importing dBase III prg files to Foxpro or Access

[S N]

Is there any way to import the dBase III .prg files directly into MS Access
of VFoxPro.
Also is it possible to import the compiled prg files with or without
decompiling them into MS access or Visual Fox Pro.

Please help.

[Pavel Celba]

dBase III prg files could work under VFP but not in Access. You should try
to compile them in VFP and then test on some testing data.

Compiled prgs must be decompiled first. (I am not sure if dBase III allows
prg compilation, dBase IV allows it for sure.)

"S N" <uand...@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:eDosGnNq...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[S N]

Is there any software available which would decompile the exe files to the
prg format.

"Pavel Celba" <msn...@celba.cz> wrote in message
news:OxBgquNq...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[Dan Freeman]

dBase III had no compiler. PRG files are just TXT files with a
different extension.

If you have an EXE file, it didn't come from dBase III.

Dan

After serious thinking S N wrote :

[S N]

Actually we dont recall the origin. It might have been dBase IV or Clipper.
But definitely there are some compiled files (without their prg files) and
some prg files. We want to migrate this legacy application to the latest MS
Access or atleast FoxPro without any special work on migration programming.

Someone please guide us.

"Dan Freeman" <sp...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:u$r2QTOqK...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Dan Freeman]

Knowing the origin is important.

There are decompilers for Clipper EXEs (see
http://www.santtech.com/recovery.html and all of the other links Google
fetches up). There are decompilers for EXEs built in Foxpro as well.

The source code won't do you a lot of good because all you'll end up
with is the same ugly old character-mode application.

Any competent Foxpro developer could reverse engineer the application
and write it from scratch, but are you sure you want to launch a new
application in a product that was discontinued several years ago?

Dan

S N presented the following explanation :

[S N]

Ideally we would want to launch the new application in MS Access or SQL
Server. However, we would not be able to afford the timeline rquired and the
associated costs to get it redeveloped in MS Access right from scratch as a
first alternative.

Hence we are looking for some make do solution to import it in FoxPro
atleast for the time being. Actually we further process the output of the
dmase application in a translator to Hindi. The translator software is
giving us some problems, so we are purchasing a windows based translator
(earlier was DOS based) The other reason for trying to migrate to Access is
that we want some formatting changes in the output report and are finding it
very difficult to generate modified reports in a form amenable to
translation. `

Kindly help.

"Dan Freeman" <sp...@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:%23dNtJHP...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[Dan Freeman]

You still need to figure out just what you've got to start with or
you're never going anywhere.

What kind of index files do you have? Likely candidates are *.ndx
(dbase), *.idx (foxbase) and *.ntx (clipper). Do you have either of
those? Do you have any *.dbt or *.fpt files?

None of this is definitive but it might help zero in on the target.

Dan

S N brought next idea :

[Juan Alonso]

Being that I have been doing both conversions and programs from Clipper 5.2
and Foxpro Dos 2.0, 2,5 and 2.6 I can tell you this.

1. There is NO COMPILED CODE from DBase III and Under, this is only for
DBASE III and under.

2. You will know that if the compiled code runs any prg, the prg is no
good because it will already be in the compiled EXE. This is for Clipper
applications.

3. If any of the PRGs are running from DBASE III then DBASE III
executable should be called with the PRG as the parameter. This is for Dbase
III applications.

4. If the code is all Foxpro DOS 2.5 to 2.6a there will be two ways of
running the code.
One would be a compiled stand alone .EXE version which means you
had to have the Distribution Kit which came in 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 Floppies
only, not CDs. Runtime libraries are required to run this type of EXE.
Two you call the compiled .APP or .EXE as parameters while running the
FoxproX.EXE File.

5. Forget MsAccess to cross platform with Dbase. There are some files you
can use, but its not worth the conversion time. You might as well re-write
the code.

6. If the EXE compiled files were compiled with Clipper you already read
what files to get to de-compile the code. I suggest doing that and re-write
the code in VFP.

7. If the EXE compiled files where compiled with Visual Foxpro 3 Pro to
Visual Foxpro 8 Pro. Use ReFox 8.x Decompiler & Brander for Visual Foxpro &
FoxPro (c) 1993-98, Xitech

I do not know if there is a new one that covers VFP9, but I am sure they
have it.

Good luck and I hope that all this info helped.

Juan

"S N" <uand...@invalid.com> wrote in message

news:%236A6nfO...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[GFG auf Gentele.de]

Clipper EXEs can be decompiled with a decompiler named VALKYRIE.
greetings: Gerhard Gentele

"S N" <uand...@invalid.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
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