Btrieve® Summer 1995 Developers Journal Vol. III No. 2 THE INDEPENDENT SOURCE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION ABOUT BTRIEVE AND SCALABLE SQL Crystal, Smithware Announce Improved Btrieve Report Writer Smithware has made substantial Smithwares Enhanced Crystal Btrieve Drivers and Database modifications to the Crystal Reports Btrieve drivers. According to Steve Tools Significantly Improve Crytal Reports Btrieve Support Mook, Smithware Vice President for Development, We have added support in Vancouver, British Columbia June 1, market potential for Btrieve-specific the Crystal Drivers for the extended field 1995 Crystal announced today that enhancements to their product. definition capabilities provided by DDF Smithware will begin shipping Smithware Crystals mission is to provide our Builder: Pascal and COBOL data types, Crystal Reports for Btrieve in July. The customers with a way to access their data and types from the Magic and TAS product, which includes Crystal Reports and turn it into useful information. said development systems are among those combined with Smithwares Btrieve Mark Sochan, Manager of Strategic supported. The new drivers will also database definition and setup tools, will Relations. We recognize that a handle variable length records, data be marketed as a complete reporting significant number of our customers have compression, and password-protected solution for developers and users of their data in Btrieve applications. This files. The drivers have also been Btrieve-based applications. alliance with Smithware will be a great optimized to improve client/server Were very excited to see the benefit to these customers. Crystal performance. John Kelly, Quality growing industry awareness and third- claims sales of over 1 million copies of Assurance Engineer for Crystal said, party support developing for the huge its Windows report writer, including We are testing the new drivers and have installed base of Btrieve applications. direct sales and sales through partnerships been consistently getting results that are said Ron Harris, Btrieve Technologies with companies such as Microsoft, more than three times as fast. President and CEO, especially when an Borland, Symantec, Delrina, Hewlett industry leader like Crystal recognizes the Packard and others. See Report Writer on page 10... IN THIS ISSUE BTI Celebrates 1 Year Jim Kyle, Btrieve Developers News Editor, talks to BTI officials about their first anniversary: where they have been and where they are headed...... ..............................Page 4 Product Analysis We review two data conversion systems that support Btrieve: Tools and Techniques Data Junction and ISTs Open Exchange. We also look at Opt-Tech Sort/Merge and its support for Btrieve............... ..............................Page 8 Building Btrieve Steve Mook has written a nice little Windows application that reports everything it can on how Btrieve is setup in Windows........Page 14 Technical Corner Once again, the best-of-the-best in Btrieve Technologies Tech Support group gives you the latest technical information...........Page 17 Photographer: Laurie Wisbrun Inside Btrieve Doug Reilly looks into Btrieve file size Btrieve Technologies celebrates its 1-year anniversary with a Texas-style bash at DB/Expo estimation and discovers that it is more of an in San Francisco. BDJ news editor Jim Kyle covers the story beginning on page 4 art than a science.................................Page 25 Btrieve Developers Journal From the Cockpit... Summer 1995: Volume III, Issue 2 I know you are probably wondering ISSN 1071-7463 about the revised title of my column, and Published quarterly by Smithware, Inc. perhaps about the photograph of the goofy Staff looking fellow to the left. Basically, its been a long time (over a month) since BDJ editor Publisher: Scott Smith Editor: Steve Mook Steve Mook and I saw our corporate News Editor: Jim Kyle aircraft. We just recieved a replacement for Contributors: Jim Barber, Eric Cohen, the insignificant piece that fell off the wing Randy Goodhew, Doug Reilly, Jon Saunders the last time we flew it, so I decided that Contributors to Technical Corner: Linda while we went through the arduous task of Anderson, Doris Eldridge, Sharon Kimball, Photograph by Bruce Gallassero Diane Klinetob, Cathy Martin, Brett putting together another issue of BDJ Publisher Scott Smith Climbs Inside the McAnally, Rudy McNeese, Chris Ojeda, Rans Coyote Ultra Light Aircraft (instead of flying) I wanted to be constantly Jose Pruneda, Jim Sneary, Laruie Wisbrun reminded that it is waiting for us in the Graphic Design: Arthur Austin hanger the moment that this issue goes to the Design Consultant: Tania Owen Studio Photographers: Dean Dixon, Henry Savage printers! Illustrators: Will Owen, Albrecht Dürer This issue of BDJ sees a lot of changes around here. First of all, we are extremely Advertising Manager: Carolyn Lighty excited to welcome Jim Kyle to the post of BDJ News Editor. Jim, as you may know, is the Assistant Advertising Manager: Jim Perry author of the new Addison-Wessley Btrieve Complete book due out this summer. Jim has Circulation Manager: Cindi Gourley Administrative Assistant: Diane Kugel certainly brought a degree of enthusiasm and proficiency to the job that Steve and I never Collections: Kim Finnell really had the time to give it, and he writes better than we do. I know that everyone will be Subscriptions pleased to see Jim continue our long-standing policy of supporting all Btrieve/Scalable SQL products and services. Annual subscriptions are for four issues per Also, we welcome to our staff Jim Perry as assistant advertising manager. Jim, along year at $49/year for delivery inside the United States and Canada, and $79/year for with advertising manager Carolyn Lighty, will work hard to search for more products and delivery outside the United States. services for you to read about in our publications. Back Issues: Back issues are available for We are rather sad to announce, however, that Mad Poarch has resigned as BTIs Vice $20.00 per issue. Contact Cindi Gourley at President of Customer Service. She called (615) 386-3100 for additional information. Steve a few weeks back to tell him that she How to Contact BDJ had realized that it was time to move on. I will Btrieve Developer's Journal certainly miss working with Mad and her 2416 Hillsboro Road, Suite 201 assistance with the Technical Corner will be Nashville, Tennessee 37212 missed. Telephone: (615) 386-3100 At any rate, I hope you enjoy this issue. Facsimile: (615) 386-3135 While youre reading it, Steve and I will be cruising at about 1,000 feet somewhere between CompuServe: 73173,2731 Leipers Fork and Hohenwald, Tennessee. Internet: [email protected] Contents... Advertising Btrieve Technologies Turns Technical Corner For information about advertising your One Year Old by Btrieve Technologies..............................17 product or service in Btrieve Developer's BTI celebrates one year of operation Journal, call Carolyn Lighty, Advertising Inside Btrieve Manager, at (800) 685-2403 or (201) 712- since they separated from Novell How Big is that Btrieve File on the Hard 0044. by Jim Kyle...........................................................4 Drive? Postmaster Product Analysis by Doug Reilly.................................................25 Application to mail at Second-Class Tools and Techniques Data Junction, postage is Pending at Nashville, Innovative Solutions and Technologies Btrieve Based Accounting - Tennessee. OpenExchange, and Opt-Tech Sort Part 3 Copyright 1995 by Smithware, Inc. by Steve Mook and Scott Smith..................8 Eric Cohen presents the last installment All rights reserved. of his 3-part series on Btrieve-Based With the exception of the “Technical Corner” section, this publication is produced independently of Btrieve Configuring Btrieve for accounting systems Technologies, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by Windows by Eric Cohen...................................................29 any means without permission in writing from the publisher. What are allof those DLL's and EXE's? Smithware is a trademark of Smithware, Inc. Guest Review Btrieve and XQL are registered trademarks and Scalable SQL, by Steve Mook.................................................12 Xtrieve Plus, and Microkernel Database Engine are Clarion for Windows as a Btrieve trademarks of Btrieve Technologies, Inc.All other names are the trademark of their respective manufacturers. Building Btrieve development front end by Steve Mook.................................................13 by Randy Goodhew.....................................33 Summer 1995 Btrieve Developer's Journal 2 the product image was a top-priority goal. It was absolutely our biggest job, Btrieve Technologies Turns One Year Old Holland recalled. But at DB/Expo in May 1995, BTI Much of the Year Spent on Getting New Products Out the Door and its customer Arctco were honored While Rebuilding the Companys Presence and Image with the RealWare award for excellence in developing a working client/server By Jim Kyle, News Editor expansion, and entered a joint venture database solution. Industry observers rate agreement with Novell KK, AG Tech, this as one of the most significant awards Austin, Texas It was a Texas-style and Empower, to form Btrieve a product can receive, since its not party this past May 2, even though the Technologies Japan and accelerate Asia sponsored by any individual publishing location was San Franciscos Sheraton Pacific market development.