XBase
Encyclopedia
xBase is the generic term for all programming language
s that derive from the original dBASE
(Ashton-Tate
) programming language and database formats. These are sometimes informally known as dBASE "clones". While there was a non-commercial predecessor to the Ashton-Tate product (Vulcan written by Wayne Ratliff
), most clones are based on Ashton-Tate's 1986 dBASE III+ release — scripts written in the dBASE III+ dialect are most likely to run on all the clones.
term held by Ashton-Tate. This gave rise to the creation of the generic term "xBase" meaning "dBASE or dBASE-like." A suggested name that narrowly failed was "*base" ' onMouseout='HidePop("93839")' href="/topics/Homage">homage
to Vulcan and Star Trek
), and some wanted it spelled "X-base" to further differentiate it from the trademark.
Once Borland acquired Ashton-Tate in mid 1991 (and was apparently required to drop the lawsuits as an anti-trust related condition of the merger), such standardization efforts were given new life. An ANSI
committee (ANSI/X3J19) was officially formed, and began regular meetings in 1992. Marc Schnapp was the first chairman, and the first meeting was held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, California which was essentially the birthplace of Vulcan and dBASE II. The group met on a regular basis in a variety of locations over the next few years, and representatives from most major vendors participated. But despite lip service from all the vendors on the need for a standard, no one seemed willing to change their product syntax to match that of a competitor.
In 1993, Sybex, Inc. (computer books) published the Xbase Cross Reference Handbook, by Sheldon M. Dunn, another cross reference of the most commonly used xBase languages at that time -- dBASE III+, dBASE IV, FoxPro for DOS, FoxPro for Windows, FoxPro for Macintosh and Clipper 5.1. At 1352 pages and 5.1 pounds shipping weight, the Cross Reference was hardly a handbook, but it provided the xBase community with an up-to-date, all-in-one reference manual, and addressed one of the major documentation problems that the community was facing. The software companies had decided to break their manuals into sections, separating commands from functions, etc., and splitting the (previous) manual into two or three different manuals, and the community was left trying to figure what-was-what and which manual to keep close at hand. 1993 was pivotal for the xBase community because, as previously noted, Ashton-Tate had earlier sold dBASE as well as the rest of their product line to Borland and Microsoft had purchased FoxPro from Fox Software. Borland had also purchased QuickSilver to get a foot up the development ladder for a dBASE version for Windows (then 3.1). In 1994, Borland launched dBase V for Windows and dBASE V for DOS before selling the dBASE name and product line to dBASE Inc.
In recent years there seems to be a renewed interest in xBase, mostly because of a number of open source, portable, xBase implementations (listed below), and the scripting applicability of the language. While newer desk-top database tools are optimized for mouse usage, xBase has always been "keyboard friendly", which helps make scripting and meta-programming
(automating the automation) easier. Meta-programming generally does not work as well with mouse-oriented techniques because automating mouse movements can require calculating and processing of screen coordinates, something most developers find tedious and difficult to debug. xBase is one of the few table-oriented scripting languages still available.
The commercially available products:
Some free
versions are also available, including:
Historical versions:
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
s that derive from the original dBASE
DBASE
dBase II was the first widely used database management system for microcomputers. It was originally published by Ashton-Tate for CP/M, and later on ported to the Apple II and IBM PC under DOS...
(Ashton-Tate
Ashton-Tate
Ashton-Tate was a US based software company best known for developing the popular dBASE database application. Ashton-Tate grew from a small garage-based company to become a multinational corporation...
) programming language and database formats. These are sometimes informally known as dBASE "clones". While there was a non-commercial predecessor to the Ashton-Tate product (Vulcan written by Wayne Ratliff
Wayne Ratliff
Cecil Wayne Ratliff wrote the database program Vulcan. Raised in Ohio and Germany, he now resides in the Los Angeles area....
), most clones are based on Ashton-Tate's 1986 dBASE III+ release — scripts written in the dBASE III+ dialect are most likely to run on all the clones.
History of the X
Ashton-Tate always maintained that everything relating to dBASE was proprietary, and as a result, filed lawsuits against several of the "clone" software vendors. One effect of this action was to cause the clone vendors to avoid using the term "dBASE": a trademarkTrademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
term held by Ashton-Tate. This gave rise to the creation of the generic term "xBase" meaning "dBASE or dBASE-like." A suggested name that narrowly failed was "*base" ' onMouseout='HidePop("93839")' href="/topics/Homage">homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to Vulcan and Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
), and some wanted it spelled "X-base" to further differentiate it from the trademark.
Standards effort
By 1987 there were an increasing number of "clone" software products that mimicked dBASE. Each of these products had its own unique set of supported language features and syntax. As such, it was often very difficult to move code developed with one dBASE-like product to run in another one. (This was in contrast to older programming languages such as C or COBOL where due to published official standards, carefully developed code could possibly be run in a wide range of software environments.) While there were many cries for a standard for the dBASE programming language syntax, nothing would happen as long as Ashton-Tate asserted ownership of all-things dBASE.Once Borland acquired Ashton-Tate in mid 1991 (and was apparently required to drop the lawsuits as an anti-trust related condition of the merger), such standardization efforts were given new life. An ANSI
Ansi
Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....
committee (ANSI/X3J19) was officially formed, and began regular meetings in 1992. Marc Schnapp was the first chairman, and the first meeting was held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
in Pasadena, California which was essentially the birthplace of Vulcan and dBASE II. The group met on a regular basis in a variety of locations over the next few years, and representatives from most major vendors participated. But despite lip service from all the vendors on the need for a standard, no one seemed willing to change their product syntax to match that of a competitor.
Influences over time
In 1989, Microtrend Books published the first "Xbase" cross-reference book (before the term was coined), The dBASE Language Handbook, by David M. Kalman, which covered Quicksilver, Clipper, dbxl, dBASE III, dBASE III Plus, dBASE IV, and FoxBase+. At more than 1,000 pages, it compared the execution of commands and functions to enable developers to build and maintain portable applications.In 1993, Sybex, Inc. (computer books) published the Xbase Cross Reference Handbook, by Sheldon M. Dunn, another cross reference of the most commonly used xBase languages at that time -- dBASE III+, dBASE IV, FoxPro for DOS, FoxPro for Windows, FoxPro for Macintosh and Clipper 5.1. At 1352 pages and 5.1 pounds shipping weight, the Cross Reference was hardly a handbook, but it provided the xBase community with an up-to-date, all-in-one reference manual, and addressed one of the major documentation problems that the community was facing. The software companies had decided to break their manuals into sections, separating commands from functions, etc., and splitting the (previous) manual into two or three different manuals, and the community was left trying to figure what-was-what and which manual to keep close at hand. 1993 was pivotal for the xBase community because, as previously noted, Ashton-Tate had earlier sold dBASE as well as the rest of their product line to Borland and Microsoft had purchased FoxPro from Fox Software. Borland had also purchased QuickSilver to get a foot up the development ladder for a dBASE version for Windows (then 3.1). In 1994, Borland launched dBase V for Windows and dBASE V for DOS before selling the dBASE name and product line to dBASE Inc.
In recent years there seems to be a renewed interest in xBase, mostly because of a number of open source, portable, xBase implementations (listed below), and the scripting applicability of the language. While newer desk-top database tools are optimized for mouse usage, xBase has always been "keyboard friendly", which helps make scripting and meta-programming
Metaprogramming
Metaprogramming is the writing of computer programs that write or manipulate other programs as their data, or that do part of the work at compile time that would otherwise be done at runtime...
(automating the automation) easier. Meta-programming generally does not work as well with mouse-oriented techniques because automating mouse movements can require calculating and processing of screen coordinates, something most developers find tedious and difficult to debug. xBase is one of the few table-oriented scripting languages still available.
Currently available xBase products
As of 2010, xBase is available and still expanding in terms of platform support (operating system), HTML clients, ASP Servers, Windows Scripting Host, and self contained interpreters. Its current usage tends to be wider in Europe and Asia than in the United States.The commercially available products:
- Apollo database engine for managing CA-Clipper and FoxPro from Vista Software
- Clipper, Visual Objects (Windows 32)Visual ObjectsVisual Objects is an object-oriented computer programming language that is used to create software programs that operate primarily under Windows...
and Vulcan.NET from GrafxSoft - dBaseDBASEdBase II was the first widely used database management system for microcomputers. It was originally published by Ashton-Tate for CP/M, and later on ported to the Apple II and IBM PC under DOS...
from dBASE Inc. - DBFView, DBF editor/viewer/converter from Apycom Software
- FlagShipFlagship compilerFlagShip is both object oriented and procedural programming language, based on the xBase language dialect and conventions. FlagShip is available for and is cross-compatible to different computer platforms, such as Linux, Unix and Microsoft Windows...
from multisoft GmbH - Recital from Recital Corp.
- Visual FoxProVisual FoxProVisual FoxPro is a data-centric object-oriented and procedural programming language produced by Microsoft. It is derived from FoxPro which was developed by Fox Software beginning in 1984. Fox Technologies merged with Microsoft in 1992, after which the software acquired further features and the...
is available from Microsoft - Vulcan.NET from GrafX Software
- XBase%2B%2B from Alaska Software
- Cule.Net from Software Perspectives
- xHarbour Builder from xHarbour.com Inc..
- DBF Viewer 2000 from HiBase Group
- DBF tools from Astersoft Co. Ltd.
- DBF Commander Professional
- Visual DBU visual aministration of any database/table from DS-Datasoft
Some free
Gratis
Gratis is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complimentary"...
versions are also available, including:
- CLIP - GNU, object oriented, CA-Clipper compatible compiler
- Harbour ProjectHarbour compilerHarbour is a modern computer programming language. It is a Clipper-compatible compiler which is cross-platform, running on many operating systems using the same source code and databases.Although it is a...
- from active community - xHarbourXHarbourxHarbour is a free multi-platform extended Clipper compiler, offering multiple graphic terminals , including console drivers, GUIs, and hybrid console/GUIs...
- Open Source alternative - DBFreeDbfreeDBFree is a free software package for Microsoft Windows that includes a web server and an interpreter intended for developing web applications based on the xBase language dialect and conventions....
- a preconfigured solution for developing xBase applications for the web - FlagShipFlagship compilerFlagShip is both object oriented and procedural programming language, based on the xBase language dialect and conventions. FlagShip is available for and is cross-compatible to different computer platforms, such as Linux, Unix and Microsoft Windows...
free test version - DBF Commander (free version)
Historical versions:
- Vulcan (dBase predecessor)
- DBIII Compiler
- QuickSilverQuicksilverQuicksilver is an archaic name for the element mercury. It may also refer to:Science and technology:* Quicksilver , a codename for the third revision of the Power Mac G4...
- dbXL
- Dialog
- Joinner (from Brazilian company Tuxon)
- VP-InfoVP-Info-Origin:In the early 80s, David Clark met Dr. George Gratzer, a mathematics professor at the University of Manitoba, at ComputerLand in Winnipeg where Dr Gratzer was looking for someone who could program in dBase. Mr Clark had been using dBase II in his consulting practice, but was frustrated by...
- Force
- dbFast
- CodeBase
- Multibase
- FoxBase
Interpreted versus compiled
xBase products generally split into an interpreted camp and the compiler camp. The original product was interpreted, but the "clones", led by Clipper, began creating compiler versions of the product. Compiling improved overall run-time speed and source-code security, but at the expense of an interpreted mode for interactive development or ad-hoc projects.External links
- [news:comp.lang.clipper Clipper Newsgroup]
- The History of FoxPro: People Who Helped FoxPro Become a Legend
- Vulcan.NET Xbase language for Microsoft .NET
- The NTK Project, WIN32 Gui Framework for (x)Harbour, backward compatible with Clipper and Clip4Win.
- Xbase ( & dBASE ) File Format Description
- DBFree freeware software bundle to build web applications using server-side Xbase scrips ans DBT data sources