Hello,
Please help a prospect fix a problem that is holding up a trial project with SAP Advantage Server. The trial period is about to expire and a purchase may not go ahead.
Derham McAven provides some background to his problem:
Prebbleton Heritage
Prebbleton is a small village just South of Christchurch in New Zealand. Since major development of housing subdivisions, Prebbleton is in danger of becoming just another dormitory suburb. Prebbleton Heritage was started some 14 years ago to try and preserve some knowledge of Prebbleton past. Early on it was decided that we could not preserve artefacts as we had neither the space nor the expertise.
I chose to develop some applications written in Delphi and using Borland Database Engine ( BDE ) and Paradox file structures. These include a database of photo files complete with keyword recording and search facilities. Other databases include historical paper clippings, births, deaths and marriages and registrations at the school since 1870. The applications had considerable early success and now we are quite dependent on the search capabilities included.
However, Borland ceased support for BDE and Paradox and subsequently sold out to Embarcadero. I had updated my Delphi and continued using BDE and Paradox. Unfortunately in the last few years some corruption has occurred within BDE and my apps no longer function.
I searched on the Internet to find a replacement product for BDE and Paradox and found Advantage Database Server which by all descriptions fitted my needs. It was a RDBMS which I understood quite well. It had library modules which could be installed in Delphi and it had a conversion utility which could import data from Paradox structures straight into ADS. It appears to offer a solution where I will not have to rewrite most of my code. I downloaded an evaluation copy and had troubles with successful installation because I did not receive a serial number and authorisation code. Eventually the support staff advised me to download the latest version ( 12.0) and I received the e-mail and successfully installed the eval version.
I have written a very basic Delphi app as a test-bed based on a very simple original which keeps name and address details of contacts for Prebbleton Heritage. ( In the meantime I have given up on an earlier trial version of an app which records registrations at the local school because of difficulties with indexing – probably related to the Paradox file having dual field key. )
The testbed app has problems with defining the Database ( I have been assuming a Paradox-like structure where the directory name of the folder which holds the multiple files for a single table is made the database name. ) The app with components from ADS – which have been installed into Delphi - apparently attempts to utilise a pathname C:\Program Files(x86)\Embarcadero\Rad Studio\12.0\bin\Contacts\Contacts.adt and naturally cannot find the file because it isn’t there. Actually the path should be E:\Datasets\HeritageADS\Contacts\Contacts.adt
I cannot find how to correct this fault.
I hope that’s enough detail ( and not too much! ) to go on with.
I appreciate your taking an interest in this project and hope you are able to help. My contact details are below.
Regards Derham McAven
36 Prebblewood Drive, Prebbleton, 7604
Phone 64-3-3498886 ( no mobile )
E-Mail mcavend@ihug.co.nz
( I am retired so am available most of the time. I think a Teamview exercise with someone having detailed knowledge of installation of ADS would be most likely to resolve the problems. It will probably require an extension of the Evaluation period which began Nov 30th 2015.
P.S. I still need to know what the purchase price of ADS will be assuming I choose to purchase. )
Many thanks and regards,
Mark