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Newsgroups: comp.databases.xbase.fox,comp.answers,news.answers
Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mnemosyne.cs.du.edu!nyx10!kcochran
From: kcochran@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Keith "Justified And Ancient" Cochran)
Subject: FoxPro Databases FAQ #1: You say you want a revolution?
Message-ID: <1994Apr8.204517.22287@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>
Followup-To: comp.databases.xbase.fox
Summary: General information about the Fox* collection of database products.
Posted monthly to comp.databases.xbase.fox, comp.answers, and
news.answers.
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
of Denver for the Denver community. The University has neither
control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Keywords: fox, foxpro, foxbase, databases, 'woof'
Sender: usenet@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu (netnews admin account)
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 94 20:45:17 GMT
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Lines: 404
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu comp.databases.xbase.fox:3824 comp.answers:4826 news.answers:17836
Archive-name: databases/foxpro/general
Posting-frequency: monthly
[This is FAQ version 1.0.0.4 - Last Updated 03/06/94. New sections or
altered text are marked with ">" in the left hand column. Please send
all questions, comments, and whatnot to kcochran@nyx.cs.du.edu]
Welcome to comp.databases.xbase.fox. This message is posted monthly,
and can be found here, in news.answers, or you can receive a copy of
this or any of the other comp.database.xbase.fox FAQ's by e-mailing me at
kcochran@nyx.cs.du.edu.
Archiving at various sites (rtfm.mit.edu, etc) is currently under discussion.
As more information is available, it will be put into this FAQ.
This message is split into the following sections:
0.0 - What is an FAQ?
0.1 - What is comp.databases.xbase.fox?
0.2 - What is FoxPro?
0.2.1 - What are FoxBase, FoxBase+, and the rest?
0.3 - How do I get information?
0.3.1 - What other FAQ's are available?
1.0 - I just brought FoxPro; now what?
1.1 - The FoxPro books.
1.2 - Third-Party books.
1.3 - Database and FoxPro magazines.
1.4 - MicroSoft technical support.
1.5 - FTP locations.
1.6 - Other locations for information.
2.0 - What are the parts of FoxPro?
2.1 - The Developers kit.
2.2 - The Distribution kit.
2.3 - The Library Construction kit.
2.4 - The Connectivity kit.
3.0 - I'm having a problem...
3.1 - Problems of "general" nature.
3.2 - Problems of "specific" nature.
3.3 - Problems with third-party add-ins.
[Note: Users have requested that we compile a "standard problem - solution"
list for inclusion in this section. I'll be keeping that as a
seperate FAQ.]
[Note: Sections are split with "******".]
Before we begin, I'd like to thank the following people not already
mentioned in the FAQ for their assistance in putting this together:
> davec@wsti.demon.co.uk (David Churcher)
goudswaa@sfu.ca (Peter Goudswaard)
peace@world.std.com (Jeremy Stark)
OB71216@IBMH1.ORL.MMC.COM (Steve)
tdh@dweebus.telemax.com (Thomas D. Halter)
tonemb@mtfs.unit.no (Tone Merethe Berg)
******
0.0 - What is an FAQ?
FAQ is short for "Frequently-asked-questions". Over the course of
the net, especially in the technical areas, a lot of questions get
asked over and over and over ("How do I get my foo to bar in green
instead of red?").
These questions get collected into a single message that is then
posted to the newsgroup at regular intervals (usually about once
a month).
FAQ's also tend to have a lot of background information about the
newsgroup in question, information about the newsgroup, historical
persons important to the newsgroup, and I've even seen some that
have court cases in them.
******
0.1 - What is comp.databases.xbase.fox?
comp.databases.xbase.fox (or c.d.x.f for short) is a newsgroup for
discussion about the Fox database management packages. Technical
questions about Rushmore, the power tools, FoxBase, and other issues
are all relevant to c.d.x.f.
General questions that relate specifically to FoxPro or the related
products (NetLib, dGE, etc) or technical questions about these items
are certainly relevant to the newsgroup.
General questions about databases in general (I'm looking for a good
database package; How do I normalize my tables) should probably be
addressed in either comp.databases.xbase.misc or comp.databases.misc.
If you have a question of a general nature, you should also look
around the newsgroups list to see if there isn't a more relevant
group.
c.d.x.f is not an advocacy group; please do not start discussions
about whether your Mac is better than the next guys IBM box. Also,
you should avoid general slamming of products. A conversation about
the differences between the FoxPro and Paradox screen builders would
be extremly informative; a post stating that "Paradox Sucks" is in
poor taste.
******
0.2.1 - What are Foxbase, Foxbase+, and those other things?
The Fox database management packages are available for many
different operating systems and environments. The various
packages are:
Microsoft:
FoxPro 2.5 (DOS)
FoxPro 2.5 (Windows)
FoxPro 2.5 (Macintosh)
FoxPro 2.5 (Unix, to be released in 1994)
Fox Software*:
FoxBASE+ (DOS)
FoxBASE+ (Macintosh)
FoxPro 1.1 (DOS)
FoxPro 2.0 (DOS)
SCO (Santa Cruz Operation):
SCO FoxBASE+ (Unix)
*Fox Software has been bought by Microsoft. Their products are no
longer available, but are included here since many of their products
are still in use.
******
0.3 - How do I get information?
This depends on what sort of information you need. One of the best
places to get information is from the manuals. If they don't give
you what you want, there are a wide variety of magazines, books,
FTP sites, and comp.* groups that may be able to provide you with
the information you need.
******
0.3.1 - What other FAQ's are there?
You Say You Want A Revolution:
> (FAQ #1, archived at rtfm.edu under databases/foxpro/general)
This FAQ contains information of a general nature about c.d.x.f
It also contains address information for Microsoft, third-party
books about the Fox database management products, how to get
information from Microsoft, compuserve, and information about
FTP.
See Fox. See Fox Run. Run, Fox, Run:
> (FAQ #2, archived at rtfm.edu under databases/foxpro/rushmore)
This FAQ contains information of both a general and a specific
nature about the Rushmore technology.
Things Your Mamma Never Told You About:
This FAQ contains information about functions and commands in
FoxPro that "should" do something, but "don't", and those
commands that "shouldn't" do something, but "do".
******
1.0 - I just brought FoxPro; now what?
The *FIRST THING TO DO* is to fill our your registration card,
and mail it off to Microsoft. This will give you the ability
to call Microsoft Technical Support with your problems.
Calling Microsoft support is a mixed blessing. It may get your
question answered, but you may have no hair left by the time it
works. Then again, MicroSoft support is _the place_ to make sure
that you are not working against a program bug.
******
1.1 - The FoxPro books.
One of the best places to find information is within the FoxPro books
that you got when you brought your package. The Language Reference
Manual is the first place you should look when a command doesn't work
the way you expected it to.
The Developer's Guide also has a lot of information on things that they
don't really mention in the language reference. If you are having
problems getting your procedures to work correctly in your screens,
try taking a look there.
******
1.2 - Third-Party books.
There are many, many books on how to develop and program in FoxPro.
Some of the ones you may find useful are:
[Note: Your milage may vary.]
peace@world.std.com (Jeremy Stark) recommends:
"FoxPro 2.5 Developing Full-Scale Applications For Windows"
Written by Nelson King, and published by MIS:Press.
"It's actually a beginners book and includes sections on
table normalization, project planning, and other topics related
to the consulting end of database design."
It comes with a disk, costs $34.95, and also has a cute fox on
the cover.
goudswaa@sfu.ca (Peter Goudswaard) recommends:
"FoxPro 2.5 - Programmer's Reference" by John Hawkins,
Editor-In-Chief of Data-Based Advisor Magazine, published
by Que, ISBN 1-56529-210-3.
"Programming FoxPro 2.5" by Miriam Liskin, by Ziff-Davis Press,
ISBN 1-56276-164-1.
tonemb@mtfs.unit.no (Tone Merethe Berg) Recommends:
Using FoxPro 2.5 for Windows, by Lisa Slater and Steven Arnott.
ISBN 1-56529-002-X.
"This is an excellent book for people like me, starting close to
zero, as well as for some like me, getting closer to 'experienced'.
As for you guru's, I guess it isn't too bad, either."
FoxPro 2.5 Advanced Developers Handbook. Brady Publishing, 1993.
ISBN 0-13-325341-4. According to the author, it includes
"undocumented secrets, strategies, and tips from the experts, and
is especially written for those developing applications for a
network. Data security and corruption protection, as well as
error-handling, user-interfaces, UDF-creation and other programming
techniques are main chapters."
******
1.3 - Database and FoxPro magazines.
In addition to the books available, there are several magazines that
deal with xbase products, and some that deal exclusivly with FoxPro.
FoxTalk Magazine:
FoxTalk
Pinnacle Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 888
Kent, WA 98035-0888
COMPUSERVE Address: 72600,140
Editorial Hotline: (800) 788-1900
BBS (2400) (206) 251-6217
BBS (9600) (206) 251-6218
******
1.4 - Microsoft technical support.
Microsoft technical support is available from 6am to 6pm pacific
time monday through friday, except for holidays. In the US, call:
(206) 635-7191 (FoxPro/DOS and FoxPro/Windows)
(206) 635-7192 (FoxPro/Macintosh)
In Canada, support engineers are available at (905) 568-3503.
Microsoft FastTips is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at
(800) 936-4100 with a touch-tone phone. You can receive automated
answers to common questions and problems, or access a library of
technical notes, all delivered by recording or fax.
******
1.5 - FTP locations.
You can FTP anonymously to microsoft.com, and look in the directory
/deskapps/fox/ for support and patch files, upgrade information, and
other information. The IP address is 198.105.232.1
There is also an FTP site at rahul.net, in the /pub/coneill/
directory. The IP address is 192.160.13.1
******
1.6 - Other sources of information.
COMPUSERVE: At any ! prompt, type "go microsoft" to access the
Microsoft forums, "go mskb" to access the Microsoft Knowledge Base,
or "go foxforum" to access FoxPro specific information.
> There is an existing FoxPro mailing list:
>
> foxpro-l@polarbear.rankin.inlet.nt.ca
>
> And there may be a second list forming:
>
> foxpro-l@ukanvm.cc.ukans.edu
******
2.0 - What are the parts of FoxPro?
There are many different parts to FoxPro, even within FoxPro itself.
Just because you have a compiled application doesn't mean that it will
work correctly. For example, if your application uses printer drivers,
then you will have to include genpd.app as part of your project.
Some of the other external parts of FoxPro are:
genscrn.prg - Generates your .spr file from the screen database.
genmenu.prg - Generates your .mpr file from the menu database.
beautify.app - Used to beautify applications brought over from other
> platforms. It is not yet available for the DOS platform.
> foxdoc.app - Documentation generator. This is known as foxdoc.exe
> in the DOS platform.
gengraph.app - Graph generator.
spellchk.app - Spell checker.
genxtab.prg - Generation cross-tabulations from a database.
transport.prg - Used to migrate applications across platforms.
******
2.1 - The Developers kit.
This is the "best known" of the FoxPro parts. This the set that
gives you the "command window", and allows you to create applications,
databases, compile them, etc.
******
2.2 - The Distribution kit.
In order to run a FoxPro application, you have to have FoxPro, right?
Wrong. Instead of forcing everybody to spend the $$$ to buy the
development kit just so they can run their accounting software, you
can purchase the Distribution Kit.
The distribution kit allows you to distribute and run an application
without providing the full FoxPro interface (command window, filer,
etc). This distribution is done ROYALTY-FREE. Once you have brought
the distribution kit, and compiled your executable, you do not have
to pay MicroSoft anything in order to sell your application to
another person.
> Note that the Distribution Kit does not actually compile your
> FoxPro code into machine language. Instead, it produces an .EXE
> file containing a copy of the FoxPro interpreter and your program
> compiled into pseudo-code.
******
2.3 - The Library Construction kit.
Found something that FoxPro won't do? Want it to be able to do it?
Purchase the Library Construction kit, and teach FoxPro new tricks!
The LCK allows you to write your own functions in C, and then link
them into FoxPro as a .plb file. The functions have _NONE_ of the
limitations of .bin files (used by LOAD and CALL), and can take
full advantage of FoxPro's memory management, windowed i/o, and
other features. You can even call FoxPro commands from within
your external function.
> The LCK covers DOS and Windows platforms (Windows files have the
> extension .fll instead of .plb). A C compiler is not included.
> The support C compilers are Microsoft C v8 and Watcom C v8.5. It
> is possible to use Borland C++ v3.1 to produce Windows .FLL files,
> but this is not officially supported.
******
2.4 - The Connectivity kit.
What's that? Human Resources has 10 years of information stored on
the server in SYBASE format, and they want you to analyze it? With
the connectivity kit, this is no problem. Just attach to the server,
log yourself into the database, and start analyzing.
[Note: I have not yet used the connectivity kit. If anybody has,
could they drop me a line?]
******
3.0 - I'm having a problem...
Join the club. Fortunatly, the kind folks of c.d.x.f will be more
than happy to help solve your FoxPro problems.
SOME RULES TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER:
(1)Please be sure to mention what VERSION and ENVIRONMENT of Fox*
you are using. Some of the things you can do in FoxPro 2.5
will not work at all under FoxBase+, or on the Unix flavors.
(2)Please be sure to mention anything odd that you are doing.
Specifically, .plb files and SQL tends to cause "strange"
things to happen. If you have the files in a project, please
be sure to mention that. If you are using the distribution kit,
and the problem only appears when you are running it under the
distribution kit, please mention that.
IF YOU ARE MIGRATING AN APPLICATION FROM ANOTHER XBASE PRODUCT,
MENTION IT!
(3)Do _NOT_ end your question with "Please e-mail me the answer,
as I don't read this newsgroup". I mention this for a couple
of reasons:
(1)Not everybody has the ability to cc: people on postings.
The problem you are having may be the same problem that
many other people are having.
(2)The problem that I have next week is something that you
might be able to solve for me in an instant. I don't think
it's really fair for you to get help from us if we have no
chance of getting help from you.
******
3.1 - Problems of "general" nature.
These problems are generally of a "how do I..." nature, and are probably
most quickly solved by reading the manual. I cannot emphasis enough
that the manuals and on-line help should be your first defense against
problems.
For example, we recently had a poster ask "how do I generate a random
number between x and y?" This problem can be solved by looking at
the RAND() function in the Language Reference Manual.
******
3.2 - Problems of "specific" nature.
If you've got specific problems, please be sure provide enough detail
with your post to allow us to help you. Code samples are always
nice, as is a short (or long) description of what it is you are
trying to do. If you have databases linked with SET RELATION, please
be sure to mention this.
******
3.3 - Problems with third-party add-ins.
Probably the best place to solve problems with .plb files is with
the company that produces it. But you may be able to get better
response by fishing in c.d.x.f
--
=kcochran@nyx.cs.du.edu | B(0-4) c- d- e++ f- g++ k(+) m r(-) s++(+) t | TSAKC=
=My thoughts, my posts, my ideas, my responsibility, my beer, my pizza. OK???=
=I'm sure that Vicki Robinson would never let Kibo engage in genocide against =
=Armenians in Turkey. =