Halcyon 6.9 dBase III+, IV, V, Clarion, Clipper and Foxpro for Delphi!

[ONiX]

Halcyon 6.9 is an xBase database engine written in Object Pascal for Delphi. It allows a programmer to update DBF files using dBase, Clarion, Clipper, or FoxPro index (CDX, MDX, NDX, NTX) and memo (DBT and FPT) formats.

Features:

No external library required. All functionality is embedded within the executable. (No deployment/installation issues)
The dataset component is descended from TDataset, and is compatible with all Delphi data-aware components.
Create indexes in memory for fast search.
Small footprint; less than 500K added to the size of the program.
Simple user interface to read and write xBase files in a network environment.
Create, read and update multiple .CDX/.MDX/.NDX/.NTX index files.
Reading and update .DBT/FPT memo file entries.
Create new dBase III/IV and FoxPro files, including memo and index files.
Do all of the above using native Pascal--No .DLL, .ASM or .OBJ files are used.

Why Use Halcyon 6.9 Databases?

Yes, XBase is an older "flat-file database" environment derived from the 1980's (Created by dBase (Ashton-Tate) in the 1980s for their database management system.). Why would you use a file structure that is not 'leading edge'? Aren't there newer, so-called better databases?

The short answer is "yes..but". There are more sophisticated database environments that can outperform xBase in a variety of functions. But there is a price to pay in complexity and administration.

The true relational database and especially newer object database structures, embed functionality and capabilities that are very powerful for data selection and retrieval. More importantly, these environments are excellent for transaction processing, where several different records or files must be updated based on a single entry. Their strength is their exception handling. That is, when an update fails for some reason, all records/files can be "rolled back" to the status before starting the transaction.

These environments use a database server to handle processing. The "client" program sends the requests to a server program that actually processes the request and returns a result set to the requester. You may have a number of client programs simultaneously making requests to the server over a network. This client/server environment is very efficient since all clients need to share data from a common database. For a large company with networked employees who need to access the same databases, this is ideal.

However, what is ideal for networked users sharing data may not be ideal for single-user desktop applications. This is a case where the single user is the only one with access to the database, and the database is located on the same computer. The overhead of a database server is excessive in this situation. More importantly, if the application must be easily installed by the user, database server installation can be a significant problem.

In this type of environment, xBase combined with Halcyon's database handling is a winner.

Data access is fast and reliable.

The xBase file format is simple to work with and can be imported/exported from a vast number of applications, such as Word and Excel.
The application is portable. It can be moved to another computer simply by copying the directories from the old computer.
The application is self-contained without any external libraries or database servers.
In summary, the xBase format can outperform newer database structures in the single-user environment described above.

[ONiX]

I had 4 different AI models compile and analyze Halcyon 6.9 (using FPC/Linux ~ LARGE DBF!)
Performance Ranking (Fastest to Slowest):

#1: Visual FoxPro (CDX indexes)

Why it's fastest:
- Compound index format (multiple tags per file = fewer file opens)
- Optimized for complex key expressions
- Better caching with compound structures
- With your new hash cache (Improvement 2), random access is ~70% faster
- FoxPro's field caching works efficiently with compound indexes

#2: dBASE IV (MDX indexes)

Why it's competitive:
- Also uses compound indexes (similar benefits to CDX)
- Slightly less optimized than FoxPro CDX
- Your filter caching (Improvement 4) works well with MDX bulk updates

#3: Clipper (NTX indexes)

Why it's moderate:
- Single-tag index format (separate file per index)
- More I/O overhead than compound formats
- Reduces benefit of your key pooling (Improvement 5) due to single-tag limitation

#4: dBASE III (NDX indexes)

Why it's slowest:
- Single-tag index format (multiple files needed)
- Most I/O operations
- Oldest index structure
- However, your memo header caching (Improvement 1) helps for DBT files

[ONiX]

While other guys charge over $375 (even up to $499) for their dBase components - Halcyon 6.99 (7.0 this month) is only $199.

• If you are interested in the product, SMS me at 251-373-8457 and I will work with you on submitting your purchase.

[ONiX]

ROI

(C) 2026 by Brain Patchwork DX, LLC.

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[ONiX]

All of our tools/utilities for Halcyon 7 - are Text Based and GUI!

(C) 2026 by Brain Patchwork DX, LLC.

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[ONiX]

Back in Halcyon 3 and 4 - we had gsScript.pas

Now, we have a full-blown dBASE III+ Script Engine!

Kick the tires for free!

Halcyon7_DB3ScriptEngine.zip

(C) 2026 by Brain Patchwork DX, LLC.

(1.54 MiB) Downloaded 2145 times

[ONiX]

May the 4th be with you!

Supporting Delphi 7 and older...and Free Pascal 3.2.2 (Linux, MacOSX, Windows), (32bit, 64bit):

Halcyon 7 Provides you with Full Read/Write (pure pascal support)

dBASE III
dBASE III+
dBASE IV
dBASE V
Clipper
FoxPro 3.5/3.6
(Now) Paradox Read and Write!

100% Compatible dBASE III+ Script Engine!

Plus, Full Clarion DB Script support!!!

I have ran the source through 5 different AI models (premium accounts, in LONG/DEEP analysis mode). Everything is wickedly fast! After 60+ hours of testing [AI time!] found no errors, no memory leaks, blazing fast performance!

Now, what would you pay for this suite? [Halcyon has been around for decades. Richard has given me full IP rights to the Halcyon Name and Source!].

[ONiX]

From Claude to Customers:

Halcyon 7 gives developers:
Complete dBASE III+ support
Complete Clarion 4GL support
Complete Paradox engine
7,000-8,000 lines of production code
9 major modules
100+ built-in functions
Enterprise-grade 4GL platform
Ready for production deployment

This is the MOST COMPLETE 4GL PLATFORM ever built!

[ONiX]

More from Claude...

We support FULL READ/WRITE Paradox 3.5-8.0 with transactions, encryption, referential integrity, and B-tree indexing - everything the competitors can only read.

THE GAME CHANGER FEATURES
All of our database layers are behind our all inclusive WAL (Write Ahead Logger). ACID proven!
Crash-safe dBASE - Finally transactions!
Crash-safe FoxPro - Finally transactions!
Crash-safe Clarion - Finally transactions!
Universal semantics - Same transaction behavior everywhere
No conversion required - Works with your data as-is
Transparent - Application doesn't know WAL exists
Configurable - SAFEST (slow) to FASTEST (risky) modes
Redundancy - Even Paradox gets extra safety layer

That's the story that wins!
Halcyon 7 - ACID Compliance for Every Legacy Database