I am in the process of migrating some legacy software that uses Delphi (XE3 or Tokyo) and the BDE against Paradox.
We will be going with UniDAC, and have the software running, using ODBC (MS Paradox Driver). Unfortunately, the MS Drivers are incomplete, we frequently get messages stating that some particular optional function is not available. Things like post should not be optional. :)
We own Corel Paradox 9.0. I just installed that hoping to find the official Corel ODBC Drivers would appear in my ODBCAdmin, but they did not. I went further and installed the Paradox 9 SDK, and then the Paradox 9 RunTime. Still the Corel ODBC Driver is not appearing in my ODBC Admin. Is there some extra step?
Based on what I have been told by other devs, the ODBC Drivers should have automatically populated after installing Paradox itself. The documentation is of no help and articles are few and far between.
Can someone tell me how to access the ODBC Paradox Driver from Corel? Alternatively, is there another way to hookup Delphi to Paradox, without ODBC (or the BDE)? I have searched, but not found any other way. FYI, eventually we will be going to SQLite, but we do still need paradox.
Thank you!
EDIT
Another approach... if anyone has this installed already, but doesn't know where it came from, Eg, some runtime library, one could open the ODBC Admin and the driver will point to the underlying dll. Just getting me the name of the dll would be very helpful.
Thank you, again.
Related
Delphi 7. Firebird 2.1.
I am using TSQLDataSet, TSQLDataSetProvider and TClientDataSet. This architecture has worked for me for a long, long time.
Today it started to give me this error: DBExpress Unknown error code 65535, not really clarifying.
I am able to set a SQL in the TSQLDataSet and add all fields in the Fields Editor.
The error occurs when I try to add all fields in the ClientDataSet, in design time. There is no code of mine involved.
I know it os way too litle information but really I don´t even know where to start digging.
Notes
I recently installed Delphi XE2 to start migrating
Probably you have Firebird / Interbase clients DLL hell. For Firebird you should use fbclient.dll, for Interbase - gds32.dll. If you does not follow to this rule, then DBMS API may return a misterious error. And dbExpress driver may have no good idea, what to do with this error. Then it returns another misterious error - 65535.
Probably (again, because no information) you had fbclient.dll renamed to gds32.dll to make Interbase Borland dbEpress driver happy. Then Delphi XE2 installed a real gds32.dll or it was installed as part of Interbase installation (do you ?). The current real Interbase gds32.dll is not compatible with your Firebird server.
You have to verify what DLL loads dbExpress driver, using SysMon or IDE Event Log. Then check what is this DLL. Then probably you will need to restore your gds32.dll.
I would like to know if there are any open source components available for Delphi XE-2 that can connect to postgreSQL other than using outdated techniques like ODBC.
For now just Win32 support is needed, but if Win64 and OS-X support is also available that would be a bonus.
I googled around a bit, but the only lib that's available (ZEOS) looks like it is no longer in active development.
There does seem to be a patch for Delphi XE2 but I could not get it to compile.
As of right now: No.
You either route through ADO -> ODBC, dbExpress -> ODBC (for XE2*, see below), hope to make Zeos work, or pay for one of the various commercial components (PostgresDAC, DevArt, or AnyDAC, to name a few).
While Delphi XE2 comes with an ODBC driver for dbExpress, it's only for the Enterprise SKU and higher -- it's not available in Pro. For XE2 Pro users and users of older versions of Delphi there's Open dbExpress. I've tried using it before, but always had trouble with it. It's been updated since I've last used it though, so maybe whatever problems I had (which may have been my own fault) aren't an issue anymore.
All this said, ODBC isn't really an outdated technology. On non-Windows systems it seems to be the preferred DB-agnostic API. That said, it seems that many environments prefer to implement their own connectivity (e.g. QT, GNOME) rather than relying on ODBC exclusively. However, for the PostgreSQL project itself, their default (and best supported) connectivity API is ODBC.
Update: In fact, Microsoft is making ODBC their premier connectivity API for SQL Server starting with SQL Server 2002 (codenamed Denali). See: Microsoft Aligning with ODBC and Microsoft is Aligning with ODBC for Native Relational Data Access. This is the last release that will support OLE DB, and Microsoft is encouraging developers to use ODBC.
Turns out you can get ZEOS to work on Delphi XE2 and as far as I've tested all DB functionality works.
Here are the steps to follow:
Use SVN* to download the Delphi XE2 archive for ZEOS at:
https://zeoslib.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/zeoslib/branches/testing
Put the zeos folder in the appropriate place, I'm assuming c:\borland
Do not open Delphi yet, but instead open
C:\borland\zeos\packages\delphi16\ZComponent.dpk in wordpad and remove the trailing {$IFDEF} (remember to keep the ; in place).
Open c:\borland\zeos\packages\delphi16\ZeosDbo.groupproj.
Choose build all
Open c:\borland\zeos\packages\delphi16\build in explorer, copy all .bpl files and copy those to c:\borland\delphixe2\bin
Component -> install packages -> [add...] and choose
c:\borland\delphixe2\bin\ZComponentDesign.bpl
as a SVN client I've downloaded SVN-tortoise from: http://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.html
Combined with both the SVN plug-ins for Firefox
I want to install a Firebird database driver, and to have it available within the Delphi XE IDE. I want the database driver to be usable on the same basis as other, supplied database drivers (eg Interbase, SQL - from within the Data Explorer in the IDE). I have obtained an appropriate driver.
The driver consists of a Delphi project, which compiles to a DLL; and modifications to two .ini configuration files (dbxconnections.ini and dbxdrivers.ini). I assume that the DLL is the actual driver, and I have compiled the project without problem.
I have got this far, and this is where I realised that I do not know what is involved in installing a new database driver; what is involved in installing a new database driver into an IDE; nor where the elements of the installation need to reside.
So my question is:
What steps are needed to install a dbExpress database driver into the Borland XE Delphi Professional IDE?
Some of the specific points I don't know about include -
Does the driver need to be registered with all of Firebase, Delphi and Windows?
Do I need to employ a specific registration procedure to accomplish registration?
Are there any elements I am missing to accomplish my aim?
Where should the installed components be located?
All four vendors, Embarcadero, Borland, UniOpen, and Firebird provide documentation (most of which is very comprehensive) but I have been unable to extract from them what I need to do and where to do it.
I have searched multiple questions on SO, but all of seem to start from the basis that the OP knows what is involved in driver installation.
All the products (except the driver project) generate multiple files in multiple locations, and it is not clear what components belong where. For example, I have multiple versions of the two configuration files residing in:
C:\Users\User\AppData....
C:\Users\Public\Public Documents...
C:\Program Files\Vendor....
....
In addition these products install files into:
the registry (multiple keys);
C:\Program Files....;
C:\Program Files (x86)....;
C:\Windows\System....;
C:\Windows\System 32.....
and probably more.
Environment:
Machine: Lenovo Thinkpad W510
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate
Delphi: Embarcadero® RAD Studio XE Version 15.0.3953.35171
Database: W1-V2.5.0.26074 Firebird 2.5
Database Driver: UniOpen Native DBX Driver
Also Installed:
Embarcado Borland® Developer Studio 2006 Enterprise Version 10.0.2288.42451 Update 2 (XP Version)
Borland Delphi Version 7 (XP Version)
In summary:
What steps and locations are needed to install a dbExpress database driver into the Borland XE Delphi Professional IDE?
You missed a file. :)
DataExplorer, from the best I can tell, uses dbxdrivers.ini. My installation of XE has a single copy of that particular file, located (Win7 64) in C:\Users\Public\Documents\RAD Studio\8.0. The connection types listed in DataExplorer come from the list of installed drivers at the beginning of that file, and each driver has one or more configuration sections which follow that list.
The driver files listed in the configuration section have to exist in a location findable (like any other Windows DLL) by LoadLibrary. The documentation in the link explains the way the API function searches for DLLs; basically though, the IDE has to find it somewhere on the PATH.
The vendor or author of your particular driver should be able to provide the info that needs to go in the dbxdrivers.ini file. (I'm not familiar with UniOpen personally, and don't have FireBird on this particular machine.) The IDE only reads that file during startup, so you'll need to (re)start the IDE after making the additions.
This post at the Embarcadero Delphi Database->DBExpress forum may help with defining aliases for your Firebird databases, and describes connecting via the TSQLConnection component. (Look for a post by Ralph Horbury-Smith.) If you don't have a Developer's Network ID, you'll need to register with the Embarcadero site; the link I provided uses HTTPS for some reason. You can also get to their forums via NNTP; I'm not using a newsreader, so I'm not sure what the address would be. There's a link to connection info on this page at Embarcadero.
There's also some information available on the Delphi XE documentation Wiki pages that might help as well.
EDIT: Found one more link at the DBExpress forums that might interest you. It has a link for another FB DBExpress driver and specific information for the dbxdrivers.ini file for that driver. It's the post by Phillip Flores (about the 3rd one down on the page).
I am accepting #Ken's answer. His response provided links to various resources. I am summarising the answers to the specific points I had that I have obtained from the references.
There is no need to amend dbxconnections.ini - the IDE will do that for me.
I need to amend dbxdrivers.ini appropriately and place it in the IDE directories.
The actual driver needs to be somewhere on the path - typically System32.
There is no need to register the driver with Windows.
Apart from the items listed above, there is no special procedure needed to register such drivers.
The list here appears complete.
EDIT:
My conclusions in this summary were premature and I have asked a further question to try and obtain further information. The strikeout in the list above marks the incorrect elements.
The background to this query was this question.
I have installed this driver for Firebird and placed it within the path (system32) used by the IDE. The XE Data Explorer recognises the driver, and it is possible to create a connection using the Data Explorer. Trying to view tables or any other database element through this connection results in the error described in this question. As far as I can see #Alejandro Jourdan has not obtained a solution to this problem, and I can find no solution on any of the support sites for Firebird or for Delphi XE.
The second problem comes when I create a TSQLConnection using this connection. The connection works to the extent that it generates the login prompt to the database, but when it tries to open the connection I get the error message: 'file is not a valid database' This error message is (sort of) reproducible from within the Data Explorer which gives the following error:
I/O error during "CreateFile(open)" operation for file [database path] Error while trying to open file. Access is denied..
The database is valid and can be opened from the Firebird command line utility, and from a Data Base browser.
Environment:
Machine: Lenovo Thinkpad W510
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Delphi: Embarcadero® RAD Studio XE Professional Version 15.0.3953.35171
Database: W1-V2.5.0.26074 Firebird 2.5 (64 bit)
Also Installed:
Embarcado Borland® Developer Studio 2006 Enterprise Version 10.0.2288.42451 Update 2 (XP Version)
Borland Delphi Version 7 (XP Version)
EDIT:
See my own answer below. This edit has removed extensive detail that proves to be unnecessary in the light of that answer, while retaining the core of the question, and the links contained within it.
The first thing that sticks out to me is that you're using the 64-bit version of Firebird, and that you mentioned it comes with both a 32- and 64-bit driver. Are the DLLs named the same? If so, I suspect that the IDE/OS are trying to load the 64-bit version of the DLL in a 32-bit application, which isn't possible (32-bit apps can't load 64-bit drivers, and vice versa).
Try one of two things:
First, if the DLLs have the same name, rename the 64-bit version temporarily, and restart the IDE. Then try again.
Try installing the 32-bit version of Firebird, even though you're running a 64-bit OS.
The basic question I had (in part I) was:
I want to install a Firebird database
driver, and to have it available
within the Delphi XE IDE. I want the
database driver to be usable on the
same basis as other, supplied database
drivers (eg Interbase, SQL - from
within the Data Explorer in the IDE).
I have obtained an appropriate driver.
After considerable investigation I have found that it is not possible to achieve the integration into the Delphi IDE that I was trying to achieve. This is because the Data Explorer is a .NET application and the available DBExpress drivers (here and here) are just not compatible with .NET. I understand that I can use the drivers by setting up the parameters appropriately, in both the IDE and by programming in the application I am developing.
I have drafted this answer to assist others to avoid this particular blind alley. I am also editing the part II question in order to remove a lot of the detail, that proves to be unnecessary in the light of this answer.
I use Delphi 7 with DBExpress.
I want to fully migrate my app to firebird 2.1. I already know what to do at the server side but not really sure at client side.
In the TSQLConnection component I see that vendorLib property points to GDS32.dll. The driverName is Interbase and getDriverFunc is getSQLDriverINTERBASE.
I don't know what to do in order to my connection use fbclient.dll. I tried simply changing gds32.dll to fbclient.dll in vendorLib, but it caused some access violations in my app.
Any tips?
The Interbase DBX driver doesn't support Firebird 2.1 (you'll have problems with certain field types - BLOBs for example). There are rumors that D2010 (which must enter in Beta soon) will support Firebird.
So, you can expect the Weawer or buy a commercial Firebird DBX driver (see Upscene's site or, DevArt/CoreLab's ones).
Also, perhaps is better that when you install Firebird to check the 'Generate gds32.dll for compatibility with older applications' - or something similar - I don't have now in front of my eyes the FB installation kit.
HTH.
Use ZeosDB components for accessing FireBird DB.
Maybe you should rename fbclient.dll to gds32.dll and replace it. Read this - it's not exactly your case, but maybe you should try the same way.
There is also some dbx drivers for Firebird in UIB in \Misc\dbexpress
For completing this I know also dbx drivers for Delphi 2007/2009 at IBExpert
http://ibexpert.net/ibe/index.php?n=Main.News#news16
and others connectivity to access Firebird with Delphi
http://www.firebirdfaq.org/faq7/