From: fsbrn@brl.mil (Ferd S. Brundick)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Paradox 4.0 for DOS : New Features?
Keywords: Paradox, upgrade
Date: 30 Dec 92 14:04:27 GMT
Reply-To: fsbrn@brl.mil
Organization: Army Research Laboratory

Advance warning.  I have owned 4.0 for only a week or so and am still
reading the manuals.  Plus I'm working on my first 3.5 application.
Consider what I say below to be the ramblings of a Pdox novice.

In article <gboersma.725658217@genesis.sce.carleton.ca>, gboersma@sce.carleton.ca (Gerald Boersma) writes:
|> I currently have Paradox 3.5 and am considering upgrading to 4.0. I
|> have some major complaints with 3.5, and I am wondering if they are
|> fixed in Version 4.0. I would *greatly* appreciate any comments by
|> anyone who took the plunge, especially since here in Canada, the
|> distribution of 4.0 is so poor that I cannot even see the box before I
|> upgrade.
|> 
|> 1. Although the fact that the user interface is slightly outdated for
|> 3.5, with no mouse support, I will not upgrade if the only change in
|> 4.0 is a mouse driven user-interface. Is this the case?

I felt the same way myself (until I played with a friend's copy of 4.0).
There is a 3.5 compatibility mode which causes Pdox to have the
original 3.5 look and feel (ie, no mouse or multiple windows).  One
big difference is 4.0 uses pull-down (or pop-up) menus instead of
3.5's menu bar.  To maintain compatibility the contents of the menus
have not changed.  For example, the Tools menu still has a More item
even tho both menus would fit in a pull-down.

On the other hand, I like being able to shuffle windows around so I
can see multiple tables, forms, and whatnot at once.  And the editor
is finally a *real* editor, complete with clipboard.  If you have used
Turbo C you already have an idea of the editor's features.

|> 2. I find the design of forms, ESPECIALLY the way form functionality
|> is programmed, to be extremely clumsy in 3.5. The requirement that the
|> data entry toolkit has to be used drives me bananas. Is this still the
|> case in 4.0, or is the programming of forms much cleaner? Is it true
|> that it is OO?

No, it isn't OO.  What it *is* is event-driven.  As a sometime X11
programmer (and future Stunt Island director :-) I like events.  There
are a couple of pages of "triggers".  For forms you may use DEPARTFIELD,
DEPARTROW, TOUCHRECORD, ARRIVEFIELD, VALCHECK, etc in a WAIT/UNTIL
clause.  Yes, WAIT has been extended quite a bit.  One reason for this
is the user may now click on a field instead of using the cursor keys to
move to another field.  There are mouse and key events as well.

Much (all?) of the DTK functionality has been incorporated into PAL itself.

|> 3. Can C or PASCAL now be interfaced to PAL? (I doubt it, but it's
|> worth asking!)

Nope.  Still gotta use the Paradox Engine (which I don't have).

|> 4. Is PDOX 4.0 noticably faster?

It is supposed to be.  I'm trying to finish my 3.5 app before I
convert it to 4.0 and start adding new features.

|> 5. What type of functions have been added to the PAL language?

Here is what the _PAL Programmer's Guide_ has to say in "New commands
and functions in Paradox 4.0" (p.11):

  Approximately 100 commands and functions have been added to Paradox
  4.0, significantly enhancing its power and usability.

  Many of the commands and functions added to Paradox 4.0 allow a PAL
  programmer to create the new interface elements, such as dialog
  boxes, menus, and windows.  The commands and functions that create
  and support these interface elements are not available in compatible
  mode.

  Other commands and functions were added to give a PAL programmer
  access to event-driven programming.  Because versions of Paradox prior
  to 4.0 are keypress-driven, these commands and functions are not
  available in compatible mode.

  Many of the new commands and functions can be use in compatible
  mode.  The complete list of commands and functions added to Paradox
  4.0 is in Appendix I of the _Pal Reference_ [which I left at home].

|> THanks in advance for any advice. Post all replies to the net.
|> 
|> Gerald Boersma
|> ------------------------------------------------------------------
|> Computer Systems Engineering	@sce.carleton.ca
|> Carleton University
|> Ottawa, Ontario
|> Canada 
|> ------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want more details just let me know.  btw, one of the best new
features is the fact the manuals are now 7x9, but they didn't come in a
slipcase this time ;-)

                                        dsw, fferd
                                        Fred S. Brundick
                                        USARL, APG, MD.
                                        <fsbrn@brl.mil>