Rapidly Develop xBase-Driven Apps with Active Query Builder

Write standard .NET to expose xBase data through an SQL interface: Active Query Builder helps developers write SQL interfaces; the CData ODBC Driver for xBase enables standards-based access to xBase. This integration uses the Microsoft ADO.NET Provider for ODBC as a bridge between the ODBC Driver and the Active Query Builder objects to build a visual SQL composer.

Connect to xBase as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The DataSource property must be set to the name of the folder that contains the .dbf files. Specify the IncludeFiles property to work with xBase table files having extensions that differ from .dbf. Specify multiple extensions in a comma-separated list.

Use SQL to Interact with xBase

Follow the steps below to create a WinForms visual query builder.

1. Open Active Query Builder for .NET WinForms. 👁 Opening Active Query Builder.
   
2. In the new Windows Forms project go to the "File" menu and click "Connect..."
3. Under Database Connections, click "Add..." 👁 Adding a new Connection.
   
4. Set your desired Connection Name (e.g. CData xBase), set Connection Type to "ODBC" and locate your previously configured DSN in the "User/System" DSN dropdown. 👁 Selecting a previously configured DSN (Amazon Athena is shown).
   
5. Click "OK" to save the new connection.
6. Back in the Database Connection wizard, select the newly created connection and click "OK." 👁 A newly added Connection (Amazon Athena is shown).
   
7. Click "File" > "New Query" to create a QueryBuilder

You can now build queries visually: Double-click a table in the Columns Pane Area and an entity/relationship diagram is displayed in the Query Building Area. Columns that you select in the diagram are added to the query.