I'm new to clarion and have the unfortunate responsibity to rewrite an
application written in Clarion 2.1 for Dos.  We recently purchased
Clarion for Windows 1.5 and I was wondering if there is anyway to
convert the dos version into the Windows version.  I have never worked
with clarion before I would be interested any help I can get.
Thanks in advance

Jerry Pitchford

Jerry,
    Some of the decisions that you will need to make in rewtiting the
CPD21 application will depend on the methods employed by the original
author.  The data storage of the CPD21 application was most likely in
the Clarion file format (file extension DAT).  If the release of CPD was
2109 or later, then this is the same structure used by the modern era
CW.   If the CPD2.1 software used is still available you can learn the
release version by executing "cdes !" or "cedt !"  in the Clarion
installed subdirectory.

Did the original author use the CPD2.1 Designer?  If so you may have a
file with the extension APP wich contains not only the program but the
data file definitions.  This file cannot be imported directly into CW1.5
but another TopSpeed product Clarion 3 can read the APP and build a data
dictionary of the entire database.  This dictionary can then be opened
and automatically converted to a CW1.5 dictionary.  Rather than
investing in the Clarion 3 for only this one use you could get help here
in this one time conversion.

Failing the availability of the APP file you can still import the old
data files one at a time into your CW1.5 data dictionary although some
things are lost in this import such as a default window picture of some
data types that are not in the data file header but are found in the
CPD2.1 APP file.

Other than the possible building of a data dictionary, the differences
between Windows and DOS applications are such that you are much better
advised to do a complete rewrite.  I find that one CW procedure
typically replaces 5 DOS procedures.
HTH
-fred

I have been converting many of my Clarion 2.1 and 3.1 DOS versions to CW.
What I have found to be easiest is thus:
   1) Import each of the files into a CW Dictionary
   2) Do as much prep in the dictionary as possible re: data formats
   3) Let CW App Wizard create 80% of the app for you
   4) Go back into your Clarion DOS source code and save the special
hand-coded
       parts to text files.
   5) In your new CW app, create a Window that has buttons.  Make sure the
Files
       are selected that will be used.
   6) In the Button(s) Embed, import all the source code from the DOS text
file(s)          you created.
   7) You will have to make minor changes to the code, but not too many.

This is the bare basics, but the process has worked for me numerous times.
 You can then spend hours making it pretty, adding progress bars, etc.

-Alec Sherman