Are You Still Using Btrieve 6.15?

If you or your customers are still using Btrieve 6.15 you might be missing out on some valuable opportunities. No matter if you are a developer or if you are running an application based on Btrieve 6.15, PSQL v9 is the upgrade you need to get your application to the next level – all without sacrificing your current investment in your application.

Consider that….

If you are, we can hardly blame you. After all, Btrieve has been around for almost 20 years and has been very reliable. In fact, you probably think there's no real reason to upgrade. But take a moment to consider the following:

As a developer, PSQL v9 allows you to:

• Access to new development capabilities via SQL, JDBC and .NET at the same time as Btrieve!
• Offer your customers superior performance and security
• Include Audit, Backup and Data Synchronization capabilities without having to change your current code!

As a user:

• Increased data security
• Improved application performance (up to 100%!)
• Support for new operating systems like Linux and new Windows versions
• Auditing, Backup Agent and Data Synchronization

No matter who you are, PSQL v9 delivers a superior environment for development and deployment. Find out more about how you can take advantage of PSQL v9:

• Btrieve vs. PSQL v9 product features
• The Pervasive PSQL v9 Product Sheet
• Pervasive PSQL v9 Trial editions
• Btrieve 6.15 to Pervasive PSQL v9 Migration Guide.

If you're still using Btrieve or have already upgraded to PSQL, we want to hear from you! Tell us your Btrieve story, by sending an email to: insightsembedded@pervasive.com. The top 5 stories will receive a free 'Btrieve, Living Legend' T-shirt.

PSQL Radio: Btrieve, how has it changed?

In this month's PSQL Radio, Product Manager Chris Kauffman brings us up to date on Btrieve. Have a listen…

Click on the player button above to listen to PSQL Radio. This audio requires the Flash plug-in, which you can download for free here.

More details on how to upgrade from Btrieve 6.15 to Pervasive PSQL v9 can be found in this new white paper.

Alternatively, you can start testing PSQL v9 right now by downloading the trial version here.

If you're still using Btrieve or have already upgraded to PSQL, we want to hear from you! Tell us your Btrieve story, by sending an email to: insightsembedded@pervasive.com. The top 5 stories will receive a free 'Btrieve, Living Legend' T-shirt.

Training: Expand Your Knowledge, Increase Success

We're kicking off the New Year with brand new PSQL and DataExchange training courses that will help you get the most from your PSQL and DataExchange deployments.

Pervasive PSQL Service and Support: May 22 – 24

Who benefits: This course is designed for new and existing Pervasive PSQL users who require in-depth technical knowledge of Pervasive data management products in order to facilitate CPT certification, application design and integration, deployment, QA, or support. This course provides the educational foundation to maximize use of Pervasive PSQL, minimize customer TCO and increase end-user product experience.
Delivery: The 3-day, instructor-led course is available in open-enrollment sessions, or it can be delivered at your site.
Pre-requisite: None required. This course is designed for all levels of attendees.

Advanced Network Troubleshooting for Pervasive PSQL: May 25

Who benefits: This advanced course is designed for Pervasive PSQL support and networking professionals who want to understand how the database works in the underlying networking environment, in order to understand common performance problems and to learn advanced troubleshooting techniques using a network analyzer.
Delivery: The 1-day, instructor-led course is available in open-enrollment sessions, or it can be delivered at your site.
Pre-requisite: Due to the extensive use of Service & Support (S&S) concepts in this class, the full Pervasive PSQL S&S course is a required pre-requisite to this session.

Pervasive DataExchange: May 31 – June 2

Who benefits: This advanced course is designed for Pervasive PSQL support professionals who need the ability to setup and maintain solutions to data movement and synchronization like real-time backup and data synchronization.
Delivery: The 3-day, instructor-led course is available in open-enrollment sessions, or it can be delivered at your site.
Pre-requisite: Due to the extensive use of Service & Support concepts in this class, the full Pervasive PSQL S&S course is a required pre-requisite to this session.

More information regarding these training courses, as well as the registration form, is available online: http://www.pervasive.com/services/training_form.asp.

If you would prefer to organize an on-site training course, please fill out our Customer Training Information Form. Once we have received your form, we will evaluate your request and contact you.

Are there other database management topics you would like training for? If so, let us know by sending an email to: insightsembedded@pervasive.com with your training course topic suggestions.

New Pervasive PSQL Support Offerings launch
February 1!

Based on customer and partner feedback, Pervasive is rolling out an updated set of Support offerings designed to better meet your needs. Users and partners can now enjoy even more flexibility and choice in designing custom Support Programs.

To find out more about the new support offerings, visit the PSQL support site at http://www.pervasive.com/support/index.asp?product=psql or email us at insightsembedded@pervasive.com and we will send you a copy of the new support offerings as soon as they become available on the Web site.

Of course, if you should have current support issues or feedback, feel free to contact us directly. A complete listing of contact details can be found here or visit our support portal.

Tech Tip: Uniform Resource Indicators

Btrieve developers now have more options when creating or opening a Btrieve file. The database URI (Uniform Resource Indicator) provides a syntax to describe the address of a database resource on a server. Now that Btrieve calls can be easily made across TCP/IP networks (including the Internet), connection string versatility is more important than ever.

URIs can be used on both Create and Open commands. The basic syntax of the URI is: access_method://user@host/dbname?parameters

Elements of a database URI:

• access_method - The method used to access the database. Currently, only btrv is supported.
• user - An optional user name. The password for the user is specified in parameters if needed.
• host - A server where the database is located. The local machine is assumed if host is not specified.
• dbname - An optional database name, which corresponds to an entry in the DBNAMES.CFG file for the Pervasive.SQL V8 database engine. If no database name is specified, then the default database "DefaultDB" is assumed.
• parameters - Additional parameters, which are delimited by the & (ampersand sign) character.

Parameters:

• table=table - allows you to specify a specific SQL table name.
• dbfile=file - Name of a file whose location is relative to the current database's data file locations entry in DBNAMES.CFG. The full file name will be resolved by the engine handling the request; the Pervasive.SQL client (MIF) will not manipulate <dbfile> in any manner. Embedded spaces are permitted - they will be escaped by the engine. Using a UNC path is also permitted.
• file=file - allows you to specify a specific data file name. Embedded spaces are permitted in this parameter.
• pwd=password - clear text password. The Pervasive.SQL client (MIF) will change clear text passwords into encrypted passwords before transmission across the wire.
• prompt=[ yes | no ] - Tells the Win32 requester how the application wants to handle the login dialog box pop-up when the MicroKernel returns status 170 (Login failed due to missing or invalid user name) or 171 (Login failed because of invalid password). If prompt=yes is specified, the requester will always display the login dialog even if the Prompt for Client Credentials setting is Off. If prompt=no is specified in the URI, the requester assumes that the application wants to receive the status 170/171 directly and does not want the requester to display the dialog. This is useful if you want your applications to handle the prompting for credentials in response to any 170 or 171 status codes. Values other than yes or no are ignored and the requester displays the login dialog based on the Prompt for Client Credentials setting. This option is ignored on Linux and NetWare machines that are acting in the role of a client.

URI Examples:

• btrv://Bob@myhost/demodata?pwd=This%20Is%20Bob - User "Bob" with password "This Is Bob".
• btrv://myhost/demodata?file=c:/program%20files/pvsw/mydb/c.mkd - The %20 represents a space character. File to be opened is "C:\Program Files\pvsw\mydb\ c.mkd".

btrv://Bob@myhost/demodata?pwd=mypass%20Is%20%26%3f - User Bob with password "mypass Is &?"

More relevant information and resources related to URIs can be found in the Pervasive Library.

If you would like more information regarding this topic: insightsembedded@pervasive.com.

Auditing Survey Results

Last month's Developer Poll Results are in!

Listed below are the questions we asked of you and the top answers to each question. Click here to review the overall results and charts.

Q1: Do you and/or your customers require auditing capabilities to…?

• No less than 50% require auditing capabilities to comply with new legislation and regulations
• 31% require auditing capabilities to reduce fraud
• 13% require auditing capabilities to facilitate customer support

Q2: Does your application currently provide auditing capabilities?

• An impressive 88% already provide auditing capabilities
• 12% have plans to provide auditing capabilities in the future

Q3: How do you deploy these auditing capabilities with your application?

• A solid 62% of the respondents build their own auditing solution
• 25% bundle an auditing solution from a vendor with their application
• Only 13% embed the auditing solution in their application

Many thanks to all of you that participated in last month's Developer Survey.

Why not continue to share your voice with us? Take this month's User Survey about 64-bit computing.

Five randomly picked participants will receive a Pervasive shirt, so participate and get your chance to win!

Got plans for 64-bit computing?

In the November issue of Insights Embedded Database Edition, the PSQL Blog opened the discussion about 64-bit computing. Now, we'd like to learn more about your plans about 64-bit computing. Please take a minute to participate, and you will be automatically entered to win a Pervasive shirt.

Results of the survey will be published in the February issue of Insights Embedded Database Edition.

Know a colleague who'd be interested in taking the poll? Feel free to forward by clicking Spread the Word on the newsletter!

As the PSQL Blog mentioned, more information on 64-bit computing can be found in the Tech Report: 64-bit computing in Theory and Practice. This is not only a review of the technologies, but also provides system benchmarking and other valuable insights.

To Add Pervasive Software to Your Safe Senders List

Due to spam filters differing, and that at times they filter legitimate email, it is highly recommended that you add Pervasive Software domain to your Safe Senders list in your email client. This will ensure that our email correspondence will get to you successfully.

For Outlook 2000 and higher

In your email from Pervasive Software:

1. Open the email from Pervasive Software



2. Click on the Actions menu on the top of your email window.
3. Choose Junk Email (see illustration below).
4. Select Add Senders Domain .... to Safe Senders List to add Pervasive Software to your safe sender list.