Since the release of Delphi and C++Builder 10.4, we have created more ways for developers to easily migrate and upgrade their existing legacy applications from Borland Delphi and C++Builder to new modernized versions. While there are many reasons why one should upgrade to the newer version, sometimes it doesn’t sound like the most feasible idea. It can be a daunting task when you consider migrating your data from a platform that has worked for so many years or a data access layer that you haven’t had to worry about.
With many Borland applications, it has been commonplace to have the BDE as the data access layer for Delphi and C++Builder applications, but as time has gone on, the BDE has stayed in the past. Newer technologies have joined the ranks and surpassed the capabilities of the 32 bit BDE that we all loved.
The first step to removing the BDE from your application is to determine the data access components you want to replace it with. There are a few options out there that you can use including UniDAC and IBeXpress. In this article, I will be using FireDAC, the data access component set included in RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder Enterprise and Architect editions. For more information on FireDAC, check out the FireDAC Docwiki.
BDE to FireDAC Migration
Changing the frameworks that you use for accessing your data has gotten easier over the years. Now we have tools like reFind (Delphi specific) for BDE and DBExpress, Delphi Parser’s BDE to FireDAC migration tool for C++Builder and Delphi, and many other tools available for migrations. Check out this video below on building Applications with FireDAC.
BDE Data Sources to InterBase
Once you have migrated your components in your application, in some cases, you can stay with the database that you have. While FireDAC does support Paradox and other desktop databases through ODBC, it contains several drivers that allow you to connect to a large number of databases such as Oracle, DB2, MySQL, MSSQL, InterBase/Firebird, etc.
While you can use the InterBase import and export data features combined with a database design tool that reverse and forward engineers your database schema, there are tools available that help to reduce the hassle in this process. One such tool is the InterBase Datapump (freeware). A tool I use when working with customers to migrate BDE data sources to InterBase databases.
There are many resources available to teams looking to migrate off of older technologies, check out the Embarcadero Upgrade and Migration Center today to see just how easy the move to modernize and upgrade your legacy Delphi and C++Builder applications could be.
