I'm trying to locate Workstation Basic (WB) documentation and ODBC drivers and was hoping that some veteran BR programmers might still possess WB information.
I recently took responsibility for supporting a moderately sized WB version 3.34b (DOS) application package running on a Windows XP peer-to-peer network. Everything is relatively fine with the software, with two exceptions.
The first is the lack of WB documentation which, although not a "show stopper", does reduce my efficiency somewhat when modifying existing applications or developing new ones. I had never even heard of WB until asked to support this installation and am sometimes forced to resort to trial and error to ascertain WB capabilities and limitations. A WB Programmers Manual and/or technical information would be very, very welcome.
The second is the lack of ODBC drivers for WB "internal" files. The users would like to use their Windows applications for reporting and data extraction, which currently can only be accomplished through WB applications. If WB ODBC drivers do not exist, I was wondering if earlier versions of BR used the same file structure as WB and if their ODBC drivers might be able to be used.
I would appreciate it if anyone has any WB documentation and/or ODBC drivers that they might be able to share or sell.
Thank You.
Workstation Basic (3.34b) Documentation and ODBC Drivers
Moderators: Susan Smith, admin, Gabriel
WB or Workstation basic is now called Business Rules.
Documentation is available online:
http://brwiki.ads.net/
Since 3.34b, there have been quite a few software releases. 3.34b was released sometime in the early 90's, Perhaps 1992?.
There are ODBC drivers available, but they were released much later than 3.34b. These new drivers will most likely not work with 3.34b.
I am trying to remember back 20 years ago, but I am pretty sure that 3.34b was before DOS 5.0, and 3.66 had a very important change that worked with "the Newer DOS". Any new OS required the 3.66 release, and Windows XP is certainly newer.
The dos product is 16 bit, and will simply not work at all on any 64 bit operating systems. It is already difficult to buy new machinies with 32bit OS installed.
The current stable release of the software is 4.18g. This is a "True 32bit Windows product". I would recomend looking into upgrading to this release. I am sure there will be some effort involved, but the good news is backwards compatibility is a primary goal of the application.
In your case, "GUI OFF" or "CUI/Text" is likely to be required, but in this mode, the software is fairly compatible. There are a hundred "Options" that help retain backwards compatibility.
I am not sure if "Online Help" was shipped with your release, it might have been released in a newer version, but try "F1" to pull up help.
Documentation is available online:
http://brwiki.ads.net/
Since 3.34b, there have been quite a few software releases. 3.34b was released sometime in the early 90's, Perhaps 1992?.
There are ODBC drivers available, but they were released much later than 3.34b. These new drivers will most likely not work with 3.34b.
I am trying to remember back 20 years ago, but I am pretty sure that 3.34b was before DOS 5.0, and 3.66 had a very important change that worked with "the Newer DOS". Any new OS required the 3.66 release, and Windows XP is certainly newer.
The dos product is 16 bit, and will simply not work at all on any 64 bit operating systems. It is already difficult to buy new machinies with 32bit OS installed.
The current stable release of the software is 4.18g. This is a "True 32bit Windows product". I would recomend looking into upgrading to this release. I am sure there will be some effort involved, but the good news is backwards compatibility is a primary goal of the application.
In your case, "GUI OFF" or "CUI/Text" is likely to be required, but in this mode, the software is fairly compatible. There are a hundred "Options" that help retain backwards compatibility.
I am not sure if "Online Help" was shipped with your release, it might have been released in a newer version, but try "F1" to pull up help.
I agree - you'll want to upgrade your WB to BR!
http://brwiki.ads.net/index.php?title=O ... patibility
is an article written primarily by Gabriel, which should help you quite a bit.
http://brwiki.ads.net/index.php?title=O ... patibility
is an article written primarily by Gabriel, which should help you quite a bit.
Regarding the On-line help Luis referred to, most of us have remapped our keyboards to have F1 act as the help key. If this has not been done on the system that you are supporting try Ctrl-Y (This is the key sequence that we have remapped to F1)
Remapping is done in the WBCONFIG.SYS file as a KEYBOARD instruction
FNGeorge
Remapping is done in the WBCONFIG.SYS file as a KEYBOARD instruction
FNGeorge
WB is BR. They're the exact same thing. The name changed a few years ago.
Your best bet is to try running their software under the BR 4.1 or BR 4.2. With a few configuration options set, you can probably get their programs running as is.
There are ODBC drivers for WB/BR. They should work fine with Crystal Reports or whatever tools your users want to use.
If you have any questions or would like any help with anything, feel free to call us at Sage AX at 469 223 5476. Sage AX is the only company devoted specifically to helping support other people's WB/BR applications, and we'd love to help.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Bakker
Sage AX
469 223 5476
Your best bet is to try running their software under the BR 4.1 or BR 4.2. With a few configuration options set, you can probably get their programs running as is.
There are ODBC drivers for WB/BR. They should work fine with Crystal Reports or whatever tools your users want to use.
If you have any questions or would like any help with anything, feel free to call us at Sage AX at 469 223 5476. Sage AX is the only company devoted specifically to helping support other people's WB/BR applications, and we'd love to help.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Bakker
Sage AX
469 223 5476