Using Xbase Files
To facilitate the migration of Xbase applications, Recital products contain the following features:
Contents
Replaceable Database Drivers
Replaceable Database Drivers allow Xbase tables and indexes to be used in their native format. The Replaceable Database Drivers are not available on OpenVMS or 64-bit UNIX.
The Replaceable Database Drivers (RDDs) allow transparent use and creation of data and index files in the following product formats:
- dBASE3
- dBASE4
- Clipper
- FoxBase
- FoxPlus
- FoxPro
- Visual FoxPro
Use the SET FILETYPE command to set the required file type.
The Replaceable Database Drivers can be used to enable a once only transfer of data into Recital format when data and applications are being migrated from Xbase products. Each table is opened, and then copied to Recital format by ensuring that SET FILETYPE is set to Recital. They can also be used on a continuous basis where the same data tables and indexes need to be used by both Recital products and one of the Xbase products.
recitalconvert | CONVERT
The recitalconvert utility and the CONVERT Recital/4GL command can be used to convert binary Xbase files to Recital format and to alter the line feed character of ASCII files to the correct format for the new host platform. The recitalconvert utility is available in Recital; the CONVERT command can also be used with Recital server products.
SET COMPATIBLE
The SET COMPATIBLE command can be used in all Recital products to give added compatibility with Xbase dialects.
SET FILECASE
The SET FILECASE command determines whether references to file and directory names on UNIX and Linux are case-sensitive. If SET FILECASE is OFF, all file and directory names are treated as lower case. If SET FILECASE is ON, file and directory names are case-sensitive.
compat.db
The first time you start Recital, or at any subsequent startup when the system wide compat.db file does not exist, you will be prompted to select the Language and Database compatibility settings. These correspond to the SET COMPATIBLE and SET FILETYPE settings and once saved are written to the compat.db file, which will be run every time Recital is started.
The settings dialog can be redisplayed by issuing the SET COMPATIBLE command with no ON, OFF or TO clause.
