Borland Database Engine

Borland Database Engine (BDE) is the Windows-based core database engine and connectivity software behind Borland Delphi, C++Builder, IntraBuilder, Paradox for Windows, and Visual dBASE for Windows. Borland’s Turbo Pascal had a "database" Toolbox add-on, which was the beginning of the Borland compiler add-ons that facilitated database connectivity. Then came the Paradox Engine for Windows – PXENGWIN – which could be compiled into a program to facilitate connectivity to Paradox tables. The first DLL-based connectivity engine was ODAPI (Open Database API). It represented Borland’s attempt to centralise connectivity in its suite of applications that included the brand-new Paradox for Windows 4 and Quattro. With version 4.5 / 5.0 of Paradox for Windows, this database engine was crystallised as IDAPI. In 2000, Borland introduced a new SQL driver architecture called dbExpress, which deprecated BDE SQL links technology. In 2014, Embarcadero removed the BDE installer from its Rad Studio XE7 install, making it a separate download in order to strengthen the message that the BDE has been deprecated for a number of years. Programmers using the BDE are encouraged to update their software to use newer database connectivity technologies like Embarcadero's FireDAC, or third-party-provided solutions. Replacements for BDE include: The included set of database drivers enables consistent access to standard data sources: Paradox, dBASE, FoxPro, Access, and text databases.