A quick history lessons for you young 'uns: Back in the 1980s, dBASE was the standard PC database application, until 1988 when Ashton-Tate, the developer, released dBASE IV. If you think Windows 8.
Print checks and their accompanying letter directly from your PC with this easy to use check printing application : enter the order (payee), the Dollar amount, and voila ! Standard and wallet size checks supported (Versacheck 1000-3001, Quickbooks).
- CheckWriterIIITrial.zip
- Match Software
- Shareware ($24.99)
- 66.99 Mb
- Win2000, WinXP, Win7 x32, Win7 x64, Windows 8, Windows 10, WinServer, WinOther, WinVista, WinVista x64
Print checks and their accompanying letter directly from your Mac with this easy to use check printing application : enter the order (payee), the Dollar amount, and voila ! Standard and wallet size checks supported (Versacheck 1000-3001).
- CheckWriterIIITrial.dmg
- Match Software
- Shareware ($19.99)
- 44.89 Mb
- Mac OS X
StelsDBF is a DBF JDBC type 4 driver that allows to perform SQL queries and other JDBC operations on DBF files (dBase III/ IV/ V, xBase, Visual FoxPro). The driver is completely platform-independent and does not require installing additional client. ...
- stels_dbf.zip
- J-Stels Software
- Shareware ($170.00)
- 1.4 Mb
- Win95, Win98, WinME, WinXP, Windows2000, Unix, Linux, AS, 400
Have you ever needed some tool for paradox, dBASEIII+, dBASE IV, Visual FoxPro? There is FREE application manager. Paradox/dBase Reader is a compact viewer that will cope with the rich functionality of the well-established dBase and XBase formats by. ...
- paradox-dbase-setup.exe
- sportamok inc.
- Freeware (Free)
- Win95, Win98, WinME, Windows2000, WinXP, Windows2003,Windows Vista, Windo
The DBF to CSV program allows you to convert your dbf files to csv (comma-separated value) format. Generally, you can use any delimiter, such as TAB, semicolon etc. The program supports dBaseIII, dBase IV, FoxPro, VFP and dBase Level 7 formats. ...
- dbf2csv.zip
- WhiteTown Software
- Shareware ($29.95)
- 647 Kb
- Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT 3.x, WinNT 4.x, WinXP, Windows2000, Windows2003, Windows Media Center Edition 200
The DBF to DBF program allows you to convert your dbf files from one format to another. The program supports dBaseIII, dBase IV, FoxPro, VFP and dBase Level 7 formats. Besides, you can choose BlockSize in memo fields and change codepage.
- dbf2dbf.zip
- WhiteTown Software
- Shareware ($29.95)
- 1.22 Mb
- WinXP, WinVista, WinVista x64, Win7 x32, Win7 x64, Win2000, Windows2000, Windows2003, WinServer, Windows Vista, Win98, WinME, WinNT 3.x, WinNT 4.x, Win95, Windows Media Center Edition 2005
Wizard-based DBF Synchronizer. Settings/file details stored as projects. Can execute from application scheduler via command line interface. Data-safe simulation mode. Target data backup.For Clipper, Dbase III/IV, FoxPro, Visual FoxPro. DBF.
- dbfsync.exe
- Astersoft Co.
- Shareware ($29.95)
- 1.13 Mb
- Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT 4.x, WinXP, Windows2000, Windows2003
The CDBF Shell extension allows you to view content or structure of DBF files in the Properties window without opening them. The CDBF Shell extension supports dBaseIII, dBase IV, FoxPro, and Visual FoxPro formats.
- cdbfshell.zip
- WhiteTown Software
- Freeware (Free)
- 190 Kb
- Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT 3.x, WinNT 4.x, WinXP, Windows2000, Windows2003, Windows Media Center Edition 200
The CSV to DBF program allows you to convert your csv (comma-separated value) files to dbf format. Generally, you can use any delimiter, such as TAB, semicolon etc. The program supports dBaseIII, dBase IV, FoxPro, VFP and dBase Level 7 formats.
- csv2dbf.zip
- WhiteTown Software
- Shareware ($29.95)
- 1.2 Mb
- WinXP, WinVista, WinVista x64, Win7 x32, Win7 x64, Win2000, Windows2000, Windows2003, Windows Vista, Win98, WinME, WinNT 3.x, WinNT 4.x, Win95, Windows Media Center Edition 2005
DBF to PDB converter allows you to convert your dbf files to PDB format. PDB is standard PalmOS files (Palm Data Base). The program supports dBaseIII, dBase IV, FoxPro, VFP and dBase Level 7 formats. Program supports command line parameters.
- dbf2pdb.zip
- WhiteTown Software
- Shareware ($29.95)
- 458 Kb
- Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT 3.x, WinNT 4.x, WinXP, Windows2000, Windows2003, Windows Media Center Edition 200
PDB to DBF converter allows you to convert your PDB files to DBF format. PDB is standard PalmOS files (Palm Data Base). The program supports dBaseIII, dBase IV, FoxPro, VFP and dBase Level 7 formats. Program supports command line parameters.
- pdb2dbf.zip
- WhiteTown Software
- Shareware ($29.95)
- 449 Kb
- Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT 3.x, WinNT 4.x, WinXP, Windows2000, Windows2003
Advanced XLS Converter converts excel (xls, xlsx) files to DBF (Dbase III/IV, Visual FoxPro), TXT, HTML, XML, CSV, SQL, RTF. Excel Converter has a wizard-driven interface, command-line support, automatic duplicates removal and batch mode.
- xlscnv.exe
- HiBase Group
- Shareware ($29.95)
- 1.44 Mb
- WinXP, WinVista, WinVista x64, Win7 x32, Win7 x64, Win2000, Windows2000, Windows2003, Windows Vista, Win98, WinME, WinNT 4.x, Win95
Related:Dbase Iii - Dbase Iii Example - Dbase Iii Plus - Dbase Iii Plus Prg - Dbase Iii Files
| First appeared | 1985 |
|---|---|
| Stable release | |
| OS | MS-DOS |
| Website | www.grafxsoft.com/clipper.htm |
Clipper is an xBasecompiler that implements a variant of the xBase computer programming language. It is used to create or extend software programs that originally operated primarily under MS-DOS. Although it is a powerful general-purpose programminglanguage, it was primarily used to create database/business programs.
One major dBase feature not implemented in Clipper is the dot-prompt (. prompt) interactive command set,[1] which was an important part of the original dBase implementation.
Clipper, from Nantucket Corp and later Computer Associates, started out as a native code compiler for dBase III databases, and later evolved.[2]
History[edit]
Clipper was created by Nantucket Corporation, a company that was started in 1984 by Barry ReBell (management) and Brian Russell (technical); Larry Heimendinger was Nantucket's president.[3] In 1992, the company was sold to Computer Associates for 190 million dollars and the product was renamed to CA-Clipper.[4][5]
Clipper was created as a replacement programming language for Ashton Tate's dBASE III, a very popular database language at the time. The advantage of Clipper over dBASE was that it could be compiled[6] and executed under MS-DOS as a standalone application. In the years between 1985 and 1992, millions of Clipper applications were built, typically for small businesses dealing with databases concerning many aspects of client management and inventory management. For many smaller businesses, having a Clipper application designed to their specific needs was their first experience with software development. Also a lot of applications for banking and insurance companies were developed, here especially in those cases where the application was considered too small to be developed and run on traditional mainframes. In these environments Clipper also served as a front end for existing mainframe applications.[7]
As the product matured, it remained a DOS tool for many years, but added elements of the C programming language and Pascal programming language, as well as OOP, and the code-block and it being'unusual in that 2,000 legal copies have been sold in the Soviet Union'[3] (compared to 250,000 worldwide).
Decline[edit]
Despite these efforts in the early nineties under its new ownership[8], Clipper proved to be unable to make a smooth transition from the MS-DOS to the Microsoft Windows era. As a result, almost no new commercial applications were written in Clipper after 1995. By then, the 'classically trained programmer' commonly used strong typing, compared to 'variables and functions .. not declared as a certain type in the original dBase language.'[8]
Four of the more important languages that took over from Clipper were Visual Basic, Microsoft Access, Delphi and Powerbuilder; they have data typing. Some existing Clipper applications continued in use for ten or fifteen years, requiring regular maintenance, but around 2015 the number of Clipper applications that were still used commercially on a daily basis was very small.
A factor in Clipper's decline was also due in part to issues with the Clipper 5.0 product. Some applications developed in Clipper 5.0 crashed frequently and unpredictably. Nantucket did not address the issue and some developers moved on to different products out of necessity to have stable applications. Nantucket seemed to be reluctant to even acknowledge there was an issue. The problem (memory leak?) was later fixed by Computer Associates.[9]
Revival by third-parties[edit]
The Clipper language is being actively implemented and extended[10] by multiple organizations/vendors, like XBase++ from Alaska Software and FlagShip, as well as free (GPL-licensed) projects like Harbour and xHarbour.[11]
Many of the current implementations are portable (DOS, Windows, Linux (32- and 64-bit), Unix (32- and 64-bit), and macOS), supporting many language extensions,[12] and have greatly extended runtime libraries, as well as various Replaceable Database Drivers (RDD) supporting many popular database formats, like DBF, DBTNTX, DBFCDX (FoxPro, Apollo, Comix, and Advantage Database Server), MachSix (SIx Driver and Apollo), SQL, and more. These newer implementations all strive for full compatibility with the standard dBase/xBase syntax, while also offering OOP approaches and target-based syntax such as SQLExecute().
Usenet[edit]
The Clipper Usenetnewsgroups are comp.lang.clipper and comp.lang.clipper.visual-objects.
Programming in Clipper[edit]
A simple hello world - application:
A simple data base input mask:
Version history[edit]
The various versions of Clipper were
From Nantucket Corporation; the 'seasonal versions', billed as 'dBasecompilers'
- Nantucket Clipper Winter'84 - released May 25, 1985
- Nantucket Clipper Summer'85 - released 1985
- Nantucket Clipper Winter'85 - released January 29, 1986
- Nantucket Clipper Autumn'86 - released October 31, 1986
- Nantucket Clipper Summer'87 - released December 21, 1987
Dbase Iii Clipper For Macos Download
From Nantucket Corporation; Clipper 5
- Nantucket Clipper 5.00 - released 1990
- Nantucket Clipper 5.01 - released April 15, 1991
- Nantucket Clipper 5.01 Rev.129 - released March 31, 1992
and from Computer Associates; CA-Clipper 5
- CA Clipper 5.01a -
- CA Clipper 5.20 - released February 15, 1993
- CA-Clipper 5.2a - released March 15, 1993
- CA Clipper 5.2b - released June 25, 1993
- CA-Clipper 5.2c - released August 6, 1993
- CA Clipper 5.2d - released March 25, 1994
- CA-Clipper 5.2e - released February 7, 1995
- CA Clipper 5.30 - released June 26, 1995
- CA Clipper 5.3a - released May 20, 1996
- CA Clipper 5.3b - released May 20, 1997
Clipper tools[edit]
Dbase Iii Clipper For Macos Mac
Additional to a standard clipper library, a notable additional library named Clipper Tools were developed by CA after beginning a Clipper production. Three versions of this library were manufactured. All of them associated with a 5st Clippers version. This library became a de facto standard between a Clipper's clones, such as xHarbour, and it was also cloned for a number of Clipper clones manufacturers.
References[edit]
Dbase Iii Download
- ^Warren M. Littlefield (1983). DBASE - From the Dot Prompt: An Introduction to Structured Programming using dBase IV. ISBN0791417808.
- ^'Clipper'.
a native code compiler for dBase ..later evolved ..
- ^ abGlenn Rifkin. 'Selling Software, Soviet-Style'. The New York Times.
- ^'CA-Clipper | Viva Clipper !'.
- ^GrafX Software licensed CA-Clipper in 2002 from CA for ongoing marketing and distribution.
- ^Compiling dBASE code changes it from interpreted code, which must be interpreted every time each line of code is executed, to p-code, which uses a Virtual Machine to process the compiled p-code. p-code is considerably faster, but still not as fast as the machine code generated by native compilers. As a technical marketing ploy, the p-code was wrapped into object code (linkable .obj files) which gave the impression that it was compiled to native code.
- ^'Clipper'. thocp.net. The History Of Computing Project. 20 June 2007.
- ^ abcRod da Silva (October 1, 1995). 'Examining CA-Visual Objects'. Dr. Dobb's Journal.
- ^(No data for reference - I was active in the Clipper community and this was what I witnessed at the Clipper conferences.)
- ^2014: 'Changes'. Angus Johnson.
v6.2.0 (26 September 2014) .. release of the Clipper library... The PolyNode Class has a new IsOpen property (to support open paths)... The Clipper class has a new ZFillFunction property.
- ^'Converting Clipper applications to windows'. January 31, 2006.
- ^'xHarbour.org'. www.xharbour.org.
External links[edit]
- Print from Clipper to newest Windows printers article
- The Oasis is the largest file archive for CA-Clipper and xBase on the web
- Harbour Project A 32/64 bit multiplatform Clipper compiler