives customers both maximum desktop productivity and full freedom of choice." Developer Productivity Tools Ease-of-use for database developers is also a major focus of Paradox 7. Borland has added many enhancements that allow developers to quickly deliver the most advanced Windows 95 database applications. These tools include powerful new Experts and other visual productivity tools, as well as many additions to the Paradox Application Language Paradox Application Language - (PAL) The programming language for Paradox, Borland's relational database. , ObjectPAL. Experts for Bridging the Gap Between Interactive Use and Development: o The Application Launcher assists developers in delivering complete applications. After the developer defines a list of Paradox files to be distributed to users -- such as tables, forms, reports, queries, etc. -- the Launcher will package them into a tabbed visual interface that allows users to easily navigate throughout the application. o The New Button Expert generates buttons on forms that can perform common database tasks, such as printing reports, inserting records, or opening a form -- all without coding. o The New Text Expert adds text to forms, including special effects special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. like auto-centering, flashing, shadowing, and rotating marquee effects. Just like the Button Expert, all of this is done without coding -- just point-and-click. Other Developer Productivity Tools and ObjectPAL Enhancements: o The New Object Explorer allows developers to visually add, inspect or modify the objects on a Paradox form or report. Based upon the Windows 95 Explorer metaphor, the Paradox Object Explorer allows for easy access to Methods, Events and Properties all in one place. Icons can even be drag-and-dropped onto the Explorer's "Object Tree" view. o New Support for OCX controls gives developers the ability to extend the power of Paradox and their applications through the addition of third-party OLE 2.0 (OCX) controls, such as grid controls, communications packages, even Internet Web browsers The following is a list of web browsers. Historical Historically important browsers In order of release:
o The new ObjectPAL Editor with functionality from Borland C++ and Delphi has been added to Paradox 7 to provide greater ease in programming and editing applications. Features include color syntax highlighting
Syntax highlighting , indenting in·dent 1 v. in·dent·ed, in·dent·ing, in·dents v.tr. 1. To set (the first line of a paragraph, for example) in from the margin. 2. a. and outdenting, keyboard recording, incremental search, keyboard mapping (CUA (Common User Access) SAA specifications for user interfaces, which includes OS/2 PM and character-based formats of 3270 terminals. It is intended to provide a consistent look and feel across platforms and between applications. CUA - Common User Access , Brief, Epsilon), bookmarks, block marking, changeable fonts, and multilevel mul·ti·lev·el adj. Having several levels: a multilevel parking garage. Adj. 1. multilevel - of a building having more than one level undo and redo To reverse an undo operation. See undo. . These features allow Paradox developers to create applications in an environment similar to that of high-level programming languages and provide them with powerful tools that have not been previously been available to desktop database programmers. o Over 100 new ObjectPAL methods have been added to Paradox 7 to provide developers with greater control in incorporating electronic mail, toolbars, OLE Automation See COM automation. , OCXs, and other functionality in their database applications. "Paradox 7 is a great tool for end users -- and an even better tool for developers. It's much more user friendly, but tools like the Object Explorer make it even more powerful," said Dana Kaufman, a Senior Consultant with Apogee Information Systems, Inc. of Marlboro, Massachusetts. "For client/server development, the new 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. enhancements will definitely give us more speed out of the corporate servers we connect to." Client/Server Development with Paradox 7 Paradox has set industry standards for its ability to work with the broadest range of data types of any desktop database on the market. Founded upon the powerful new 32-bit 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 , which provides both speed and flexibility for all types of data access, Paradox also supports industry-standard ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) A database programming interface from Microsoft that provides a common language for Windows applications to access databases on a network. drivers, and works with Borland SQL Links to provide lightning-swift native links to popular server platforms like Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQLServer, Informix, and InterBase. Paradox 7's additions to this already-robust data connectivity include: o An improved ANSI (American National Standards Institute, New York, www.ansi.org) A membership organization founded in 1918 that coordinates the development of U.S. voluntary national standards in both the private and public sectors. It is the U.S. member body to ISO and IEC. SQL '92 local SQL engine provides developers with an industry-standard SQL engine for local and remote use. o Full integration of an SQL query model into the product that allows users to use a SQL query as the basis of a form or report, just as they would use a local query. As with previous versions of Paradox, optimized SQL statements can be automatically generated by the Query-By-Example (QBE (Query By Example) A method for describing a database query originally developed by IBM for mainframes. A replica of an empty record is displayed and the search conditions are typed in under their respective columns (fields). ) designer. This allows anyone to harness the power of the SQL language without having to know proper SQL syntax. Pricing and Availability Paradox 7 is scheduled to be available in December from Borland and through all major distribution channels. The estimated street price (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. ) for a new-user version of Paradox 7 is $299. Owners of previous versions of Paradox can upgrade to Paradox 7 for an ESP of $89 (including manufacturer's rebate). A special upgrade offer will also be available for owners of competitive database products and application suites at an ESP of $99. For more information or to place orders, customers can call Borland at 800-233-2444, or contact their local reseller. All estimated prices are in U.S. dollars and apply only in the United States and Canada. Dealer prices may vary. System Requirements Paradox 7 requires a 386-based (or higher) personal computer running Windows 95 or Windows NT, with 8 megabytes of RAM, and a hard disk with 30 megabytes of free space for full install. Borland recommends 12 megabytes or more of RAM for best performance. Windows NT may require 16 megabytes of RAM. 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, Delphi Client/Server, Borland C++, Visual 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. . -0- Note to Editors: Copies of previous Borland press releases and additional corporate and product information are available on Borland's Internet 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 scurry@wpo.borland.com or Pat Lucas, 408/431-4872 plucas@wpo.borland.com |
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