Opening .dta and .key files

[flbos]

Hi,

I've got a big problem. I've got an old program that's written in Turbo Pascal, I don't know which version. I've only got the compiled executable (.exe file), I haven't got the source code. The program works with a database that consists of .dta and .key files which represent the data tables.

The program has been used for years and the database contains lots of data that has been build up through these years. The problem is that I stopped using this program but need to extract the data somehow. My goal is to convert this Turbo Pascal database to MS Excel or MS Access so that the data can be used by these MS Office applications.

Is there a way to accomplish this and if so, how? Any help would be very much appreciated because this is a HUGE problem for me.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Glenn9999]

The first step would be to figure out the format of these files. Pull up a "first" data record, then hex edit the files to figure out what the formats are based on the data you saw in the program, and then go from there. You would likely then have to write a TP program to extract this data into a human-readable format.

But it's not going to be an easy thing, indeed, especially since you don't have the source.

Post back if you want more guidance.

 

[IsmAvatar]

Seeing as you have the executable, I'd assume you are still able to at least create datatable files. As such, anything you can't understand from a few glances at existing files, try using the program to create a few that are essentially the same, with 1 very minor difference at a time. Then compare the hex codes. Whatever changes in the hex code might suggest to you that that byte or those bytes are directly impacted by this button or whatever.