dBASE DBF file access via Turbo Pascal
DBF.PAS Updated Jan 17, 1989
This archieve contains routines that allow access of dBase DBF files
from Turbo Pascal 3/4/5. The original routines were written back
in 1986 and only supported Turbo Pascal 3.0. I modified the
routines and cleaned the code up so it could be used as a unit
in Turbo Pascal 4.0/5.0.
Here's a quick description of the files found in this archieve.
READ.ME This file you're reading now!
DBF-TP3.PAS The original routines written in TP 3.0
DBF.PAS Updated version to be used as a TP 4.0/5.0 unit
DEMO4.PAS Demo program for TP 4.0/5.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
Updated to v1.4 for Turbo Pascal 4.0/5.0 by Winthrop Chan,
January 1989, producer@cscwam.umd.edu
comments :
I originally downloaded this program from Turbo City
(209-599-7435) but found it was severely outdated and was
written for Turbo Pascal 3.0. Since I lack the dBase technical
reference manual, I was not able to expand on the functions
that are currently available. I made the code more readable
(which it wasn't when I got hold of it) and updated some of
the functions to take advantage of Turbo 4.0/5.0's new features.
If I get some time someday, I would like to add index file
access for both the dBase and Foxbase index format. As usual,
please backup your data before using this unit since I may
have not found all the bugs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
DBF.PAS version 1.3
Copyright (C) 1986 By James Troutman
CompuServe PPN 74746,1567
Permission is granted to use these routines for non-commercial
purposes. For commercial use, please request permission via
EasyPlex.
Revision history
1.1 - 5/6/86 - update header when modifying the .DBF file;
write the End Of File marker; simplify use.
1.2 - 5/27/86 - removed (some of) the absurdities from the code;
allocate the current record buffer on the heap rather than in the
data segment; symbol names changed to avoid conflicts; some error
checking added.
1.3 - 6/5/86 - added support for dBASE II files; new procedure
CreateDbf.
!!!!ATTENTION!!!!
If you have downloaded an earlier version of this file, please note
that several of the TYPEs and VARs have been changed. You may have
to make some adjustments to any existing programs you have that use
these routines.
The routines in this file present some tools for accessing dBASE II,
III, and III Plus files from within a Turbo Pascal program. There is
MUCH room for improvement: the error checking is simplistic, there
is no support for memo files, no buffering of data, no support for
index files, etc. The main routines are:
PROCEDURE OpenDbf(VAR D : dbfRecord;) : Integer;
PROCEDURE CloseDbf(VAR D : dbfRecord) : Integer;
PROCEDURE GetDbfRecord(VAR D : dbfRecord; RecNum : Real);
PROCEDURE PutDbfRecord(VAR D : dbfRecord; RecNum : Real);
PROCEDURE AppendDbf(VAR D : dbfRecord);
PROCEDURE CreateDbf(VAR D : dbfRecord; fn : _Str64;
n : Integer; flds : _dFields);
After calling one of the procedures, check the status of the
Boolean variable dbfOK to determine the success or failure of
the operation. If it failed, dbfError will contain a value
corresponding to the IOResult value or to a specially assigned
value for several special conditions. Notice in particular
that an unsuccessful call to CloseDbf will leave the file status
unchanged and the memory still allocated. It is your program's
responsibility to take appropriate action.
A skeletal program might go something like:
{$I Dbf.PAS}
VAR
D : dbfRecord; { declare your dBASE file variable }
BEGIN
D.FileName := 'MyFile.DBF'; { get filename of .dbf file into
FileName field of D variable...}
OpenDbf(D); { to open the file }
IF NOT dbfOK THEN { check dbfError and process error };
{... the rest of your program including calls to
GetDbfRecord, PutDbfRecord, AppendDbf as needed,
always remembering to interrogate the two global status
variables after each procedure call }
CloseDbf(D); { to close the file }
IF NOT dbfOK THEN { check dbfError and process error };
END.
Upon exit from the GetDbfRecord Procedure, the CurRecord of
the dbfRecord variable points to the current record contents.
Each field can be accessed using its offset into the CurRecord^
with the variable Off in the Fields^ array.
Upon entry to the PutDbfRecord Procedure, the CurRecord^ should
contain the data that you want to write.
AppendDbf automatically adds a record to the end of the file (the
CurRecord^ should contain the data that you want to write).
Notice that the OpenDbf routine does allocate a buffer on the
heap for the current record. You can, of course, override this
by pointing CurRecord to any data structure that you wish;
HOWEVER, since CloseDbf deallocates the buffer, you must repoint
CurRecord to its original buffer before calling CloseDbf.
See the demo program for some examples.
If you have any problems with these routines, please
let me know. Suggestions for improvements gratefully accepted.
dBASE III Database File Structure
The structure of a dBASE III database file is composed of a
header and data records. The layout is given below.
dBASE III DATABASE FILE HEADER:
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| BYTE | CONTENTS | MEANING |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 0 | 1 byte | dBASE III version number |
| | | (03H without a .DBT file) |
| | | (83H with a .DBT file) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 1-3 | 3 bytes | date of last update |
| | | (YY MM DD) in binary format |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 4-7 | 32 bit number | number of records in data file |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 8-9 | 16 bit number | length of header structure |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 10-11 | 16 bit number | length of the record |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 12-31 | 20 bytes | reserved bytes (version 1.00) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 32-n | 32 bytes each | field descriptor array |
| | | (see below) +-+
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+ |
| n+1 | 1 byte | 0DH as the field terminator | |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+ |
|
|
A FIELD DESCRIPTOR: <----------------------------------------+
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| BYTE | CONTENTS | MEANING |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 0-10 | 11 bytes | field name in ASCII zero-filled |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 11 | 1 byte | field type in ASCII |
| | | (C N L D or M) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 12-15 | 32 bit number | field data address |
| | | (address is set in memory) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 16 | 1 byte | field length in binary |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 17 | 1 byte | field decimal count in binary |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 18-31 | 14 bytes | reserved bytes (version 1.00) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
The data records are layed out as follows:
1. Data records are preceeded by one byte that is a
space (20H) if the record is not deleted and an
asterisk (2AH) if it is deleted.
2. Data fields are packed into records with no field
separators or record terminators.
3. Data types are stored in ASCII format as follows:
DATA TYPE DATA RECORD STORAGE
--------- --------------------------------------------
Character (ASCII characters)
Numeric - . 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Logical ? Y y N n T t F f (? when not initialized)
Memo (10 digits representing a .DBT block number)
Date (8 digits in YYYYMMDD format, such as
19840704 for July 4, 1984)
This information came directly from the Ashton-Tate Forum.
It can also be found in the Advanced Programmer's Guide available
from Ashton-Tate.
One slight difference occurs between files created by dBASE III
and those created by dBASE III Plus. In the earlier files, there
is an ASCII NUL character between the $0D end of header indicator
and the start of the data.
This NUL is no longer present in Plus, making a Plus header one
byte smaller than an identically structured III file.
| 
Winthrop Chan