DataEase for DOS DQL Manual
With the "Re-Launch" of DataEase for DOS through LegEasy4DOS the need for a refresher in old syntaxe for commands and functions has returned with a vengeance.
Almost everybody has been able to keep track of their old applications but not as many has been able to keep hold of the manuals etc.
DataEase for DOS is so old that the manuals has never existed in electronic form.
But as part of our LegEasy program we have now dug up and old set and you can buy the DQL Manual in our WebShop for download.
A small preview of what you can expect is to be found under
100% DataEase
LegEasy4DOS Professional is a "pioneer" that showcase the future of DataEase.
No! The future is not retro, and the bit about it that is pioneering is not the fact that you can fun DataEase for DOS applications.
That feature is basically just how it should always have been and a catch-up with our history.
Take a closer look - The entire product is made IN DataEase following up on a "slogan" we had when we sat out to refurbish DataEase.
DataEase need to be made in DataEase!
LegEasy4DOS - How it works?
The interest in LegEasy4DOS has been "overwhelming" since we released it at the end of last week.
A lot of eagerly awaiting Professional clients jumped at it and the feedback was not late to come.
Most of you are overjoyed and excited by this opportunity to run DataEase for DOS in a modern environment, and more than happy to scrap your old XP computers and Novell servers that has kept you up at night with worry - when will it draw its last breath and what will I do then?
However not all feedback is good and some of you have been "disappointed" too.
Some of this disappointment is down to us having problem with our server park after the release due to an unexpected heavy load - don't they always say that - but some of you have been running bench mark tests and compared it to "Native" DfD on Native XP, WIndows 7 x32 etc. and the results has baffled you.
Why is it sometimes much slower and then sometimes much faster than the comparison?
In the article below we will try to explain this and how LegEasy4DOS is designed and how it works.
LegEasy4DOS Professional Release 05.08.16
The response to our Personal version of L4D has been fantastic and it has given us great motivation in the work leading up to the release of our long awaited Professional version of L4D.
We won't spend too much time extrapolating its virtues here but limit ourselves to announcing it's release and showcase its beauty ;-)
Further down the article you will find the FREE FOR ALL Trial Key you can use to get the first "spin" in this brand new interpretation of DataEase (for DOS).
New Support Manager and new Support Products introduced
For a long time we have been focusing on improving our software products, but we have now entered a new phase where we will focus more and more on the entire customer experience.
One issue that has been raised more often than others is the lack of a dedicated support service so this is one of the areas were we will now focus.
Last month we hired Fatma Adel as our new Support Manager. She has now had some time to settle in and are more than eager to start helping you resolve your issues.
100% DataEase
LegEasy4DOS Professional is a "pioneer" that showcase the future of DataEase.
No! The future is not retro, and the bit about it that is pioneering is not the fact that you can fun DataEase for DOS applications.
That feature is basically just how it should always have been and a catch-up with our history.
Take a closer look - The entire product is made IN DataEase following up on a "slogan" we had when we sat out to refurbish DataEase.
DataEase need to be made in DataEase!
LegEasy4DOS - How it works?
The interest in LegEasy4DOS has been "overwhelming" since we released it at the end of last week.
A lot of eagerly awaiting Professional clients jumped at it and the feedback was not late to come.
Most of you are overjoyed and excited by this opportunity to run DataEase for DOS in a modern environment, and more than happy to scrap your old XP computers and Novell servers that has kept you up at night with worry - when will it draw its last breath and what will I do then?
However not all feedback is good and some of you have been "disappointed" too.
Some of this disappointment is down to us having problem with our server park after the release due to an unexpected heavy load - don't they always say that - but some of you have been running bench mark tests and compared it to "Native" DfD on Native XP, WIndows 7 x32 etc. and the results has baffled you.
Why is it sometimes much slower and then sometimes much faster than the comparison?
In the article below we will try to explain this and how LegEasy4DOS is designed and how it works.
LegEasy4DOS Professional Release 05.08.16
The response to our Personal version of L4D has been fantastic and it has given us great motivation in the work leading up to the release of our long awaited Professional version of L4D.
We won't spend too much time extrapolating its virtues here but limit ourselves to announcing it's release and showcase its beauty ;-)
Further down the article you will find the FREE FOR ALL Trial Key you can use to get the first "spin" in this brand new interpretation of DataEase (for DOS).
New Support Manager and new Support Products introduced
For a long time we have been focusing on improving our software products, but we have now entered a new phase where we will focus more and more on the entire customer experience.
One issue that has been raised more often than others is the lack of a dedicated support service so this is one of the areas were we will now focus.
Last month we hired Fatma Adel as our new Support Manager. She has now had some time to settle in and are more than eager to start helping you resolve your issues.
LegEasy 4DOS - Update!
We are and should be very happy when an upcoming release of a DataEase product cause this much of a stir, but it is also a sobering moment.
We obviously still have some catching up to do with our new products before they reach the same popularity as the early versions of DataEase.
Luckily the "re-launch" of DataEase for DOS is part of our DataEase infrastructure strategy so you will now be able to run your legacy apps well into this century when at the same time integrate them with the latest DataEase technology.
Locking Strategies for dummies!
Ever wondered why you have so much trouble with inconsistency and being locked out of your DataEase database? If the answer is YES, read one and discover how you can easily remedy it.
Full, Basic, Opportunistic - What does this really mean? We get a lot of questions about which locking to choose in DataEase, and the answers we have give - are giving, have changed over the years. I guess that if this was a simple as it "should be", there wouldn't even be three options in DataEase, and we wouldn't leave this is in your hands.
I have spent quite a lot of times over the years debating and exploring this myself, and the problem is that it is more of a philosophical problem, than a technical one. Pictures this as going into a Chinese restaurant and ordering. You get a many with 500 items, and you are vaguely familiar with 3 of them, so what do you do. Choose what you know, or go for the set menu...
[{8}]five Release and Release program.
Finally...
DataEase {[8}]five went into production today and from now on it will be all about 8.5 and beyond.
We have now concluded the longest Beta program in DataEase history - 427 days or over 1 year and 2 months.
So why so little fanfare on this watershed day?
Warning! Price increase on DataEase 8 from January 1st
We are changing how we license DataEase from Januar 1st 2016.
In short we will stop dividing licenses (and executables) in Developer (Full) and GROUP (Runtime) and introduce a simple User License and one executable that will be either a development environment or a Application Launcher based on the users privileges.
The change might seem dramatic at first, but you will get much more functionality and flexibility.
This is just an early warning to those of you that plan to buy DataEase 8 in the near future, more information on the change in product and licensing strategy will follow.
Dynamic Design - A New paradigm in DataEase development
ExecDQLClass(), CreateTable(), AddColumn()* signify a complete breach with previous DataEase thinking.
From its infancy in the early 80ies and throughout its life until DE8 there was a clear divide in DataEase between Design and Runtime. (At least in the head of the designers, but the fact that most people used it interactively and added and changed to it in real time was not taken into account)
Tables, Scripts, Forms, Reports was froozen in runtime and there was few if any way you could make your application dynamic.
How this has changed in 8....
How to create CDFs for use in DE8/DG3
This is how you create your own CDFs using Visual Studio 2013. I selected to use this version because any one can get a full version for free as long as you register with MicroSoft. You should be able to recreate this in any version of Visual Studio in almost the same way as described here. Not much has changed in creating Windows DLLs in the last 20 years. You probably can do the same using other compilers as MinWin GCC and Embarcadero, but that is outside the scope of this document.
Migrating from DFW 5.x and 6.x to DE8.5 including National Versions
If you want to encompass DataEase problems in one word it must be Migration. It is fascinating that a company that has had so little success with this concept, has sworn to it for such a long time.
It is a badly hidden secret that DataEase lost most of it users in the flawed and bodged migration of DFD application to early DFW, what is maybe not so well know is all the other "unsuccessful" migration events.
In this article we will explain what/why and how it went wrong and what you can do to work around it.
We reached our 1.000.000 visitor today 23rd of February 2015
At the beginning of the year we had estimated that we would get our 1.000.000 visitor at the 6th June this year, but with the Beta of 8.5 and the great feedback we have seen both visits on our website and sales sky-rocket and we reached the 1.000.000 threshold more than a Quarter ahead of schedule!
We just have to thank you all for your patience with us, and for your contributions and support throughout the last couple of years since we took charge.
We both hope and feel that our efforts and enthusiasm for DataEase has been well received and are reciprocated by you all!
A wholehearted thank you to your all from "The DataEase Team".
NEW! Functions in DataEase 8.0 to 8.5 (Page 1)
Some of you might be aware of it but it seems a lot isn't so it might be time to advertise a little the vast number of new functions and functionalities that has been added to DataEase 8.0 through 8.5.
For a long time the only way new functions found their way to DataEase was through active and ingenious users which developed CDF's. As much as the CDF's alleviated the obvious short-comings in DataEase 5.x to 7.2 it was cumbersome, undocumented and "secretive" i.e. not everyone was in the know.
With 8.x we decided that the focus needed to be on moving DataEase forward, rather than the constant dance around the "bug fixing" fire.
Have a look and a try for yourself.
Due to the number of new functions we had to publish the short description in two articles, of which this is the last.
Also have a look on the blog synopsis found in the list to the right.
NEW! ?Functions in DataEase 8.0 to 8.5 (Page 2)
Some of you might be aware of it but it seems a lot isn't so it might be time to advertise a little the vast number of new functions and functionalities that has been added to DataEase 8.0 through 8.5.
For a long time the only way new functions found their way to DataEase was through active and ingenious users which developed CDF's. As much as the CDF's alleviated the obvious short-comings in DataEase 5.x to 7.2 it was cumbersome, undocumented and "secretive" i.e. not everyone was in the know.
With 8.x we decided that the focus needed to be on moving DataEase forward, rather than the constant dance around the "bug fixing" fire.
Have a look and a try for yourself.
Due to the number of new functions we had to publish the short description in two articles, of which this is the first.
Also have a look on the blog synopsis found in the list to the right.
25/11/24 05:39:17 
Re:Re:Understand index and virtual field use in DataEase
ps. 1990s practice with field indexes was described in volume 2 of de 4.* manual devoted to dba & applications development. limitations were up to 8 indexed fields on a single form. only necessary fields were to be inedexed. new recommendations here are close to truth. the truth is in that no indexes at all. indexing makes database application slow and memory & disk storage consumption are huge. for sure in some cases indexing helps nevertheless.
...
Product: Dataease 9 Developer
Written by: Ihor Zakharchenko
22/11/24 20:13:06
Re:Re:Re:Re:DE8.5 Textout UTF-8 format
Hi, Sam! Very useful case! Thx. May be A and B are different a bit ? What about text format of C which is the combination of A and B ? Thank You.
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: Ihor Zakharchenko
22/11/24 15:01:16
Re:Re:Re:DE8.5 Textout UTF-8 format
As noted in the initial post the server system locale settings were checked and nothing has changed.
User logon is via Published Remote App with Active directory credentials.
The system locale settings for the user session are set according to the server system locale.
What is weirder is that for the same user logon two different processes yield different results.
User logs in and runs procedure A and gets an ANSI file.
In the same session procedure B delivers a UTF-8 file.
Both text files are created with a DQL using textout / textoutln
I agree it's definitely due to some issue on the server. Unfortunately that just makes it more complicated as the server is a VM managed by a third party and they seldom volunteer any information of any changes.
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: Sam
22/11/24 12:23:04
Re:Re:DE8.5 Textout UTF-8 format
This is 100% a windows problem.
Is this app running on the server or on a client?
If it is not running on the server, the server is not the culprit. This problem is on the Windows where the app is running.
The character set you are looking into here was created to handle Greek/SImplified Chineese etc. and to be honest it has hardly ever been used. It It exploit the fact that you can set up a different 8 bit character set in windows but it just complicate things if you don't really need it.
Most likely the problem is that someone has played with the system local.
This is a bleeding mess if you get dragged into it. Our approach and recommendation is that one should never play with server settings or things like this as it is more likely to cause problems than fix them.
Our goal is to deliver software that run on default software/hardware without any of this wizardry needed or recommended.
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: DataEase
22/11/24 04:36:56
Re:DE8.5 Textout UTF-8 format
From 7.2.2 help
RDRRDAAA.INI
ANSI_CHARSET
ApplicationCharset= 0
DEFAULT_CHARSET
ApplicationCharset=1
Default for DE8.5 is ApplicationCharset= 0
Changing setting to ApplicationCharset=1 does not make a difference to text file output - still ANSI
Not sure if this setting is relevant for text file output?
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: Sam
22/11/24 03:57:40
DE8.5 Textout UTF-8 format
We have a DE85 app that writes text files using textout / textoutln on a MS2012 server.
Up until 2024-10-30 the files created were UTF-8 format.
For some unknown reason as from 2024-10-31 the files are ANSI format.
Nothing was changed on the DE85 app
According to server hosting support no changes to Server or AD system locale changes were made (and none can be seen)
If the ANSI format files created are opened in Notepad and edited and saved then the format is UTF-8 so there does not appear to be anything changed in the server default for text file format.
Is there any way to force DE8.5 Textout to UTF-8 format?
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: Sam
19/11/24 23:49:19
Re:Re:LE9 copy special FIXED
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Product: LegEasy 9 Developer
Written by: Sam
18/11/24 15:10:04
Re:Understand index and virtual field use in DataEase
thx. that was tested with dfd even in 1990s ...
blackouts due to the war impose low power consumption & high productivity of software here in Ukraine now...
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Product: Dataease 9 Developer
Written by: Ihor Zakharchenko
17/11/24 15:08:11
Understand index and virtual field use in DataEase
Indexes is mostly "abused" in DataEase. People think the more the better, but they will only work if used right.
As a general rule indexes will make searching faster and saving slower.
But...
DataEase will only use an index on searching sorting if the first field in the search is indexed and only on the first field. There is no combined indexes so column two onwards in any search will be sequential. That is fine if the first column will narrow it down substantially. However if one have 3 million records and put the index on a yes/no field where half is yes and half is no, you will get a return cursor of 1.5 million that will be search manually for ex. date=current date.
So obviously if one search for current date first and then yes/no you get a much better cursor.
If you sort in reverse on an index field it will do a sequential search again as the index is chronological and it can't be used in reverse.
When analyzing "troubled" DataEase applications where the developer/user say "it worked before" (yes it di when they had 50k records and not 5 million) the problem is very often that they over-index and don't use the indexes at all. I've seen tables with 250 fields and 70 indexes that "used to work". Maybe they shouldn't have.
When you look at the files some of the index files are bigger than the data file...
So obviously when 70+ indexes is to be updated and maintained every time you save a record it will be slow...and meaningless as they indexes is not used anyway.
We frequently get "complaints" about the limit of 255 fields in a table, but to be honest. If one think having 255 fields in a table is optimum one should revise ones viewpoint and look up data-modelling on the internet. There might be something to learn.
So in general.
1. Only index fields that you know you will use the index on.
2. Keep the number of columns in a table at a minimum and the index fields the same.
3. Don't put virtual fields in tables and avoid to reference virtual fields from other tables. Calculate them when you need them where you need them. In Forms you can simply create virtual fields as part of the form rather than as part of the table. A good rule is never to use the form that defines table other than for defining the saved columns, then all virtual fields in forms will be a property of the form.
4. In DQL you should never reference a virtual field but simply recreate it in the DQL as a temp variable.
...
Product: Dataease 9 Developer
Written by: DataEase
14/11/24 12:56:43
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Virtual server configuration
das ist fantastisch! what about of reindexing time in the case then ? for sure, DataEase isn't a simple mechanism and the golden rule of mechanics is not about of 7000000 records with amount of fields more than 1... thx a lot for the this amazing case!
VMware is excellent with LE9 on a new Apple processors ...non Intel for sure
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: Ihor Zakharchenko
13/11/24 21:17:43
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Virtual server configuration
The problems is always related to change. If you start of developing a system you will design it so it runs OK with the limitations you have at the time. Then when it goes slow, you will clean the system/delete unnecessary data, buy better hardware etc. and it works fine again.
The problem is when you "upgrade" and it then goes slower.
We had a client that moved from 4.53 on Novell 3.12 for over 100 users to LegEasy4DOS on Azure. Most things was much faster but a couple of critical routines that updated between countries went from taking 3 hours till 6 hours running overnight.
They couldn't understand it as everything else was so much faster.
The problem was of course that the disk/network IO was emulated and hence was slower than Novell, while everything that was done in memory etc, was much faster.
When they came to us with it, we told them that this was to be expected but they shouldn't worry about intensive disk/network was 50% as fast, rather that the process already took 3 hours..
So we looked at the code rather than buy more hardware/memory etc. The table in question had 7 million records but the procedure was obviously designed i 1987 or something when they had 7000 records, so we simply rewrote it to use indexes etch efficiently and it went from 3 hours to 6 hours to 35 seconds.
So very often the problem is that one doesn't see the forest for all the trees.
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: DataEase
13/11/24 20:35:24
LegEasy 9 Developer ver. LE9.6835 Released: 13/11/24
...
Product: LegEasy 9 Developer
Written by: Ihor Zakharchenko
12/11/24 10:40:43
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Virtual server configuration
agree, yup, this is not my personal opinion BUT! this is not old good days too. This is present day trend. SSD's productivities tends to RAM's ones.
Modern OSes are handling hardware equipped with wise chips and present day operating systems are wise too.
we have no choice ...reality is as is. LE9 is the fastest DE and inside it we feel like under an OS.
this is shocking reply to IT departments and VMware producers:
Quora Hatchworks Glory to DataEase Team nevertheless! ps. we are using L9E& VM without problems.
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: Ihor Zakharchenko
12/11/24 09:19:05
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Virtual server configuration
Ihor!
We have talked about this before.
You are entitled to your opinions etc, but we don't need it as a comment on every genuine request for help or information.
Please don't comment on posts about the good old days and AI. Neither is helpful and just create clutter.
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: DataEase
12/11/24 08:04:24
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Virtual server configuration
Hi All!
For sure, no VMware, no windows, only DataEase OS, shortly DOS.
No disks, no files and etc.
enough is enough!
Only RAM ... a little ROM as a vintage device for museum purposes.
where are disks in your brain ?
DataEase Team!
Go ahead into new technologies of AI!
Good lick!
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: Ihor Zakharchenko
11/11/24 16:04:59
Re:Re:Re:Re:Virtual server configuration
So to increase speed:
- Consult VMWare resources on how to increase speed on I/O.
- Check if there is Virus software monitoring file access on your Application Drive. If there is EXCLUDE it. DataEase files does not contain viruses and is not loaded so viruses can be loaded but they are accessed all the time so virus software is the main culprit on performance problems.
DE8.5 and before create sort files etc in the app catalogue which can slow down processing, so in LE9/DE9 this is moved to temp area on the device where DataEase is run from, this increases sorting a lot.
LE9/DE9 is currently undergoing a big improvement program in performance where we completely remove need for locking etc, and make disk access much faster. We also completely rewrite indexing etc. This will increase speeds on average between 5 and 25 times, which will compensate for slower disk speed in virtualized environments.
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: DataEase
11/11/24 15:50:02
Re:Re:Re:Virtual server configuration
When you run DataEase on a shared file server the "challenge" is file access and throughput i.e I/O.
So the main problem is disk access, not memory etc.
So quick disks, controllers etc. is what is the crux of the matter.
it is common to see disk access of 4-10 times longer in virtualized environment compared to direct access. So if your new HD is twice as fast as the old one it is still at least twice as slow after virtualization.
The fact that 8.5 runs slower in a virtualized environment has nothing to do with DataEase and everything to do with the virtualized environment so the request should target VMWare support on how to increase disk access speed.
The only true way to figure out where your bottleneck is to do disk access test with different settings etc.
Virtualization in our opinion is brilliant for IT departments but not so much for users and at the end of the line any savings achieved by splitting hardware this way is lost in lack of performance and problems for users many times over.
So in many ways the problems here is suboptimum resource management where one try to fit a square peg in a round hole.
A quick Google on benefits of virtualization gave us this:
Virtualization has many benefits for organizations, including:
Reduced costsVirtualization can lower operational costs, reduce the need for additional hardware, and save money on electricity and cooling.
Improved efficiency
Virtualization can improve the efficiency of physical servers and power usage. It can also increase application performance and server availability.
Faster disaster recovery
Virtualized environments can help businesses regain access to IT infrastructure more quickly after a disaster or cyberattack.
Increased productivity
IT teams can spend less time maintaining physical hardware and more time on other tasks.
Improved security
Virtualization isolates virtual machines (VMs) from each other, which can help contain security breaches.
Testing environment
Virtualization can provide a safe environment to test new software, patches, and server upgrades.
Improved data mobility
Virtualized data centers can have more efficient data workloads, which can reduce traffic obstacles and bandwidth bottlenecks.
What is missing here is any benefits to people using systems on a daily basis to achieve the actual goal of the business which I'm sure is not IT infrastructure related...
100% benefit to IT Dept. at the expense of the users as normal
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: DataEase
11/11/24 14:54:43
Re:Re:Virtual server configuration
Hi and thank you for the feedback .
Are there any recommendations running Dataease on a Virtual server? reserving cpu and memory , exposing the VM to the physical host hardware as much as possible?
I can understand the key is in the virtual part but there must be others having Dataease running in a virtual environment.
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Product: DataEase 8.5 Runtime
Written by: Andrei St
11/11/24 11:44:57
Re:Re:Read DataEase Files
There is no tool that open them and export the content as such.
We have a service on our shop where we export all the data in an application.
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Product: DataEase for Windows 5.x and before...
Written by: DataEase
08/11/24 16:48:34
Re:Read DataEase Files
DataEase for Windows 5.x and before
...
Product: DataEase for Windows 5.x and before...
Written by: Ihor Zakharchenko
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ExecDQL started small and is now all-encompassing. What started as a way to execute a DQL for processing with no output now powers websites and has taken on a life on its own w...
