The figure shows the different
levels of programming tools available to the developer. In general,
the higher level of the language, the less training and experience
is required to produce a program and the more quickly a program can
be produced.DP4 offers a range of program development environments:
The figure shows the different
levels of programming tools available to the developer. In general,
the higher level of the language, the less training and experience
is required to produce a program and the more quickly a program can
be produced.
QA Build is the DP4 fourth generation tool for producing application programs by answering a series of questions. Report Writer is a specialised tool for writing reports quickly. SQL is a standard command interface for querying and updating your database.
The DP4 C programming environment provides you with the tools to develop powerful applications. C Programming (and BASIC on the IBM 4690) are third generation environments that you use to produce a compiled executable program. As with all data processing tools, there is a trade-off between the ease of use of a programming environment, and the flexibility and ability to perform complex actions.
On Windows platforms you have the choice of using other application development environments and accessing DP4 databases using either a DLL based version of the DP4 database API, or SQL via ODBC.