Paradox (database)
Paradox is a relational database for MS Windows environments, previously available for MS-DOS and Linux, currently developed by Corel and included in the WordPerfect Office office suite.
In the days of MS-DOS, it was quite a successful database, competing with dBase, Clipper and FoxBase. It passed into Borland's control after the purchase of Ansa Software in 1987.
Although Borland redesigned it for Windows, its market share is much less than that of Microsoft Access, but its programming language (ObjectPAL) is Pascal, which makes it more powerful than Access, which uses Visual Basic and this limits its performance considerably when compared to other databases that use more advanced languages. With its Runtime, an application can be developed using a single license with no seat limitation.
Paradox for DOS
Paradox for DOS is a relational database system originally written by Richard Schwartz and Robert Shostak, and released by their Ansa software company in 1985. In September 1987, Borland Software acquired Ansa, including its Paradox / software. TWO 2.0. Notable versions of classics were 3.5 and 4.5. Versions prior to 3.5 are evolutions of 1.0. Version 4.0 and 4.5 were restructured into the Borland C++ toolkit and used a different extended memory access scheme.
Paradox / DOS was a successful DOS-based database of the late 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, dBase and its xBase clones (Foxpro, Clipper) dominated the market. Other notable competitors were Clarion, DataEase, R:Base, and DataFlex.
The distinguishing features of Paradox/DOS were the following:
- A visual application consultation example that was supported by an IA motor.
- Effective use of memory (conventional, as well as enlarged / expanded) -. Cache of data tables and, in particular, the indexes that caused the paradox to execute tasks very quickly, in contrast to the explicit knowledge necessary for the optimization of xBase performance
- An innovative programming language of the Language of the Paradox application (PAL) that was readable, powerful, and can be recorded in the keyboard actions (something as well as the recording of Lotus 1-2-3).
- Lotus-like menus and text windows that the native interface (unlike dBase that had a command line interface with menus in layers at the top).
- Particularly in Paradox 1.0 and 2.0, the user and program manuals won reading prizes - were abundantly illustrated, well presented and the explanations were written in common English
Paradox for Windows
Paradox for Windows is a distinctly different product from Paradox for DOS, and was produced by a different team of programmers. Although the key features of the DOS product, the QBE and the database engine, were ports to maintain DOS code, there was a major break in PAL to ObjectPAL compatibility and a move to a GUI design metaphor for forms and reports. The ObjectPAL changes were controversial, but forced since PAL relies on keystroke logging actions that had no equivalent in Windows. An object-based language, based on Hypercard's ideas, was used instead of recording keystrokes. Forms and report designers use independent scaling devices, including the ability to work in zoom mode for detailed layout. The right mouse button is used for access to forms and report properties, inspired by Xerox's Alto and Smalltalk, in a manner almost universal to Windows programs. The ObjectPAL was (like Hypercard) associated with visual objects - also revealed by right-clicking. Property inspection and design tools could be "nailed" to stay on the screen, an idea taken from the following and now adopted quite widely in Windows.
For about the first year of development of object-oriented code written in C with the help of macros, until Turbo C++ was available at that time the other parts of the code were written in C++. The product manager until version 1.0 shipped was Joe Duncan. The development and QA team was around 30 people.
Both Paradox for Windows and Quattro Pro for Windows, a closely related project, began development with beta versions of Windows 3.0, in the spring of 1990. Paradox/Windows ended up falling almost a year behind its original plan, shipping in early 1993. The reasons were many, but not entirely surprising for a major change, in an object-oriented language with new tools, the shift to a graphical user interface paradigm, in what was essentially a version of the operating system in the first place. However, it was a big problem for the company, and Microsoft managed to ship Access a couple of months before Paradox for Windows, a major marketing win for Microsoft.
In 1990, Borland also began work on an internal dBASE clone for DOS and Windows, written in assembly language, which was scheduled for shipment in 1992. In early 1992 it became apparent that Ashton-Tate was in trouble. difficulties developing the Windows versions of its products and so Borland changed plans, instead acquiring the company and anointing its internal projects as the official successor. Part of the Ashton-Tate acquisition was the Interbase database and it was decided that paradox/W should be able to work with Interbase as well as the Paradox engine and led to the creation of an IDAPI engine based on Interbase..
The acquisition also changed its focus. Paradox had historically competed against dBASE in some markets, and Paradox/W was originally designed to improve the competitive position in the developer-oriented market. After dBASE was acquired this was no longer desirable and shifted towards an ease of use market. However, the product cannot be changed to match the emphasis (this happened in the latest versions) at that point, making the product too complex for the entry-level market.
Microsoft's first database, the desktop program, Microsoft Access, did a good job of addressing that very market and came first when it debuted at COMDEX in November 1992. In response to Borland's acquisition of Ashton -Tate, Microsoft acquired FoxPro and incorporated Rushmore technology into Access's Jet engine to significantly improve its performance.
Microsoft Access offers many features that are easier for end users and developers to implement, including a more intuitive search interface using links between Windows fields instead of Paradox text field labels from QBE, and the Access Basic programming language, which was more similar to PAL than ObjectPAL. Access and Paradox differed significantly in the way they presented query results. Access to the records displayed before a query has completed and without the overhead of creating an output table. Paradox displayed the results only after all records have been retrieved and a RESPONSE table created. This performance difference was significant for large data sets and the negative impact of Paradox/W.
Taking a low Borland debut Quattro Pro spreadsheet price book against Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access debuted with a price of $99. This undermined the traditional price paradox of DBMS DOS, Windows Paradox, dBase and around $799, which negatively impacted Borland more than any other company.
Borland's management team with its 85% market share of the desktop database market seriously underestimated the threat from Microsoft and Microsoft Access. However, Paradox/W sold well for a while. Meanwhile, Borland was experiencing serious problems caused by the Ashton-Tate acquisition. Many product lines were discontinued, corporate restructuring and consolidation was painful, and worse, dBASE's internal project at the center of the acquisition rationale was canceled for technical reasons, leaving Borland with plummeting revenues and a huge Need to develop missing dBASE for Windows in a pinch. Borland lost the strength to fight the multiple marketing battles it needed for its range of products. Paradox was minimally marketed to developers as the company decided it would wait for a replacement for dBASE, which finally came out in 1994, too late for the company.
To make matters worse, while the dBASE DOS clones (FoxBase and Clipper) closely copy dBASE, the Windows versions of these products have been developed without an existing dBASE for Windows model. One of the strengths of dBASE for DOS was its multi-vendor support and was lost in the various Windows xBase products. Visual Borland dBASE for Windows could not run Microsoft's Foxbase for Windows programs and vice versa. Faced with a fragmented market and the need to rewrite programs to take advantage of Windows, there was little incentive for xBase users to remain loyal to the product they had used for DOS.
In 1995, Microsoft included Access in its Microsoft Office Professional programs with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This effectively killed the end user desktop market for the database of independent products.
Despite solid follow-up on releases with usability improvements for entry-level users, Paradox faded in the marketplace. It was included in Borland's product sale for WordPerfect, which in turn was sold as WordPerfect got into financial products, and at the present time of writing Paradox for Windows, WordPerfect, and Quattro Pro for Windows are owned by Corel and sold as part of their office suite. dBASE for Windows came out too late to be a major player in the Windows market, most dBASE programmers by then had migrated to Microsoft FoxBASE, a very similar database tool. Borland maintained the Interbase/IDAPI server and focused its efforts on its Delphi tools, which over the years gained an influential but small share of the data-driven developer market.
Paradox for Windows today remains a powerful development tool not only for database applications, but for all-purpose applications, keeping the "RAD" (Rapid Application Development), with very few requirements, it can work satisfactorily in local Client-Server environments or even remote access if it is used in a WAN network, in addition to incorporating many of the functions and features that are considered innovative in other similar environments. or that are considered superior, with a little more attention from its owner, it would be able to compete at the level of the platforms that are currently most widespread and used by both end users and the developer community.