Help Login

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Summary

"Arctica" is a set of technologies which will dramatically change the landscape for xBase developers based on existing knowledge and investments made. The idea behind "Arctica" is to merge xBase navigational data access and SQL. The scope is two-fold: to bring the expressive power of SQL to the Xbase++ language, and to extend the use of SQL on both sides: the Server and the Client.
 
The first part of the "Arctica" vision can simply be characterized by adding the SQL language to the Xbase++ language as a first class feature. The second part of the "Arctica" vision is not that tangible at first glance, but has wide-ranging implications as well. In a nutshell, it can be described as the possibility to write SQL stored procedures in Xbase++. But this is just a simplification. Ideally, developers will no longer be aware of whether they write a stored procedure or client code!
 
In business terms, "Arctica" will significantly reduce development costs. Because the same code will work on the client as well as on the server, existing knowledge of the xBase language can also be used in the context of SQL. Furthermore, client-based debugging and validation will greatly reduce turn-around cycles and code robustness. Last but not least, the possibility to utilize an expressive query language adds a powerful tool to your arsenal. In short, "Arctica" will lead to a new generation of applications having a higher reliability, better performance, client resource utilization and scaleability.
 
Welcome to a new world!

Lectures, Talks and Whitepapers

Talk: Xbase++ meets PostgreSQL

An introduction into the Xbase++ language and how it supports the PostgreSQL server on the Client and Server side. The first part of this talk is intended for programmers which have Xbase++, Clipper, FoxPro, Visual FoxPro or dbase applications in the field and want to migrate them to a Client/Server technology. In the second part the integration of Xbase++ as a new language for stored procedures of the PostgreSQL server is outlined.
 
PDF Document, English version

Presentation: The unsealing of "Arctica"

This Powerpoint presentation introduces the different technologies which make up "Arctica".
 
Powerpoint-Show, English version (Office 2007)
Powerpoint-Show, English version (Office 2003)

Questions and Answers

Q: What is the difference between Universal and Pass-Through SQL?

Universal SQL executes the SQL statement on the client side. Pass-Through SQL takes your SQL statement, rewrites the SQL and executes the statement on the server side.

Q: Does Universal SQL support my old Clipper DBFNTX tables?

Yes it does. The point is that Universal SQL is integrated into the Xbase++ runtime as a first class language feature. This leads to the situation where every data source accessible by Xbase++ today - if it is through a DatabaseEngine, ActiveX Objects/ADO or your own classes - can be a part of a Universal SQL statement. You can even mix different data sources inside a single SELECT statement. For example, it is possible to perform an SQL query against work areas used by FOXCDX or DELDBE, an ADS remote table and an ODBC connection simultanously.

Q: Which DBMS systems are supported by Pass-Through SQL?

We plan to provide native Pass-Through SQL-support for the PostgreSQL server and the ADS Database Server.

Q: How can I migrate existing FOXCDX applications to the PostgreSQL DBMS?

First of all, you need to have your application migrated to Xbase++. After having mastered this step, it is just a matter of adding one line of code, namely the code to establish the connection to the PostgreSQL server! Anything else, indexes, UDFs, filters and your navigational operations are automatically transformed into SQL statements, and behave exactly as before. Of course, the same is true for DBFNTX, COMIX or SIX tables and indexes.

Q: Will you support user-defined functions in index expressions for the PostgreSQL server?

Of course we will.

Q: What about different collations and charsets?

By default, the PostgreSQL DatabaseEngine handles all data in UTF8 (Unicode) format. This allows the transparent support of OEM, ANSI and Unicode charsets.

Q: Why have you chosen the PostgreSQL server for the "Arctica"?

Well, the PostgreSQL server is the only SQL 92/99-compliant DBMS which features a rules system, user-defined datatypes/operators, and allows the integration of other server-side languages. These outstanding features of the PostgreSQL DBMS have their roots in research projects related to active database systems, which disembogued into the PostgreSQL DBMS. PostgreSQL simply goes beyond traditional SQL.

Q: Is PostgreSQL reliable, does it support transactions?

Definitively yes. PostgreSQL not only guarantees the four ACID properties (Atomicity, Concurrency, Isolation and Durability) required for reliable transaction-processing, but it is also a SQL DBMS which implements updates via a MVCC mechanism (multiversion concurrency control). This way, read and write operations can take place simultanously. That's a crucial feature especially for xBase developers, who traditionally have been able to read a record while it was locked and being updated. Furthermore, PostgreSQL is an Enterprise Scale SQL DBMS widely used by large corporations.

Q: Do you support Full-Text Search?

Yes of course. The PostgreSQL full-text search feature including result ranking is fully supported. In addition, the PostgreSQL spatial data types will be natively supported by Xbase++. Queries such as "show me all customers located 100 miles around NYC" will become possible.

Q: Where can I get more information regarding the PostgreSQL server?

A basic introduction of the PostgreSQL server can be found here. An outline of the PostgreSQL advantages including a brief overview over its technical features is here. The online documenation of the recent Version 8.3 can be found here.

Q: Does all this SQL hype imply that Alaska Software abandons the flat file format?

Not at all, the opposite is true! Specifically the Windows Server 2008 and Vista platforms provide great opportunities to move the flat file dbf/cdx approach to a level of reliability only achieved in the past by a database server.

Q: Is there any pricing information available?

Because we are currently talking about pre-release software, there is no pricing fixed yet. However, the PostgreSQL server in itself is free of charge as it is licensed under a BSD License. We plan to include the PostgreSQL DatabaseEngine in the Professional Subscription. Exact licensing modalities for this technology have not been fixed yet. However, we are not considering to employ a client-based licensing model.

Q: When will "Arctica" be available?

Alaska Software is a technology driven company. In various areas we are moving beyond the current state of technology. Therefore, we won't give any release date yet. Since "Arctica" is a set of technologies, different features will be made available in a staged step-by-step manner. Shortly after the PostgreSQL Conference 2008 and the release of SL1, we plan to have a community technology preview of the Pass-Through SQL feature for the PostgreSQL DBMS and the ADS Database Server. A community preview of the xBase migration feature for the PostgreSQL DBMS will follow suit.

Q: Why the name "Arctica"?

The Alaska Software mascot since more than 10 years is the polar bear so Arctica was a natural choice. It's where polar bears live, after all!