Back in 1989 Clarion for DOS was one of the greatest news that decade. Then I used 2.1 for quite some time, then 3.0 (Database Developer) with some issues, still resulting in robust applications. Then I tried Clarion for Windows with different version numbers, the latest a C5.5 Enterprise Upgrade, a few very small applications (latest 2006), because circumstances took me elsewhere, like Uniface, Access and Visual Studio. But I still yearn for a RAD tool, and I always liked the language (some resemblance with Cobol 80). I can still run these old Windows applications (*.exe) directly. It also seems that I can reinstall C55EE on Windows 10. But I can’t start the IDE. The error message is: This app can’t run on your PC. I have tried to set compatibility back in time. But I can’t manage to see the source for these old applications, nor the dictionary. Is it possible to start the old IDE on Windows 10? The next question is perhaps I should buy a new version, but I am old and there is a risk I will never again profit on this tool. But since I called myself (the firm) Clarsoft in 1990, I may have some obligations to continue my good intentions back then. I would also say it was successful (in the nineties) and a lot of fun. I was a fan of Bruce Barrington. Then… Best wishes from Svein up in Norway.
CW up to and including version 6 used a 16bit IDE. You cannot run a 16bit program on a 64bit OS.
C5/6 do run on win10 32bit. So a virtual machine would seem to be the go for you.
As for buying a new version. Well yes, depending on 3rd party products, it may be worth while. C55 is getting VERY long in the tooth these days.
Thanks very much for the answer. I figured it had something to do with the number of bits of the OS, but I’m used to 16- and 32-bits working together and later the same for 32- and 64-bits. But quite naturally not 16- and 64-bits, every distance is not near. It is a paradox though that some of my applications from 2002 still works fine, but the tool that generated them doesn’t. The reason for this is of course that the 16-bit tool let me generate 32-bit applications. So if my aim is just to look at the source from 2002, I can do it on my first laptop that had Win XP on it. Or I can create virtual machines on my newer laptops.
But I have another question. I haven’t made real Clarion applications for clients since 2002 (useful apps), and sometimes the price was steep for Clarion editions that I almost didn’t use. If I once again want to be a dedicated Clarion programmer, let’s say until normal retirement at 67, how much must I pay to make it work? Must I subscribe to the product and pay annually? Or can I be up and going for a fair price for the next 3 years? If I revert to Professional Edition (instead of Enterprise), will I lose the possibility of making applications working over the Internet? And do I at all have the right to upgrade since many years have passed since 5.5? (I may go on until I’m 87, but I have to come back to that later.) Thanks again.
I tried it on an old Windows Vista machine, and it works! Now I can look into my old applications (there were more of them than I remembered), compare with solutions in other environments, even make something new, compile to 32bits, move the executables to Windows 10 and run on my new machine. Then if I still like this approach, I may convert to the newest Clarion version as the main tool (the CRUD and report tool, which is so awkward in Visual Studio). Maybe in combination with canvas in JavaScript / HTML5 for drawing, based on data in the tables, if that would work?
You’ll need to check with SV, but I think an upgrade is 800 USD. The subscription is currently a once off until the next version arrives (which you also get) so it’s not too bad. The Professional edition does not include H5. But thats not for hi volume internet. Other than that Professional will do just about everything.
Note also that you can use C10 to compile C55. The app and dct get converted but you can tell it to use C55 templates and compiler. That can be useful during a transition.
If you’re going to use Clarion I’d really advise an update.
This is interesting. I have not been in business for years, but the second half of 2017 I got two requests. One was a Windows solution that I could make with Visual Studio 2017 as a Desktop program. But with a lot of effort, even with Entity Framework. In Clarion that would be a more moderate task (from my experience) with just all the normal requirements to an application. I still have the opportunity (free choice of tools and storage format).
The other request was to maintain and further develop an existing web application. I had to turn that one down. It would be too hard to learn all these low level things (Angular.js version 1, RESTful API, PHP, MySQL, Apache server, Sass, Grunt, npm). On the other hand, I started experimenting with html5 back in 2012 when it was introduced in Internet Explorer. Hence I’ve also used some Javascript for calculating hard objects and drawing them on the canvas (and in 2016 I animated objects to show that my calculations were right, no colliding objects). I can also copy it to an iPad and watch it in Safari. If C10 or C11 can link up clients through an ordinary browser, that would be great! Because I don’t want to do real web programming with all it takes. When I come across such requests they are always small scale, just a few clients that want to reach the data through a browser. My understanding is that I could make my part of the new web application cooperate with an existing web app. I would never duck down in the existing app and change it. But I could copy the design of a web page and modify the alternative to new demands. The things I have done with Javascript, rely on technology http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jQuery/jquery-1.7.1.min.js. That looks familiar to H5 from what I can read on SoftVelocity’s pages. So now I got a little enthusiastic! Thanks again.
ssk,
you can invoke js code from withing Clarion window, using 3rd party EasyHtml, the demo demonstrates using of DataTable.js and sDashboard.js libraries. I also implemented pdfmake.js as plugin to EasyHtml.
Install it on a Windows7 32bit pc. Should run.
Looks like those two products for the sum of around hundred dollars could be the way to go. I store the link to EasyHtml for now. Thanks.
Yes, I thought about that and tried it yesterday. It’s just that my old Windows 7 PC became a Windows 10 PC after a lot of updating (long time ago). So installing the old C55 didn’t help, it wouldn’t start. Then I checked the About box for Windows and realized it was 64bits. Thanks anyway.
we use Oracle VM VirtualBox. It is free and very nice. I run Clarion 6.3 on it all the time.
Thanks Terry for the tip. I tried download it but got a hang in the browser. I may try again later. I got a little confused since Windows was only listed in the 64bit column and nothing in the 32bits column. But maybe it means something else, like what OS is the target of the download.
I run Oracle VirtualBox on a Windows10 latop. You can build about any type of VM on it. I created a Windows7 32bit VM. https://www.screencast.com/t/13Othoyufz
Hi, the screencast looks good. I might try to download the manager again. I am a little short of space though on the solid state harddisk, but if it doesn’t take up too many Gigabytes, it’s worth trying…
Clarion 10 may involve some upgrade challenges, but it is a sensible path to follow. There are so many other challenges to contend with, why fight the 32 bit architecture?
I certainly agree. Now the tools I experiment with are often 64 bit. I just wanted to get the feel how it was when I used Clarion more actively 15 - 20 years ago. I finally found a way to open these old applications. If I really want to work with Clarion again, I’m going to upgrade, probably Enterprise Edition where I have the impression that it’s easier to produce web enabled applications.