Topic group 

 

NEW FEATURES

 

New registration process

Gives dBase the ability to understand who is registering and using the product. Each time you install a new license on a new machine, a registration process will be required to validate the license on that new machine. The process includes a reasonable amount of reinstalls before a call to Customer Service to increase the license install number

 

New Registry and File locations

In dBASE Plus 8 ...

- the default installer location is : <rootinstalldir>\dBASE\Plus8

- programData and Users folder locations also follow this same path setting. .....\dBASE\Plus8\... is used instead of .....dBASE\Plus\...

- the registry key is designated by using "series8" instead of "series1". This allows for a simultaneous running of dBASE Plus 2.8 (or older version) along side of dBASE Plus 8 (With ADO).

- A new file is created during install to handle default paradox files (with .db extension). During install C:\programData\Common Files\Borland\BDE\NETDIR is created and sets permissions for all users to have access. In order to utilize this the 'NETDIR' ( Configuration | Drivers | Native | Paradox -- NETDIR ) in IDAPI.CFG should be set to this path.

 

Revised help system

You now have the ability to get to the FAQ, Knowledgebase, and Newsgroups from within the Help interface.

 

New graphics handling

Updated graphic library support. New Glyfx graphics can be found under the location of:  programdata\dBASE\plus8\media\images\Glyfx directories

New included textures (in all screen sizes) under the location of:  programdata\dBASE\plus8\media\images\Texture

 

dBASE Plus 8 as new graphical elements, supports windows management, has a defined look & feel (that can be changed), and advanced features like Docking of windows.

 

Project Explorer updates 

1 - New Support for useUACPaths registry entry for application during installation..

 

New tab added under INNO called ‘UAC Registry Setting’ which includes three radio buttons.

This gives the user three options with regard to adding registry settings during the installation of their program.

The options are:

These settings are saved in the .prj file under [INNO]

 UACRB= (options are 1, 2 or 3 – corresponding to the above images options in order)

 

2 – support for maintaining path setting for runtime installer executable.

created a property that keeps track of where the Runtime installer executable is and saves it in the .prj folder under INNO as

dBaseRuntimeInstDir=<path and .exe name of runtime installer>

 

3 – Bypassing the Inno Script Generator all together (unable to make any updates to the program for future releases)

This involves adding new support files under the dBASE/Plus/Runtime and dBASE/Plus/Bin/dBLCore/ProjExp directories.

Now when a new script is generated the Inno Setup Compiler will open with the new script. (instead of using the INNO Script Generator as a go-between app).

 

Pre-Registered ActiveX Controls

dBASE includes for the first time a set of built-in ActiveX controls:

 

- dJvClockX - The dJvClockX ActiveX is used displaying time and dates on the screen and also comes with advanced features like Alarms

- dJvDirectoryLIstBoxX - The dJvDirectoryListBoxX ActiveX is used displaying a list of directories on a registered drive

- dJvDriveComboX - The dJvDriveComboX ActiveX is used for displaying the registered drives in a dropdown combobox

- dJvFileListBoxX - The dJvFileListBoxX ActiveX is used for displaying files in a directory

- dJvRichEditX - The dJvRichEditX ActiveX is used for creating rich text edits with Printing, Undo, Redo and a whole lot more.

 

New SQL Query Builder

New drag-and-drop SQL Builder that supports both BDE and ADO data objects. 

 

Data Module Designer

The new Data Module design window is a visual design surface for designing data modules that you can use in your forms, reports, and labels. Drag and drop the data access components you need for your data module, then set their properties in the Inspector. 

 

High Precision Math

New High Precision Math (HPM) library, and wrapper has been added to the product. This new library implements the IEEE 754 Standard for Floating Point Arithmetic.

 

dBASE wraps this standard around our number handling interface, which supports the following concepts:

· Arithmetic formats: sets of binary and decimal floating-point data, which consist of finite numbers (including signed zeros and subnormal numbers), infinities, and special "not a number" values (NaNs)

· Interchange formats: encodings (bit strings) that may be used to exchange floating-point data in an efficient and compact form

· Rounding rules: properties to be satisfied when rounding numbers during arithmetic and conversions

· Operations: arithmetic and other operations on arithmetic formats

· Exception handling: indications of exceptional conditions (such as division by zero, overflow, etc.)

 

When using a decimal floating point format the decimal representation will be preserved using:

· 7 decimal digits for decimal32

· 16 decimal digits for decimal64

· 34 decimal digits for decimal128

New Number Class 

The NUMBER() object is used for High Precision Math calculations. It allows for various properties and events to be used to help with very large numbers. This implements most of the specification for the IEEE 754 standard.

 

New CALLBACK functions:

GETCALLADDRESS

returns the address to pass to an external program for a dBL Callback function or method.

 

CALLBACK

CALLBACK allows you to write a function or method in dBL code and setup a pointer to it that can be passed to an external program - such as Windows or the BDE or some other 3rd party software that supports callbacks.
Callbacks can be used to notify your program of specific events occurring with an external program OR to allow your program to modify what an external program is doing.


RELEASE CALLBACK

Allows you to release an object instantiated by the CALLBACK function.


Built-in ADO support:

ADO Classes

New built-in ADO data source Classes. Includes the following new dBASE Class definitions:

ADOChapter

ADOChapterArray

ADOCommand

ADOCommandArray

ADODatabase

ADODataShape

ADOError

ADOErrorArray

ADOException

ADOField

ADOFieldArray

ADOParameter

ADOParameterArray

ADOPersist

ADOProperty

ADOPropertyArray

ADOQuery

ADORowset

ADOStoredProc

ADOStream

ADOTable

ADOTableConstraint

ADOTableDef

ADOTableField

ADOTableFieldArray

ADOTableIndex

ADOUpdateSet

 

ADO Connection Aliases

Just like BDE Aliases, dBASE Plus 8 has the ability to use ADO Connection Aliases. See the Help under  "ADO | Setting up and ODBC/ADO Driver".

 

 

 

FIXES (Since dBASE Plus 2.8)

 

Project Explorer

 

– fixed issue where rumtime path was not set correctly during an INNO install

 

– DEO files are now saved in project

 

– supporting table files are now saved dbt, mdx etc… are now saved in project

 

– Support for the new Silent install option in Runtime installers starting with  b2215

Choosing silent install option when including the runtime installer for b2215 and above will now work

 

– Fixed issue where a default Explorer.iss file was assumed when going to the INNO | Script tab. This produced an error saying that the file does not exist. This default filename was removed.

 

– Fixed formatting of several pages so all items are not viewable.

 

– Updated text on DEO page to better explain the process.

 

Session Class

Upgraded Session Objects so all new sessions autoload User BDE Aliases from .ini file. Also fixed code streaming order in .wfm for database properties so that session property is streamed before database property.

 

Code Streaming

Fixed issue where streaming engine drops any commands it does not understand. Instead a dialog will appear telling the user to check their code.  

 

ActiveX Controls

Fixed several ActiveX issues to better handle ActiveX Controls.

 

Web Wizard Interface

Fixed images and references in Web Wizard to make it more stable.