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╔══════════════════════════╗ ║ Paradox Informant(tm) ║ ║ Back Issues Catalog ║ ╚══════════════════════════╝ ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── June 1992 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Paradox 4.0 by Mitchell Koulouris While the world is busy going Windows crazy, Borland gets ready to ship its next DOS version of Paradox. Version 4.0 packs in an abundance of new features including a new interface, mouse support, memo fields, BLOb support, a new editor, and some of the most powerful commands and functions ever. Sit back, relax, and get ready for a guided tour through the latest version of Paradox. SQL Link 4.0 by William F. Slater III Don't forget about Paradox SQL Link. Version 4.0 makes connecting to your favorite database server even easier while adding support for NetWare SQL. OrderPAL by Mitchell Koulouris So you're looking for a bullet-proof order entry system written in Paradox? Look no further. Whether you sell goods or services, Target Software's OrderPAL provides considerable power in fulfilling your order processing needs. Here's a look at what it has to offer. Inside Paradox by Bill Todd Paradox 4.0 adds enhanced secondary index support. Here's a detailed look at the new options. Paradox Views by Richard C Haven You wanted memo fields? You got 'em with Paradox 4.0. PAL Workbench by Tony Goodman A PAL primer to familiarize yourself with 4.0's windowing capabilities. Source Code. Paradox Toolbox by Dan Paolini This new column will help you in developing your PAL toolbox. Source Code. Paradox Internals by Richard C Haven Here's an explanation of Paradox 4.0's new SC2 files. Paradox.NET by Kevin Smith Here's a discussion on Paradox 4.0's new locking mechanisms. The Paradox Surgeon by David Faulkner The surgeon pulls a C program out of his bag to capture a Paradox screen and write it to a PAL script. Source Code. Inside InterBase by Bruce Linn What separates the InterBase Server from other database servers is the concept of 'complex processing'. Here is a look at its advantages over the traditional 'transaction processing' approach. Miscellaneous Informant Relocates Headquarters Borland Acquires Programming Tools Kallista Readies PAL-Edit 4.0 Quattro Pro for Windows in Beta Testing Sheng Labs announces PAL Compiler New Products ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── August 1992 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Why is Philippe Kahn Smiling? by Mitcell Koulouris Borland President and CEO Philippe Kahn talks to the Informant about InterBase, Paradox for Windows, and the next generation of Borland products. Quattro Pro for Windows by Gene Weisskopf The first of a new generation of Borland products is upon us as Borland rolls-out Quattro Pro for Windows. If you thought the DOS version was powerful, wait 'til you see what Borland's been up to with its first major business application for Windows. First Looks-Paradox for Windows by Jerry Coffey Paradox for Windows is one of the most eagerly-anticipated appli- cations in recent memory. Although not quite ready for commercial shipping, here's a look at what the program will have to offer. Get ready for a big change in how you'll go about your business. PaintPAL by Mitchell Koulouris If your looking for the must-have programming tool for Paradox 4.0, then the first place you should look is at Target Software's PaintPAL. Paradox 4.0 dialog boxes are hassle-free with PaintPAL. PAL 101 by Micah Bleecher Here's a routine that provides the framework and understanding on how to add new records to lookup tables "on-the-fly". PAL Techniques by Brian McKinley Ever want to place a highlight bar over an entire field? Here's how. PAL Workshop by David Berg Here's a discussion on pull-down menus and the event model. Paradox Tricks & Tips by Cary Jensen The results from our international search of the most creative and useful Paradox pictures. The Competitive Edge by Tony Goodman Our maestro offers another utility for your 4.0 toolbox with this nifty, button-laced gem. Paradox Toolbox by Dan Paolini Here's a discussion of the new Paradox 4.0 menus. Client/Server by William F. Slater, III This time around our SQL expert focuses on the PAL side of things with Paradox SQL Link. The Interop Expert by Lisa Loud A discussion on using Paradox in the mixed DOS/Windows environment. EndText by Jim Kocis An enlightening and funny look at Paradox and dirty reads. NewsLine Borland announces: C++ Compiler for Win32s/NT Plans for Development Tools New Products Gold Utilities Documentation Tool Supports Paradox 4.0 Windows Database Editor and Library CASE Tool for Paradox -based Voice and Fax Processing Mark it on your calender with ParaDate ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── September 1992 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Paradox Engine 3.0 Takes Off by Christopher Reid Looking for access to your Paradox Data? Borland readies Paradox Engine 3.0. Improved Pascal support, the addition of BLOb support, and the new Database Frameworks gives your engine applications more horsepower than ever before. MergeMaster by Marc Andonian You say you need to perform mail-merge with your Paradox data and word processor? Stairway Software has the solution. With direct support for Paradox tables and virtually every popular word processor, MergeMaster takes the pain out of mail-merge. Project Planning by Phil D'Amour Here's an overview of how you should plan to build a Paradox application. Planning is everything. Objects of Interest by Henrik Bechman Here's a look at "Phasing", a development methodology that helps in building complex applications. Inside Paradox by Bill Todd If you need speed, here's the inside track to getting Paradox 4.0 running like an Indy race car. PAL 101 by Cynthia Weisfield Here's a look at ARRAYS and how to use them. Paradox Techniques by Luke Chung Getting frustrated trying to create a report with multiple one-to-many relationships? Here's the scoop on how to do what they say can't be done. The Competitive Edge by Tony Goodman Take advantage of Paradox 4.0's new sound capabilities with our OOPiano. The Paradox Surgeon by David Faulkner Here's a technique that adds keyword-sensitive help to the Paradox 4.0 editor. ReadLib Reviews of the latest books for Paradox and interoperability. Paradox Quick Tip a quick look at Paradox Unexpected Conditions. NewsLine Judge's Summary Judgement Ruling favors Lotus ObjectVision 2.1 PRO released Dean Witter Maintains Hold Rating on Borland Stock Borland Unveils Enhanced Support Service New Products Approach for Windows Includes Paradox Support Paradox 4.0 Dialog Box Editor Data-Driven Executive Information System Keep your Paradox Apps in Place with PARA-Site Paradox Classroom Training Kit ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── October 1992 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The Key to your Data The first in a two-part series, here's the scoop on understanding what key fields are and why it's so important to use them. Ideas About IDs Not sure how to create unique IDs? Here's a discussion that's sure to help you in your quest. Incrementing Keys Having an incrementing number as a key field in a table isn't that easy to do. Here's a look at a couple of ways to go about it. Understanding Indexes Here's a detailed discussion of Paradox 4.0 indexes and how Paradox stores and locates records in a table. Client/Server Client/Server: Yes or No? If you need to access SQL data then here are the issues to consider to make the decision. Eye on Windows If your like everyone else, you're eagerly awaiting Paradox for Windows. In the meantime, there are some things you can do to prepare for its arrival. Here's an overview of Paradox for Windows ObjectPAL language and how you can get ready for a whole new ballgame. Paradox.NET Thinking about running Paradox on a Novell network? Are you already running Paradox on NetWare? Here's an in-depth discussion on how to get Paradox humming on our NetWare LAN. Paradox Tricks & Tips Paradox makes form creation an easy process. But style and appearance is everything to a user. Here's a look at how to place attractive borders and drop shadows on your forms. Objects of Interest If you plan on coding in Paradox 4.0, then a thorough understanding of Events is essential. Here's a look from an expert. PAL Toolbox Add report dialog boxes to your toolbox with these utility gems. There's also a look at memory management issues and using SETSWAP. A Vision for Developers Borland throws in everything but the kitchen sink with the release of ObjectVision PRO. Here's a look. Looking Good on Paper: Crystal Reports Crystal Services packs a wollop with Crystal Reports. InfoPublisher Catalogs and directories are a snap with PageAhead's latest entry. SpellCheck With Paradox 4.0's new memo fields, you'll find yourself placing more lengthy text into fields than ever before. If you want to make sure all that text is spelled properly, turn to SpellCheck from the Atlantic Software Group. On Location If you need help with tuning your skills for Paradox 4.0, then Kallista has a seminar for you. ReadLib The Relational Database Advisor, Elements of PC Database Design Understanding SQL Printing on NetWare ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── November 1992 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Tutility A corrupt table can be anything from a disaster to a catastrophe. Fortunately there is a little-known Paradox program--Tutility-- that's just received a major overhaul. Mr. Todd shows us where to turn when bad things happen to good tables. A PAL Org chart Continuing in his object-based vein, Mr. Goodman humbly presents polymor-phism (or something close) in PAL. Whatever you want to call it, this is how to write professional, maintainable code. PDOXUSRS.NET Mr. Saturnia says good-bye and good rid-dance to formlock! Paradox 4.0 features a new and improved table locking mechanism. The Paradox Surgeon The Surgeon performs an organ transplant. Using an undocumented portion of the Application Workshop, Dr. F provides code for selecting forms and reports in a multi-user environment. Interop Expert BLObs are one of the more talked about features of Paradox 4.0. Ms. loud tells us what the excitement is all about. Paratechnix Preparing to take the plunge and convert your 3.5 applications? Mr. Kadavanich presents the agony and ecstasy of the move to Paradox 4.0. You may have to read it twice, its loaded with information. Objects of Interest Struggling with the Paradox 4.0 event queue? This month Mr. Bechmann presents a comprehensive approach to event handling. It's called EventMan and you will be impressed. Paradox Tricks & Tips This month Dr. Jensen takes a look at the new 4.0 windows. It seems that even the interactive user may need to turn off "those darn frames". Some simple PAL should do the trick. Client/Server Mr. Slater continues his coverage of the client/server world with a look at the terrain now that the war is over between "mainframe people" and "PC people". Is the war really over Bill? SQL Link At first glance, Paradox SQL Link 4.0 doesn't seem to offer much that's new. But Mr. Clifford shows us that looks can be deceiving. Project Planning Continuing his series, Mr. D'Amour focuses on preparing a requirements definition. Inside PAL Here's an expert look at an underestimated PAL command. This month Mr. Haven tells about MATCH. PAL Toolbox Trap those run-time errors and do something about them. The latest from Mr. Paolini offers some ready-made error-handling procedures. Be sure to lift this month's toolbox correctly. We'd hate to see you get hurt. Forest & Trees for Windows Our resident reviewer takes a look at Forest & Trees from a Paradox perspective. Let Dr. Andonian take you on a guided tour. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── January 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1992 Paradox Informant Reader's Choice Awards All the ballots are in and the votes have been counted. Here's the outcome of our worldwide survey of you, the Paradox user. The awards span 27 different categories of Paradox related products. Interop Expert Paradox for Windows is on the horizon. This month, Ms. Loud gives us a preview of its thought-provoking BLOb capabilities. Turbo Vision & Database Framework With Paradox Engine 3.0, object-oriented programming (OOP) is now available to the Paradox developer. Here's a first look at putting these tools to work. Using the new Engine, its Database Framework, C++ and Turbo Vision, Mr Signore puts all the pieces together for us. PAL Toolbox There's no PAL command to manipulate the SpeedBar. Don't worry- "Speed-Buttons" are here! This month's PAL Toolbox shows you how to build iconic buttons to aid you & your users with Paradox navigation. Paratechnix Dynamic arrays were part of the big news with Paradox 4.0. They certainly offer irreplaceable new capabilities. But at what price? Find out, with the results of this detailed analysis of dynarrays. On Reports Has your boss casually asked you to include a Gantt chart in your next Paradox report? Before you tell her that it can't be done, read this month's On Reports. All it takes are a handful of PAL functions, calculated fields, and some know-how from Mr. Todd. Paradox Tricks & Tips Maligned, shunned, unappreciated--it's EXECUTE! Despite its bad press, EXECUTE remains an important command with critical function- ality. Dr Jensen puts this misunderstood command in perspective. Project Planning Coding without planning puts you at the mercy of the end-user. Instead, plan ahead and develop a Functional Specification document. Mr D'Amour shows us how to avoid the endless project. PAL 101 Still a little vague on this z-order thing? Can't get a handle? You're not alone. In this month's PAL 101 Mr. Bleecher takes the time to help us sort it all out. Objects of Interest Although not an OOP language, Mr Bechmann knows how to make PAL 4.0 behave like one. This month he presents an ambitious button manager- ButtonMan- and answers the question: What's an Object? The Competitive Edge As the Paradox universe expands, the paths of PAL developers are crossing more often. Here's a plea for Paradox development standards. Programmers unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains! ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── March 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Put it on Paper Paradox for Windows is a highly integrated set of database tools. Here's a quick guide to creating complex reports. Customizing Reports The Paradox for DOS report generator still has a lot to offer. Let Mr LaTulipe show you how to get the most out of it. It's a Setup! Mr San gives an expert's perspective on using Paradox with a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet. Learn why sometimes reset is not enough. Export by Report Preparing files for other software systems can be a challenge. Mr Braun shows us how to use the report generator to export special files. HP Laser Labels Printing labels on a LaserJet is a common task. Here's what to do when every label counts. Bar Codes: A Survey Bar Codes are a big player in today's business environment. Mr Winston gives us a survey of their use. Guess what? The're easy. More on Bar Codes This is all very nice about bar codes, but could you give me a a Paradox example? Mr Wilkerson provides a PrintBar II solution. Who needs PRINT? When all else fails, control the printer the old-fasioned way. Use the PAL PRINT command. Learning a NU Trick Here's one way out of a tight spot. Sometimes it pays to hack. Paradox Tricks and Tips Wish you could copy and paste fields in the Paradox for DOS report generator? Dr Jensen provides a valuable utility and shows you how he did it. The Competive Edge Mr Goodman has delivered another object-based gem. Get more speed. Get less hard-code. Get the inside story on OBP. Objective Eye The path of events as they bubble up the containership heirarchy may not be intuitive, but not without reason. Let Mr Lenaghan help you get your events straight. On Queries Confused by Set queries? Let an expert explain. This month Mr Ehrmann provides a new twist that has an everyday utility. OPAL Tech Every ObjectPAL programmer needs to be able to control menus. Mr Todd explains that where you control them is as important as how. Conduit When it comes to exporting and importing ASCII data, sometimes Paradox can use a little help. Kallista's Conduit is ready. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── April 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── A Matter of Form The rules associated with relational database design can be dificult to understand. Here's a look at the methodology of normal form. For the Record A database must be put together correctly to perform well and keep the data safe. Learn how to construct a database with a working example. First of a series. Connections The Paradox for Windows data model feature is closely tied to its referential integrity feature and to forms and reports. Mr LaTulipe makes it all clear with an example you can bulid for yourself. Artificial Edge A convincing argument for the use of surrogate keys and a complex example of a normalized database. Informant Undercover Undocumented PAL - VARVAL and VARASSIGN are probably the most important undocumented commmands in the history of Paradox. Remember-only the Informant brings you this stuff! PAL Tech Mr Hopkins has shown us VARVAL. Now he shows us how to use it creatively to store relational data in dynarrays. PAL Toolbox This month's PAL Toolbox features vertical menus displayed within dialog boxes. PAL 201 It's the mysterious case of NEWWAITSPEC. The manuals are unclear regarding why it should be used. Mr Bleecher sheds some light on the puzzle and demonstrates its value. Paradox Tricks & Tips It would be hard to blame you for not using Paradox for DOS graphs. Dr Jensen shows us that PW graphs are an entirely different matter. OPAL Tech TCursors and the capabilities they provide are wholly new to PW. An exhaustive demonstration of TCursors-and a PW form you can download. Objective Eye In the March issue-how to centralize code into a library for use with multiple forms. This month's article does the same with ObjectPAL error-handling. Getting Started Don't let table creation stop you from benefiting from Paradox. Mr Sambisi presents us with a pain free guide to creating tables. Windows Novice Paradox for Windows comes with an assortment of icons-here's how to pick your favorite. Paradox 101 An introduction to Paradox keys. Easy to use, don't miss out on the extraordinary performance benefits provided by primary and secondary keys. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── May 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Facing Your Users When the issues of form design, color menus and messages are para- mount-how to keep your users friendly. PW Interface Tricks Paradox for Windows has revolutionized the Paradox interface-some interactive and ObjectPAL techniques to create spectacular on-screen effects. For the Record: Part II Last issue-a database. This issue we build a form to view the data including graphic and OLE fields-a tour of the PW Form Design window. Available for download. Not Just Another Pretty Face Putting Paradox 4.0's new features in perspective-Mr. Paolini shares his view of 4.0's many new interface capabilities. Forms: Just Say No! Paradox 4.0 dialog boxes can do mor than they were designed for! Source code. Establishing a Dialog An introduction to Paradox for Windows' dialog boxes. Source code. Designing with Style Paradox for Windows contains treasures that we'll be uncovering for some time. Learn how to use prototype objects files to create PW "style sheets". Paradox Surgeon A code-generating utility called Make Menu that writes SHOWPULLDOWN code for you. Download it and modify it for your own use. Source code. PAL 202 This month Mr. Gassner provides us with Pick Record, a user-friendly PAL alternative to default Lookup help. PAL Tech How to take advantage of The Editor being tightly integrated with PAL and the entire Paradox 4.0 environment. It might solve some E-mail headaches also. Source Code. Interop Expert The Paradox Engine was designed for use with Paradox for DOS. This article explains how to manipulate field types unique to PW. Objective Eye The last two issues introduced an application-wide ObjectPAL programming approach. This story puts these concepts to work. PW 101 Paradox for Windows can be dizzying- even creating a simple form can seem a daunting task. There are only five steps to custom PW forms. Getting Started The PW Desktop, like the Windows GUI environment can be highly customized. Here's how. Reviews wbsLIB2 - A utility package for PAL 4.0 PaintPAL 2.0- A dialog box generating package ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── June 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Sea of Possibilities Windows is more than a friendly GUI interface with Solitaire. In fact it's an ocean of interoperability teeming with shareable resources. From becalmed to choppy, here's a guide to the varied interoperable waters. OLE and DDE Two of the more intriguing Windows interoperability features are object linking and embedding and Dynamic Data Exchange. Mr. Fung offers this brief history and introduction. For the Record: Part III For the past two months, Mr K has put together a musical database. Last month we saw the records and CD's. This month we get to hear them. It is all made possible by PW's Graphic and OLE capabilities. Hands-On DDE and OLE Okay, DDE and OLE sound great. Now show me what they can do. As it turns out, the possibilities are endless for interactive users and developers alike. Mr Wagner shares several head-turning examples. Case Study: PW Communication For developers, extending ObjectPAL with DLL's may be the most important PW capability. The icing on the DLL cake is that it also happens to be easy. Here's an example that enables PW to go on-line with a remote host. ODAPI Configuration ODAPI is the centerpiece of PW and Quattro Pro for Windows interoper- ability. Configured properly, it allows these products to function seamlessly. Ms Loud gives us this part of the interop puzzle. Taming Net File Chaos With the plethora of product versions and data sharing schemes, the interoperability landscape can sometimes look pretty bleak. With this comprehensive guide however, Mr Kadanavich lightens the outlook. Paradox Pro Interoperability is nothing new to users of Paradox and Quattro Pro. Mr Kadanavich has all the information you need to get things working. Paradox for DOS/Windows Interop These are interesting times for Paradox users. Many of us need to use Paradox 4.0 and Paradox for Windows on the same data. This is perfectly possible, but there are some tricky aspects as Mr Kellen points out. Paradox Surgeon PW introduced some great new field types for Windows use. But Paradox 4.0 throws up its hands and declares them "unknown". Don't fret. Via ingenious use of DataEntry mode, Dr Faulkner presents a new and improved Tools | Info | Structure. PAL Toolbox The Paradox 4.0 event model can present quite a challenge. Wouldn't it be great if there was a ready made kit of generic event handling routines? Thanks to Mr Paolini and this month's Toolbox, there is. PAL Tech This month Mr Todd completes a two-part Editor suite. This time we learn how to parse input from Dialog information service. Paradox Tricks & Tips Forced to work with directory trees from hell? PW aliases are the blessing you're looking for. Let Dr Jensen explain the ins and outs. OPAL 101 Date/time data is some of the more important. So it's great that PW has a DateTime object type with plenty of associated methods. But there's no DateTime field type for table storage! Mr Sarrenburg explains why this is no problem. Objectively Speaking There are three important properties common to every UIObject: First, Next, and Prev. Unfortunately, the PW documentation treats them like a secret. Mr Morwood has decided to spotlight these tools. PAL100 Ready to make the leap to PAL? Mr Brown begins a series designed to get you up and running with the Paradox Application Language. This month's article pits a query against a SCAN. See who wins. PW Multimedia To round out our interoperability extravaganza, we're finishing the issue with a survey of multimedia products. Whether you'd like to tap into sound, photographs, or full-motion video, it's here. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── July 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Corporate Paradox If you work at a large company, chances are most of the company's data is in a SQL database. And your Paradox data is on the LAN. Client/server is the answer and Paradox happens to be great at it. Client/Server and the Paradox SQL Link Borland's long-standing offering as the "client" in a client/server system is Paradox SQL Link. This month Mr Tandowski provides an introduction to this important tool and the capabilities of PAL with embedded SQL. PW SQL Access Now The Paradox for Windows version of Paradox SQL Link isn't available yet. Does this mean we can't get to SQL data from PW? Mr Wright says no! All it takes is some ObjectPAL and a DLL from Q+E. The InterBase Connection Borland has big plans for InterBase, its very own SQL server. Its loaded with features including a unique multi-generational architec- ture. Mr Sharp gives us the lowdown on an emerging product. A Matter of Protocol It appears in articles. It comes up in conversations. But just what is TCP/IP? It's just the machine-to-machine link that makes clint- server possible. Our Network Editor, Gary Praegitizer, demystifies this important network communications protocol. Up and Running: NetWare SQL Novell offers a SQL server that is native to the world's most popular network operating system - their own. Mr Grove provides us with an introduction and setup instructions for using it with Paradox. Up and Running: Oracle Server Oracle has the largest installed base in the SQL server arena, so its not unlikely that you'll run into it. Mr Grove puts the product in focus for Paradox users and tells us what it takes to get connected. Up and Running: InterBase From TCP/IP to PING to FTP to AWK, there are enough UNIX acronyms to make any poor DOS programmer's head spin. Fear not. Mr McIntosh and Mr Robinson blaze a trail into UNIX we all can follow. A SQL Primer Your comfortable with Paradox QBE, but SQL is just a meaningless acronym. If you know QBE, you already know the hardest part of SQL- the principles of querying a database. The rest is just syntax. Murphy's Dream For all the advantages that client/server architecture offers, it's no cake walk. In fact, with poor planning, your client/server imple- mentation could become a bona fide disaster. Mr Slater helps us go in with our eyes wide open. Paradox Tricks & Tips One early estimate of PAL/ObjectPAL compatibility was "less than zero percent". Apparently, that was a little pessimistic as Dr Jensen proves this month by converting PAL queries into ObjectPAL. For the Record: Part IV You've seen the graphics. You've heard the music. Now it's time for a little ObjectPAL. This month Mr Koulouris takes his PW multimedia extravaganza one step further by adding the programmatic side of PW. Paradox Surgeon Undocumented commands never seem to lose their allure. This is especially true when the commands can alter the basic configuration of Paradox. This month, the Surgeon opens up the patient and reveals the secrets of CONFIGURE. The Competive Edge Are you beginning to believe that all the Paradox excitement is occuring on the Windows side of things? Au contriare! Mr Goodman has always had a visual knack. This month its animated icons. SQL Servers Paradox SQL Link supports several SQL servers on a variety of platforms with a variety of features. Sorting them all out can be perplexing. To help us out, Mr Koulouris offers a survey of SQL RDBM's. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── September 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── An Introduction to ObjectPAL: Part I by Drew Wright Don't know where to start with ObjectPAL? It's probably a lot easier than you think, as Mr. Wright explains in his first of a two-part series. Support files, code. An Introduction to PAL: Part I by Cary Jensen This month, Mr. Jensen demonstrates how you can begin using PAL gradually. You'll be programming before you know it! It's the first of a two-part series. Boxes within Boxes within Boxes: Part I by Mark Pauker In his first of a three-part series, Mr. Pauker begins an in-depth exploration of the Paradox for Windows containership heirarchy and event model. Struct.EXE by John Matcho Curious about the Paradox Engine and its capabilities? Mr. Matcho gives us a sampling as he shows us how to display Paradox table structures at the DOS prompt. Source code. An Eventful Model by Martin Rudy Before you can program in the windowing environment of Paradox 4.0, you must understand its event and echo model. Mr. Rudy makes it all clear. Source code. Calling All Forms by Gus Horowitz Attaching ObjectPAL to a button is one thing, inter-form communication is something else again. But it's not all that difficult, as Mr. Horowitz explains. Supporting files, source code. Paradox Surgeon by David Faulkner This month's code offering from Dr F produces a lighthearted result -- but the PAL is intense. Amaze your friends! Source code. Data Types by Steve Kachman One of Paradox 4.0's most important capabilities is handling text data of any size. From PAL to BLOb editors, Mr. Kachman runs the Memo and BLOb gamut. Source code, supporting files. OPAL Tech by Bill Todd Paradox for Windows keeps runtime errors in an error stack. This month Mr. Todd presents a custom logError method to help keep track of them. Source code. PW at Work by Randy Nichols Paradox for Windows can't produce two-dimensional summary graphs in reports. Or can it? Mr. Nichols shows us how to fool PW. Supporting files. PAL 100 by Randolph Brown This month we wind up a two-parter that demonstrates obtaining user input to perform ad-hoc queries. Mr. Brown helps us with "Getting the Question Straight". Supporting files. Client/Server by Michael Clifford Mr. Clifford demonstrates a powerful software duo that can simplify Paradox 4.0 client/server computing: Paradox SQL Link and WaitPlus Pro. Reviews System Architect by Suneet Shah Data Partner by Dan Ehrmann ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── November 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── COVER STORY - ObjectPAL 4.5 Some new ObjectPAL methods and procedures were uncorked with PW 4.5. Mr Todd gives a run-down and demonstrates their use with some real-world examples. Object Exchange Introduced with the Workgroup Edition of Paradox 4.5 for Windows and Quattro Pro 5.0 for Windows, Object Exchange represents a new direction for Borland. Mr Kadavanich provides a complete explanation of its use with some amusing examples. Informant Labs(TM): Borland SQL Link One of the more accessible client/server solutions is provided by SCO UNIX. Mr Praegitzer reveals the details of the Informant Labs(TM) implementation of Paradox 4.5 for Windows, Borland SQL Link, InterBase, and SCO. INFORMANT SPECIAL REPORT Paratechnix What is a corrupt table? How does it get that way? And most important, how do you fix it? Mr Kadavanich explains all of this and more -- it's all a matter of "Damage Control". PAL at Work Following up his article of last month, Mr Thompson demonstrates printing the results of a Crosstab using pseudo 2-dimensional dynarrays and the PAL PRINT command. OPAL Tech Mr Chalnick has ported his popular GetDate calendar utility to Paradox for Windows. Discover how WinCal can spruce up your date entry routines and several other valuable tips as well. Paradox Tricks & Tips Yes, Paradox for Windows does not have a macro recorder. But as Mr Jensen points out, Windows does. Learn how to use Windows Recorder to assist with your repetitive PW tasks. Inside ObjectPAL Mr Pauker completes his three-part series on the Paradox for Windows containership hierarchy. This month the focus is on variable scoping and parameter passing. ObjectPAL Plus Mr Goyette continues his "Extending ObjectPAL" series. This month's article concentrates on creating and using an ObjectPAL library. REVIEWS Query Home Companion ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── December 1993 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The 1993 Paradox Informant Reader's Choice Awards You have spoken! And the Informant listens. Here are the results of this year's survey of your favorite Paradox-related products. There were some slam dunks as well as a few surprises. So be sure to check out the best of the third-party tools that make your Paradox life more productive -- and a little easier. Paratechnix Last month Mr Kadavanich terrified us with vivid descriptions of Paradox table corruption. This month he makes up for it by telling us how to make it all better. It's the second and final part of "Damage Control". Queries When it comes to Paradox 4.x for DOS, there are many ways to represent queries to your users. This month Mr Kellen shares an approach called Query-by-Dialog. Stand by for PAL! PAL Toolbox Program security is serious business. Recognizing this, Mr Paolini delivers some serious PAL procedures to keep meddlers out of your Paradox for DOS applications. See what's new in the PAL Toolbox! Paradox Surgeon It's a specialty item to be sure, but Mr Faulkner has done it again. This month he reveals CONFIGGETBGI, another facet of the undocumented CONFIGURE command. OPAL Tech Paradox 4.5 for Windows handles run-time errors somewhat differently than the first version of PW. Mr Todd has scoped out the changes to keep us up-to-date. Paradox Tricks & Tips So you know about the PAL EXECUTE command? It has an ObjectPAL cousin named ExecuteString. As you might expect however, there are many differences as Mr Jensen explains. OPAL At Work Expert manipulation of drop-down lists is vital to many Windows applications. This month Misters Haven and Ghbeish provide the definitive drop-down guide. It's loaded with examples! Visual Aids Paradox for Windows graphs still veiled in mystery? Mr Calhoun says that designing powerful PW graphs is easy -- once you get the knack! This one's full of handy pointers. PAL 100 Mr Brown begins a new segment of his ongoing PAL course. The main topics of discussion this month are the SWITCH structure and the WAIT command. ObjectPAL Plus Continuing his "Extending ObjectPAL" series, Mr Goyette shows us how to call a function from the Microsoft Windows API. Essentially it's like any DLL call - there's just a lot more mystery. REVIEWS Visage Form & Report UserBase 1.0 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── February 1994 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Thumbs Up! (or Down) Wouldn't it be nice if you could place a scroll bar on an embedded multi-record Paradox for DOS form? Well now you can with the help of Mr Haven and some PAL. The Sort/Filter Tool Mr Chalnick presents a user-friendly version of the PW Order/Range dialog box. It's another handy utility from our new Contributing Editor. Windows, Calling Windows Getting the "real" version number of a Windows executable from ObjectPAL requires more than just a DLL. You need a DLL wrapper as well, and Mr Kadavanich kindly provides one. Ad Hoc PAL Queries: Part II Mr Chung wraps up his ad hoc QBE extravaganza. This month's topics include PAL query strategies, multi-user issues, and dirty reads. And of course there's scads of code. Paradox Tricks & Tips by Cary Jensen A command of the PW event model is essential to ObjectPAL development, but the learning curve is steep. Luckily, Dr Jensen makes it easy to learn with his new series. OPAL Tech A data type you may not even know about, the Record, could soon be your favorite work-horse. Mr Todd performs time trials on ObjectPAL' complex data types. Interop Expert Paradox 4.5 for Windows includes enhancements to the ODAPI Configuration Utility. Borland's own Ms Loud tells us what's new. ObjectPAL Plus Mr Goyette caps his Extending ObjectPAL series with a blow-by-blow on writing your own DLL. Stand by for C! OPAL at Work A bunch of forms does not an application make. Let Mr Horowitz show you how to get control of your PW forms "From the Top, Down". REVIEWS InfoModeler ezDOC for Paradox ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── March 1994 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── PW Report Techniques: Part I Got the basics down of the PW Report Designer? Mr Rudy begins a two-part potpourri brimming with tips and techniques to take you to the next level of report acumen. The Paradox for DOS Report Designer: Part I Here's a guided tour of the venerable report generator by the man who wrote it. Even long-time users might learn a thing or two from Mr Frykland. It's the first of a two-part series. The Sort/Range Utility Mr Angelo round out our reporting issue by presenting a valuable PW reporting utility. It's a dialog box that allows users to select the sort order and range of their reports. Inside PAL If you're a heavy-duty PAL developer who's pushing the edges of the PAL Debugger envelope, you'll be interested in the TracTuner System. Coding Skills You already know everything there is to know about PAL development. So there's no reason for you to read Mr Kellen's article "Coupling and Cohesion". Right? OPAL Tech Mr Todd presents a straightforward and good-looking approach to developing your own PW speedbar. Our guess is many of these techniques will show up in your applications. PW Utilities A unique and creative approach to a programmable speedbar, PowerBar could change the way you use PW and Windows. Ms Bergman shows us what a dialog box can do if it really tries. Iconography Need some cool graphics to go on your buttons? Mr Koulouris has put together over 1000 bitmaps for the purpose. Download and enjoy! Tools and Techniques Creating and maintaining PW menus is tedious. Happily, Mr Chalnick lightens the load with a robust table-driven menu-building utility. Paradox Tricks & Tips In Part II of his definitive treatise on the PW event model, Dr Jensen focuses on event generation and some of the secrets of the event packet. Every ObjectPAL developer should read this. Windows Clinic Feeling comfortable with calls to the Windows API? Tune in for Mr Rajan's presentation of the SysGauge utility and discover an API function Microsoft decided not to document. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── April 1994 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Tracking PW Events In part three of his Event Model series, Dr Jensen takes a look at PW's native (and very useful) ObjectPAL Tracer utility. The big news however, is his own event tracking tool, PWTracker. Available for download. TracTuner: Part II Mr Moore continues his series on the TracTuner System, a feature-laden, PAL 4.x debugging tool. This month, he implements the Procedures Triggered window which displays the trigger type, the procedure triggered, and the value returned. Events, and the Event Model Mr Pauker introduces the Paradox for Windows event model. It's not just for beginners, however. Even if you've been working with events for some time, you're sure to gain new insights and nail down central concepts. Reporting Here's the wrap up of a two-part series on the Paradox for DOS report generator by the man who wrote it. Among other topics, Mr Frykland explains grouping, free form reports, mailing labels, and lookup links. Tools and Techniques Mr Chalnick finishes a two-part series describing his Paradox for Windows menu builder. It's a table-driven menu-generating utility that produces highly flexible menu systems with optional security features. PW Reporting It's the second of a two-part series on the Paradox for Windows Report Designer. This month, Mr Rudy discusses field squeeze and line squeeze, invoice output, printing single page forms, and using variables in reports. OPAL Tech This month's OPAL Tech is a guided tour of Paradox for Windows foibles. But don't worry! Mr Todd demonstrates that PW is powerful enough to overcome any obstacle, self-imposed or otherwise. Inside ObjectPAL Do you need to share a table between forms? Do you need the displayed record to be synchronized between the forms? How about record highlight- ing on the inactive form? Mr Haven provides all these features and more. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── May 1994 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Understanding Data Beginning with the basics, Ms Richter first answers the question, "What is Data?". This first of a two-article series on data then moves on to data terminology and data types, before moving on to a detailed discussion of basic data types. Data Model Tricks: Part I You may think you are familiar with the PW Data Model. Mr Smith's new series, however, may prove you wrong. This month's installment shows how to use query and table files in the Data Model to give PW relational view capability. Pay attention! This one's very important. Back in Time? Have you ever been asked to store records in reverse date order? It's the type of request that users make without knowing how difficult it is to do. Or is it? Mr Salcedo provides a straight forward method using a future base date and PW's DateTime data type. Using PW Crosstabs Underused and misunderstood, the ability to perform crosstabs is one of Paradox's hidden treasures. Mr Sims explains why crosstabs are so valuable, and then demonstrates how easy they are to put to use. Inside PAL It's Part III of an in-depth exploration of the TracTuner System, a PAL development utility that goes far beyond the capabilities of the PAL Debugger. This month, Mr Moore presents the Status Info screen and a lot of insights into complex PAL development. PAL Tech PAL arrays are one-dimensional, right? Well, there's no way to change the nature of PAL arrays, but Mr Costanza demonstrates some techniques to make them act like two-dimensional arrays. And would you believe 3-D? OPAL Tech Closing a multi-form Paradox for Windows application can be tricky business. Fortunately, we have Mr Todd to show us the ropes. It's a matter of using a Desktop form, the postAction method and some ObjectPAL expertise. Paradox Tricks & Tips Dr Jensen continues his seminal PW Event Model series. The task at hand is field validation, the ObjectPAL method of interest is changeValue, and the message is "It's not as hard as you think." Paratechnix Consider the humble Paradox for Windows button. Don't kid yourself into thinking it's the simple object it appears. Mssrs Kadavanich and Jensen use the PWTracker utility to explore every nuance of this tricky object's behavior. Coding Skills When it comes to PAL, we already know that loose coupling and high cohesion are important programming goals. But is the same true for ObjectPAL? "Absolutely," says Mr Kellen, and proceeds to tell us why. Tools and Techniques Mr Chalnick begins a three-part series about printing techniques that every Paradox for Windows developer must know. This month, the focus is on printing reports to file. Reviews Renaissance Renaissance promises visual programming in Paradox 4.x for DOS. Does Ensemble Corp's new product live up to all the hoopla? S-Designor by Sundar Rajan If you're working with a complex database, a CASE tool may be in your future. But is S-Designor the right tool? Mr Rajan provides an opinion - and a quick CASE education. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── June 1994 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Paradox for Windows GUI Design Paradox for Windows has opened a new world of user interface possibilities. Mr Wright kicks off this month's issue with a creative guide to the exciting capabilities of the graphical Windows environment, and makes a complete application available to demonstrate. MS Windows User Interface Design One of the great productivity boons provided by Microsoft Windows is the standard user interface common to all Windows applications. Or at least it should be common. See if your applications measure up once Mr Todd explains the Windows "rules of the road". Programming PW Hot-Keys The ability to use an A key sequence to make common menu selections is one of the great features of Windows. Unfortunately, ObjectPAL directly supported such mnemonics only for menu objects. Fortunately, Mr McNeil shares his ObjectPAL techniques for allowing hot-key access to any Windows control. A GUI Design Manifesto "Enough is enough! You're driving your users crazy!" cries Mr Wagner. Why is he so upset? It's those awful interfaces that (sadly) too many Paradox for Windows developers are unleashing on unsuspecting users. Read this design polemic to find out how Windows GUI's are done. Mine Field, a Lesson in ObjectPAL You've played the game, now build the application. Mr Fung presents us with a Paradox for Windows version of Microsoft's popular Minesweeper game. You'll learn a lot about ObjectPAL and have fun along the way. Dynamic Forms Rich the Windows graphical environment may be, but with its many screen resolutions and resizable windows, it can be a real pain for the developer to control. Mr Pierce helps out by showing us a way to provide users with resizable PW forms and with just a smattering of ObjectPAL. Inside PAL The TracTuner System is a PAL debugging utility with capabilities that go far beyond those of even the version 4.5 PAL Debugger. This month, in Part IV of his five part series, Mr Moore adds a scrollable Watch window. Expert Assist It's the first installment of a new column where Paradox experts answer your questions. This month, Dr Jensen shows us how to use the Paradox for DOS Editor to provide wordwrap capability in PAL applications. Just write to the Informant with your question to get an "Expert Assist". Columns and Rows Wrapping up her two-part series on Understanding Data, this month Ms Richter focuses on extended data types. Topics include BLObs and OLE. Paradox Tricks & Tips It's Part V of Dr Jensen's ground-breaking PW Event Model series. The topic is secondary event streams - what they are, their importance, and how they affect the eventInfo packet. You won't find this in the documentation. Tools and Techniques Mr Chalnick begins a three-part series about printing techniques that every Paradox for Windows developer must know. This month, the focus is on printing reports to file. Reviews AP Form 4.5 The respected third-party tool has been updated for the latest version of Paradox- DOS. Mr Koulouris tells us if it's as good as its predecessors. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── July 1994 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Developing SQL Applications in Paradox for Windows The combination of Paradox for Windows and Borland SQL Link provides powerful access to corporate database servers. In this comprehensive guide, Mr Wright explains the issues and describes the necessary programming. Specific topics include ObjectPAL enhancements, locking, transactions, error handling, referential integrity, and performance. SQL Spy Mr Rajan presents us with SQL Spy, a client/server tool capable of presenting information about a SYBASE/Microsoft SQL Server database within Paradox for Windows. This information includes table structures, indexes, referential integrity (depends) information, and a user list. The best part is - it's all written in ObjectPAL. Borland SQL Link to Microsoft SQL Server on Windows NT Need a client/server environment operational in 3 hours? Sporting a host of features, easy installation, and a top-notch interface, you might want to give the Microsoft Windows NT/SQL Server combination a spin. Mr Praegitzer with the step-by-step guide. InterBase 4.0 InterBase 4.0 promises all the powerful functionality of the current version-multi-generational architecture, BLObs, triggers, and event alerters to name a few-all with a new SQL interface. Ms Burton gives us a "sneak peek" of the upcoming product. Expert Assist Have you fired up Paradox 4.5 for DOS only to find that some of your PAL applications don't look so hot? Well you're not alone! In this month's Expert Assist, Dr Jensen explains how to quickly convert your WAIT-based routines to adjust to the loss of compatible mode. Interop Expert The IDAPI technology at the heart of the next generation of Borland's Windows database products is on the horizon. In this month's Interop Expert, Ms Loud gives us an early look at the API to the new Borland Database Engine. The first of a BDE series - Sessions and drivers. Product Survey Barcodes are an integral part of many businesses. So if you haven't already, you might soon see them on a system requirements document near you. Fortunately, as Mr Horn explains, the principles are simple and there are many barcoding tools available. UI Issues You've probably discovered that the Borland Resource Workshop that ships with the Paradox 4.5 Development Edition is tons of fun. It's imminently useful too, as Mr White et al. point out. How about creating DLLs with custom mouse pointers for instance? OPAL Tech Need a reusable clock, Field View indicator, Edit/View mode indicator, or inactivity alarm? They're all made quickly possible with the ObjectPAL timer method and some expertise from Mr Todd. This month's OPAL Tech - an example-laden tour of a handy RTL method. Paradox Tricks & Tips Dr Jensen's important PW Event Model series continues with an examination of how dot notation influences the event model. Demonstration forms illustrate the use of the object variable Self and how ObjectPAL responds when no target object is specified for at RTL method. Tools and Techniques It's the second of a series on essential Paradox for Windows printing techniques. This month, we learn how to control report output at run-time on undelivered and delivered report objects. As Mr Chalnick says, the solution is embarrassingly simple. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── August 1994 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── To the Rescue! Mr Goyette kicks off the issue with a detailed description of building a Windows Help system. Third-party help utilities, help topics, hot spots, context identifiers, help compilers, and ObjectPAL implementation are all discussed. It's a one-stop guide to adding Windows Help to your ObjectPAL applications. Balloon Help Balloon help offers instant pop-up assistance to insure that users get the most from Windows applications. Using Mr Horn's generic table -driven approach, you can now add balloon help to your PW programs using ObjectPAL. Your users will be glad you did! Floating Help When native ObjectPAL doesn't provide what you need, it's time to look to the Windows API. This month, Mr Rajan solves a chronic Windows help problem with a custom DLL and some well-chosen ObjectPAL code. Best of all, he's willing to share his secrets with us! Informant Special Paradox 5.0 for Windows The new version of Paradox for Windows is here and it's loaded with new features and enhancements. End-users will be delighted with the new Coaches and Tutors while developers will be excited about the greatly enhanced ObjectPAL Debugger. Both will find the seven new field types very useful. Here's the first look at Borland's latest. ObjectPAL 5.0 Paradox 5.0 for Windows represents a major upgrade for ObjectPAL developers. At last count, there were 165 new methods and procedures and 106 new constants. Mr Todd helps us get a grip on the ObjectPAL cornucopia and demonstrates some of the more important new capabilities. Expert Assist Last month's Expert Assist explained how to convert your Paradox 3.5 WAIT-based routines to version 4.x. It was very helpful, but what do you do when there are too many options to fit on the 4.x SpeedBar? Dr Jensen offers a generic pop-up approach. Interop Expert Ms Loud continues her Borland Database Engine series with an examination of the IDAPI DbiInit function. It's an inside look at the engine behind Borland's next generation of database products. And you guessed it! That includes Paradox 5.0 for Windows. Columns and Rows In Part I of a three-part series on database design, Ms Richter begins with a description of various database models - flat file, hierarchical, and network - before zeroing in on the relational model, Codd's rules, and determining data types. Client/Server Interested in using InterBase or other SQL server as a back-end to a PW client/server system, but not experienced with SQL-type RDBMS's? Here's an introduction to InterBase for PW developers. The emphasis is on data integrity and how to achieve it. Paradox Tricks & Tips In this wrap-up to his PW Event Model series, Dr Jensen recaps the major concepts that underlie the way that ObjectPAL processes events. External and internal events, the form prefilter, bubbling, and secondary event streams are all revisited in this must-read final. At Your Fingertips It's the first "At Your Fingertips", a new column featuring quick techniques that you can add to your Paradox for Windows bag of tricks. Each month will bring a handful of unadorned quick tips presented in question and answer format. Enjoy! Windows Wire Don't need, or necessarily want, your users to know that they're using Paradox for Windows? Using an Application object, the hide method, and a little Visual Basic, Mr Wagner demonstrates one technique for masking PW from users.