Paradox Direct Engine (ActiveX)

I recently had the opportunity to use a remarkable engine that allows for the reading and loading of external database tables into any MS Jet/ADO data source. What sets this engine apart is that it does not require any external libraries, resulting in a native, direct, and speedy record loading process. All I needed to do was specify the target MS Jet/ADO connection, and the records from various table formats including Paradox, dBase, Clarion, DBISAM, Advantage, and TopSpeed were effortlessly imported.

This engine supports all versions of Paradox, Clarion, and Advantage tables, as well as xBase and DBISAM formats (even files with password protection). It offers several import modes, such as imAppend which adds new records to the destination table, imUpdate which updates matching records in the destination, and imAppendUpdate which adds or updates records based on their existence in the destination. Additionally, the engine provides the imDelete mode to delete records in the destination matching those in the source. For a complete refresh, the imCopy mode clears the destination and repopulates it from the source, while imAppendNewOnly adds records to the destination table only if no matching records are found.

An excellent feature of this engine is the ability to define custom mappings, allowing me to specify the correspondence between fields in the destination and parsed fields in the Paradox file. Furthermore, I had the option to create a new table in the MS Jet/ADO data source that perfectly replicates the structure of the parsed Paradox file, and effortlessly load data into the destination table, view, or editable query.

In conclusion, I found this engine to be incredibly valuable and versatile, making it an excellent addition to the toolkit of any software developer.