In the battle of PC databases, both Microsoft and Borland have set their sights on having it all
Stan Miastkowski
As late as Borland's release of dBase for Windows is, it will probably still beat Microsoft's FoxPro for Windows to market by several months in offering a full event-driven programming model with object-programming extensions for dBase programmers. Borland was expected to release the long-delayed first version of dBase for Windows in June.
Although Microsoft is catching up in market share in the PC desktop database market (see the chart), Borland says it still has a worldwide installed base of 6.7 million dBase developers and users, many of whom have waited for a 100 percent dBase language and file-compatible Windows dat
abase. The large installed dBase market, analysts say, gives Borland a fighting chance to recapture market share in the desktop database arena with dBase 5.0 for Windows (note the shift from Roman to Arabic numbering with the first Windows version).
Microsoft released FoxPro 2.6 for Windows this spring, and although the database targets dBase programmers, some developers who have used the latest version say it lacks 100 percent compatibility with dBase, making it a problematic solution for a mixed environment of dBase for DOS and FoxPro users. For example, with FoxPro, dBase indexes and memo fields must be converted to FoxPro's own format, and FoxPro does not support concurrency of dBase IV files in a mixed FoxPro/dBase environment on a network.
"When you do a Use on a .DBF file, FoxPro has to automatically convert memo fields to its own FoxPro format," says Dick Harding, president of Compucon (Menlo Park, CA), a consulting company and developer of custom database applications. He says Microsof
t's solution is for developers to take the .DBF database file and copy it to another named file without the memo files. "That's fine for 500 records, but what if you have a 10-million-record file?" asks Harding, who uses FoxPro and has tested a pre-release version of dBase for Windows. "This is a problem."
Janet Walker, group program manager of Microsoft's Fox Business Unit, says FoxPro 3.0 will include a true Windows event model that will obviate the need for the complex coding currently associated with using FoxPro's foundation Read command (index incompatibilities with dBase should remain, however). FoxPro 3.0, the first Windows and NT versions of which should ship sometime between late 1994 and mid-1995, will include all the events, properties, and methods found in Visual Basic today; object-programming extensions; a data dictionary; and other features, Walker says. (Borland is working with Intersolv (Rockville, MD) and other third parties to provide a data dictionary for dBase for Windows.)
dBase for Windows and Paradox 5.0 for Windows, which is expected to ship in August, are the keys to Borland growing its installed base. BYTE previewed prerelease versions of both programs. The version of Paradox 5.0 for Windows that BYTE used was far from being a quantum leap from version 4.5, but it shows a great deal of improvement in integration and ease of use. Paradox 5.0 for Windows is notable for its many new Experts, programs that guide you through the common yet complex schemes of creating reports, forms, and graphs. Borland claims 5.0 is two times faster across the board than 4.5, but BYTE could not confirm this because of the debugging code in the beta version.
dBase 5.0 for Windows puts a new face on a familiar programming language. Borland is counting on its two-way interface (see the screen) to bring a generation of dBase programmers into the brave new world of object-oriented programming. The beta version that BYTE tested was not yet ready for performance testing.
Unlike Paradox,
whose object-oriented tools and language result in a product that's different from its DOS namesake, dBase 5.0 for Windows is also completely compatible with dBase III Plus and IV files and programs. Based on BYTE's use of an early beta version, it appears that the migration from .DBF files to client/server is as painless as it is to move from DOS to Windows: Users move around server tables with the same skip, go top/bottom, and locate for commands they have used for years. Once connected to the database, you design forms and reports or write code just as you would for local data, accessing database tables with the familiar use command.
Although the database arena is fragmented into numerous segments, including desktop, developer, and client/server, the lines between these segments are becoming increasingly blurred. As companies downsize and move their line-of-business applications to networked PCs, developers are asking for databases that combine a fast and flexible development environment with the a
bility to access corporate data stored in SQL databases.
Howard Dresner, program director at the Stamford, Connecticutbased Gartner Group, says the consulting group has five different definitions for client/server but that most PC databases conform to only one of them: front-end remote access of data residing on a networked database server. The database server could be a PC, a minicomputer, or a mainframe running another database, such as Oracle, Sybase, DB2, InterBase, or even a different PC database.
The graphical shell of all major PC databases wraps around the core code that performs the complex low-level chores of handling data. In this realm, Borland claims to have an advantage: Paradox 5.0 for Windows and dBase 5.0 for Windows share the BDE (Borland Database Engine), as does the Quattro Pro spreadsheet Borland recently sold to WordPerfect. Currently, Access and Visual Basic share Microsoft's Jet engine, while FoxPro runs on the FoxPro engine.
The benefits of the shared-engine appro
ach include reduced storage requirements and a consistent development platform. Today's PC databases hide the complex details of the SQL commands from users by translating normal queries, but Borland and Microsoft handle this translation process in very different ways.
Borland's approach is to include SQL translation capabilities directly in its BDE. The integrated SQL Link of both dBase 5.0 for Windows and Paradox 5.0 for Windows directly accesses Oracle, Sybase, Informix, DB2, AS/400, SQL Server, and InterBase servers. The SQL Link can also access other SQL databases that have ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) drivers. Borland contends that its integrated client/server approach has several important advantages over ODBC, including the ability to use virtual tables, faster access to remote data, and heterogeneous joins (using a mix of multitable local and remote data at the same time).
Instead of incorporating client/server capabilities directly in its core Jet engine, Microsoft's approach is O
DBC, a company-developed "middleware" standard that's been widely adopted by the database community. Microsoft ships a handful of drivers with its applications, and many database makers (e.g., Oracle) include or sell ODBC drivers for their products. Third-party companies such as Q+E Software (Raleigh, NC) sell other ODBC drivers and development kits. At last count, there were over 140 such drivers available for various applications.
Analysts say that neither Borland nor Microsoft currently has a large presence in the client/server arena. But both companies hope to make a dent in the client/server business. The question remains whether corporate customers (largely Fortune 1000 companies) will be impressed. "Borland is going upstream and trying to compete with Oracle and Sybase," says Nicole Roth, an analyst for International Data (Framingham, MA). "They [Borland] have good technology, but it's going to be tough for them."
dBase developers have patiently waited for dBase for Windows. Will the prod
uct turn out to be worth the wait when Borland releases it? Based on use of a prerelease version, we think so. But, as one Borland product manager said, "It better be."
- Additional reports by Mark Hettler and Dave Andrews
Illustration: Graph: Worldwide Stand-Alone Desktop Databases Installed
Illustration: dBase for Windows' two-way graphical development tools let users and developers build queries, design forms, and generate reports without writing any code. However, you can edit source code generated by the graphical tools. Changes made are instantly reflected in the associated form.
Borland Readies dBase, Takes Aim at Microsoft
