Dbase 5 Dos conversion paths

[OldFatGuy]

I am looking for info on what conversion paths are availabe for me and my customer. We have a very large system written in Dbase for DOS ver 5.0 We are considering how to convert to a windows enviorment either 16 bit or 32 bit.

We did not use forms and have litterally hunderds of PRGs with @say/@get logic. This type of logic was used for both screen I/O and print programs. This is our main concern, how to preserve this code without having to redesign it all for frames/objects/forms whatever you want to call them.


We would also like to get client/server functionality that is hopefully transparent to the individual PRGs i.e. still use SELECT, USE, CLOSE, SEEK(), SKIP, ect..

Thanks in advance..

This is an issue we have been avoiding for years but cant run forever. I am afraid that my knowledge of what options are available are somewhat limited.

 

[tviman]

If you want a true 32 bit system with client-server capability then you're going to have to bite the big bullet and plan on a redesign in something like Delphi or MS Access.

Sorry, but there's just not much else you can do.



There's always a better way...

 

[dbMark]

Rather than put a new patch on an old winebag... that's part of an illustration aptly made by a famous person many, many years ago. Applies here too. For a quick port to Visual FoxPro, here are a few issues to keep in mind.

faq290-3553

There are simply so many advantages to doing a complete rewrite. In many cases the program will now do a lot of the drudgery for you. I myself am working with dBase 5 where simple semi-independent parts of the system that can be split away have been converted to VFP 6. The task ahead for the remainder is daunting. But as we move away from the Win95/98/Me world, it becomes more pressing.

The good thing I heard about Delphi is that all its DLLs are wrapped up neatly with the EXE somehow, so no problems if each user have a varied collection of differently-dated DLLs. Having worked with dBase though, you may want to consider VFP since it is so similar.