XBase
From Free net encyclopedia
xBase is the generic term for all programming languages that derive from the original dBase (Ashton-Tate) programming language. There are indicators that there was a non-commercial predecessor.
The 'x' means the various flavors, such as dBase, (dBXL/Arago) QuickSilver, Clipper, FoxPro and xBase++. As of this writing (2005), the following are commercially available: Visual FoxPro is available from Microsoft, Recital from Recital Corp., xBase++ from Alaska Software, Clipper from GrafxSoft, Flagship from multisoft GmbH and dBase from dBASE Inc.. Some free versions are in development: Clip, the Harbour Project and xHarbour.
A developer community support for xBase that is focused mainly on Clipper, FoxPro and xBase++ can be found here: Oasis Web Site. A comprehensive list of communities related to Visual FoxPro can be found here.
Starting around 1987, an effort began to create some sort of standard for the dBASE programming language syntax, since there were an increasing number of "clone" software products that mimicked dBASE. However, each of these products had its own unique set of supported language features and syntax. As such, it was often very difficult to move code developed with one dBASE-like product to run in another one. (This was in contrast to older programming languages such as C or COBOL where due to published official standards, carefully developed code could possibly be run in a wide range of software environments.) Ashton-Tate, however, maintained that everything relating to dBASE was proprietary, and had even filed lawsuits against several such "clone" software vendors. This gave rise to the creation of the generic term "Xbase" meaning "dBASE or dBASE-like" (A suggested name that narrowly failed was "*base", and some wanted it spelled "X-base") Once Borland acquired Ashton-Tate in mid 1991 (and was apparently required to drop the lawsuits as an anti-trust related condition of the merger), such stanardization efforts were given new life. An ANSI committee was officially formed, and began regular meetings in 1992. Marc Schnapp was the first chariman, and the first meeting was held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California which was essentially the birthplace of dBASE II a number of years before. The group met on a regular basis in a variety of locations over the next few years, and representatives from most major vendors participated. But despite lip service from all the vendors on the need for a standard, no one seemed willing to change their product syntax to match that of a competitor. Further, as Microsoft continued to dominate microcomputer software and promoted Visual Basic instead of FoxPro, the entire issue soon became moot as dBASE and Xbase became footnotes in the history of personal computer software.