Author Topic: DBExpert / Driver  (Read 6640 times)

wdsibyl

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DBExpert / Driver
« on: April 04, 2019, 08:20:15 am »
Hello!

Has any information or the technical Documentation of DBExpert.
In General, I am looking for the interface documentation (API) from the Q + E-ODBC driver. The DLLs are: QEDBF04.DLL, QEOR704.DLL etc

Please send this to:
wdsibyl@wdsibyl.org or office@wodrsoftware.at

Thank you.

bye,
Wolfgang

Martin Iturbide

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Re: DBExpert / Driver
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2019, 07:29:13 pm »
Hi.

If someone has something to share, please let me also know to improve the DBExpert documentation on the OS2World wiki.  Sadly the author of this software passed away on 2007 and there is no way to get more information.

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Martin Iturbide
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Doug Clark

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Re: DBExpert / Driver
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2019, 09:46:15 pm »
Wolfgang,

If you are asking for the API/interface to Q+E ODBC drivers - that interface is defined in either the ODBC 2.0 Programmer's Reference and Guide, or version 3. Those references are oriented to a programmer writing (usually) a C program that makes calls to the ODBC API.

I am only vary vaguely familiar with DBexpert and I am guessing it has a 4th generation type language that makes those calls to the API for you - if that it the case then I think you are looking for DBexport documention.

I seem to remember that DBexpert uses DBASE formatted tables and indexes. If that is the case then maybe you are looking for what features the Q+E dbase ODBC driver provides, e.g. SQL statements supported, compacting, indexing, etc. If this is what you want I can email you the help that goes with the Q+E dbase ODBC driver. - which should answer those types of questions.

If you are looking for the whole ODBC API, I suggest picking up the ODBC Programmer's Guide and Reference book from ebay or Amazon. They should cost about $5 - $10, including shipping.

wdsibyl

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Re: DBExpert / Driver
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2019, 03:31:24 pm »
Hello!

In Fact, I am looking for the Documentary or the Sources of the two DLLs QEDBF04. DLL and QEOR704. DLL. Because what I found out is, that DBExpert uses these two DLLs directly and doesn't go through the ODBC interface (that IS, ODBC. DLL). This makes it not possible to extend DBExpert to other Databases such as mySQL, MariaBB, Etc.

For this to work, I have the Idea that I have the file QEOR704. Replace DLL with its own DLL and simulate an Oracle database, but in the Background I'm connected to the mySQL database.

bye,
Wolfgang

Doug Clark

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Re: DBExpert / Driver
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2019, 06:50:00 pm »
Wolfgang,

What you need is the Microsoft ODBC 2.0 Programmer's Reference and SDK Guide.
I just checked and there are a couple available on ebay for less than $10.

QEDBF04.DLL and QEOR504.DLL are odbc drivers.I suspect they are ODBC version 2
or 2.5. The drivers implement the functions
described in chapter 22. There are 56 functions listed in the chapter, but those
two drivers probably don't implement all 56 functions. I have attached the help
file for Q+E "flat file" drivers, which include the dBase driver. That help lists
the ODBC functions the driver supports. (I could only find **08.DLL version drivers
right now.)

You can, in theory, call the ODBC functions directly in the driver without going
through ODBC.DLL - which is what DBExpert is apparently doing. What ODBC.DLL does
is load the driver and its functions, do some error checking on function calls,
maybe allocate some memory, call the function in the driver and return the values.
DBExpert is apparently doing that.

So you could build a "forwarder", named QEDBF04.DLL (or QEOR704.DLL) which would forward
the functions called by DBExpert to ODBC.DLL. Alternately you could forward the functions
directly to your target database, but then you would have to write something specific
for each database you wanted to target. Which is exactly what ODBC is designed to get around.

You could also build your forwarder to forward directly into another ODBC driver. The issue
with doing that is you would have to handle the differences between OBDC versions and do
that for each ODBC driver - once again something that ODBC.DLL does for you. For example
the ODBC driver I could find for mySQL is ODBC version 3, and some of the ODBC function
names changed from version 2 to version 3, along with some of the parameters.

I have attached the ODBC SDK from Devcon vol 9 disk 2. [modified text and attachment to replace the copy I originally attached, which I had altered (the first attachment) to compile against odbc v 2 and v 3]
« Last Edit: April 06, 2019, 09:40:41 pm by Doug Clark »

wdsibyl

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Re: DBExpert / Driver
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2019, 06:56:13 am »
Thank You for your Information and Files.
I will take a closer look at the SDK/ZIP file and hopefully it will help me.

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Re: DBExpert / Driver
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2019, 02:13:10 pm »
I will take a closer look at the SDK/ZIP file and hopefully it will help me.
Or you can save time by ignoring it. Visigenic ODBC (the later VisiODBC) is a different ODBC driver product from a different company Visigenic Software, Inc. which was acquired by Borland in late 1990s.

The Q+E ODBC developed by Pioneer Software which was renamed to Q+E Software and later bought by Intersolv in 1994 is based on ODBC Version 1. The book mentioned in the former answer can still be used. Intersolv is no longer existing, it became Merant when bought by Micro Focus. The DataDirect ODBC stuff was branched out and is now available from Progress Software.

ODBC is the API. There seems to be some confusion about the right terms for ODBC driver manager, ODBC driver and ODBC driver implementation in the former answers.

Martin Iturbide

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Re: DBExpert / Driver
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2019, 06:44:24 pm »
Hi

I received a correction on a private email:

Quote
You implied that Randel was the author of dbExpert.  This is not quite true.  Sundial licensed dbExpert from the original author, Designer Software, Inc.

I stand corrected.

I still do not know any developer names from Designer Software or any other product that they have developed. If I find something I will include it on the OS2World Wiki.

Regards
Martin Iturbide
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