Paradox file structure

[MEveloff]

Does anyone have a description of the paradox file structure? I have
some data that is VERY unhappy and needs a personal touch.

Thanks.

Mike Eveloff
DFS

[Brian Bushay Ctech]

>Does anyone have a description of the paradox file structure? I have
>some data that is VERY unhappy and needs a personal touch.

That is not available. Borland which still owns the Paradox table format
considers it proprietary.

Brian

[Steve Green]

MEveloff wrote:

> Does anyone have a description of the paradox file structure? I have
> some data that is VERY unhappy and needs a personal touch.

and just what are you intending to do?.. tell us what your errosr are,
and the context, and we'll try to suggest the "right way" to approach
problems.. hacking away at that level is rarely necessary..

--
Steve Green
Corel CTech - Paradox
Diamond Software Group, Inc.
Waldorf, Maryland USA

http://www.diamondsg.com
Gre...@DiamondSG.com

[Lance Leonard]

Mike,

> Does anyone have a description of the paradox file structure? I have
> some data that is VERY unhappy and needs a personal touch.

As others have pointed out, the details of the Paradox file format have
never been released by Inprise, who tend to feel that the BDE provides
all the direct access to the underlying structures that most folks need.
I have to admit that I agree with that choice, as I've found Delphi and
C++ builder to be excellent tools for low-level work beyond what Paradox
(or other clients) provide natively.

However, if you're willing to risk the pitfalls of undocumented and
unsupported information, here's a URL to a site that purports to document
the structure of Paradox tables:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bex/pxspecs.htm

I cannot say how recent or accurate this information is. Given that, I
_strongly_ recommend extreme caution and extensive testing before depending
on this material. (Nothing against the owner of the pages, just a general
fear associated with direct mucking about without safety nets.)

Here's another URL to a series of pages that discuss some of the operational
theory behind the Paradox file format. It's written chiefly for Delphi
programmers, but there may be additional information to fill in the gaps
of the first URL:

http://www.kallista.com/TechPapers/ParadoxFF/PdoxFF1.htm

Again, I can't speak for the accuracy or timeliness of the information.

For the most part, you may find it easiest to use the BDE to achieve the
results you're after. Better yet, let us know a few more details about
your project and we may be able to provide suggestions for achieving it
without resorting to the low-level mucking about.

Hope this helps...

-- Lance

===========================================================
A. Lance Leonard "We can't solve problems by using
lleo...@alldev.com the same kind of thinking we used
Standard disclaimers!! when we created them." A. Einstein
===========================================================

[MEveloff]

I have a file that was damaged to the extent that Tutility and
Chimneysweep crash when I try to repair the file. I can however look
into the file and see the data. I am hoping (as a last resort) to
"hack" into the file and create a last-ditch low-level file
repair/data salvage app. Suggestions are gratefully accepted.

Mike Eveloff
DFS

Steve Green <gre...@diamondsg.com> wrote in article
<3767980B...@diamondsg.com>...

> MEveloff wrote:
>
> > Does anyone have a description of the paradox file structure? I
have
> > some data that is VERY unhappy and needs a personal touch.
>

[MEveloff]

Thanks for the references. I had similar experiences with Btrieve,
and ultimately wrote a salvage app when the accepted methods didn't
do the job. Needless to say, Tutility and other repair programs were
unsuccessful.

See the reply post to Steve Green for more info..

Mike Eveloff
DFS

Lance Leonard <lleo...@alldev.nospam.com> wrote in article
<3767C04E...@alldev.nospam.com>...
> Mike,

>
> > Does anyone have a description of the paradox file structure? I
have
> > some data that is VERY unhappy and needs a personal touch.
>

[Bob Stubbs]

Howdy:

PMJFI.

You might approach the ChimneySweep folks about the problem. It seems
that they are always looking for broke things so that they can make
their product better.

Worth a shot...

Bob

On 17 Jun 1999 00:04:31 -0500, "MEveloff" <MEve...@pacbell.net>
wrote:

>I have a file that was damaged to the extent that Tutility and
>Chimneysweep crash when I try to repair the file. I can however look
>into the file and see the data. I am hoping (as a last resort) to
>"hack" into the file and create a last-ditch low-level file
>repair/data salvage app. Suggestions are gratefully accepted.
>
>Mike Eveloff
>DFS
>
>Steve Green <gre...@diamondsg.com> wrote in article
><3767980B...@diamondsg.com>...
>> MEveloff wrote:
>>

>> > Does anyone have a description of the paradox file structure? I
>have
>> > some data that is VERY unhappy and needs a personal touch.
>>