I am trying to evaluate the possibilities of converting my apps to
Alaska-Xbase ++ but the more I look, the more questions I have. I have
questions that this group might be able to answer.

1. I use a lot of serial port functions in my clipper apps to read barcode
input for Point of sale apps, are these readily available to Xbase++ ?

2. I have some apps that write directly to laser printers. Any problems with
that in the GUI apps for xbase++ ?

3. I use ADS database server in all my apps. Is the product that Alaska
sells for ADS mandatory to access the ADS server?

4. I have had to go to IP in my clipper apps for ADS and that means running
ADSDOSIP (*^%#$*^* sleeps too much). Do the DOS looking apps in XBASE++
require ADSDOSIP?

5. Does this development package support RDD from 3rd part vendors, like
comix?

Ken Brown (newbie , have eval only now)

"Ken Brown" <krown.kpb@gmailcom> wrote in
news:47c58b8f$56b665ab$3539@news.alaska-software.com: 

> 1. I use a lot of serial port functions in my clipper apps to read
> barcode input for Point of sale apps, are these readily available to
> Xbase++ ? 

XbTools (which comes with Xbase++) includes many serial port functions. 
I'm sure you wil have no problem.

> 2. I have some apps that write directly to laser printers. Any
> problems with that in the GUI apps for xbase++ ?

Should work the same way since you are generating the page and sending 
the raw data to the parallel port.

> 3. I use ADS database server in all my apps. Is the product that
> Alaska sells for ADS mandatory to access the ADS server?

There are several alternatives to access ADS, these include:
ADSDBE (from Alaska Software)
ACE Wrappers ( see http://www.sqlexpress.net/ace )
AceServer++ (see http://www.ds-datasoft.de )
SQLExpress (ADS via ODBC, see http://www.sqlexpress.net)

> 4. I have had to go to IP in my clipper apps for ADS and that means
> running ADSDOSIP (*^%#$*^* sleeps too much). Do the DOS looking apps
> in XBASE++ require ADSDOSIP?

NO

> 5. Does this development package support RDD from 3rd part vendors,
> like comix?

You have more database options with Xbase++ as compared to Clipper. In 
addition to the RDD's supplied by Alaska Software, you can access any 
ODBC/SQL database via SQLExpress (eg. MS-SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, MySQL, 
MS-Access, etc...)

Best regards,
Boris Borzic

news://news.Xb2.NET
http://www.Xb2.NET
http://www.SQLExpress.net
industrial strength Xbase++ development tools

Ken,

> I am trying to evaluate the possibilities of converting my apps to
> Alaska-Xbase ++ but the more I look, the more questions I have. I have
> questions that this group might be able to answer.

Well, Boris seems to hav answered these questions quite thoroughly, but I
thought I'd add a little clarification.

> 5. Does this development package support RDD from 3rd part vendors, like
> comix?

As Boris said, lots of options in Xbase++.  As well as all those that Boris
mentioned, there is also PGSql, a library which directly interfaces with
PostgreSQL, bypassing ODBC.

However, the reason for my response is more to the question about RDD's.

In Clipper, an RDD is a complete engine for accessing a database. In
Xbase++, you get two components - a data and an order component.  The data
component handles (for example) the DBF, and the order component handles the
index.  You can mix and match your comonents to build a DBE to your
requirements.

Your biggest problem though, if you have used SIXCDX or Comix, is if you
have used any library specific functions such as cmxCount(). Some of these
can be remapped to Xbase++ functions, some can't.

The only way to judge this is of course to examine your code and see which
vendor-specific functions you use and check that against what Xbase++
provides (e.g. cmxSetScope() -> dbSetScope()).

Regards,

Phil Ide

***************************************
* Xbase++ FAQ, Libraries and Sources: *
* goto: http://www.idep.org.uk/xbase  *
***************************************

I will be an equal-opportunity despot and make sure that terror and
oppression is distributed fairly, not just against one particular group that
will form the core of a rebellion.
          [Things I'd do as an Evil Overlord]

> 1. I use a lot of serial port functions in my clipper apps to read barcode
> input for Point of sale apps, are these readily available to Xbase++ ?

Xbase Tools has a complete set of serial functions, however there are also
third-party DLLs that can be used for just about anything you would want to 
do.

> 2. I have some apps that write directly to laser printers. Any problems 
> with
> that in the GUI apps for xbase++ ?

You don't need to change your code at all unless you are using something
like ESCAPE.  Even if you are, you can fairly easily write replacement 
functions
in Xbase++ because all that ESCAPE does is send Escape code sequences.

> 3. I use ADS database server in all my apps. Is the product that Alaska
> sells for ADS mandatory to access the ADS server?

You don't have to use the ADSDBE, but it is very much worth the price 
because
there are no code changes required.   You could use the ADS ACEAPI.DLL
directly and bypass the ADSDBE but it requires more code changes.

> 4. I have had to go to IP in my clipper apps for ADS and that means 
> running
> ADSDOSIP (*^%#$*^* sleeps too much). Do the DOS looking apps in XBASE++
> require ADSDOSIP?

NO!!!!!!!

> 5. Does this development package support RDD from 3rd part vendors, like
> comix?

COMIX compatibility is built-in to Xbase++ however it's not called COMIX.
You need to use the DBFCDX driver.   COMIX functions like CMXSetScope()
are easily replaced with Alaska's SetScope().

I have converted a lot of apps that have he same scenario as you have 
described.
There is a plethora of options available to you when using Xbase++.  This 
product
is now 10 years old.  I recommend coming to the Spring Devcon in New 
Hampshire.
You will get a lot of questions answered there.