As you may know by having used MaxBase as an end user, RXDbase and MaxBase don't follow JDBC compliance, since they are thought as light-weight, Java-native database tools. This database suite uses its own file format and there is the possibility to import/export from/to DBF files for compatibility with other DBs. Just thought you may have wanted to know.

MaxBase was created, originally, as a GUI frontend to RXDbase, the underlying database class. It didn't have many of the features it has today, because it only had to serve one purpose: to let the programmer manage databases to ship with applications.

RXDbase, on the other hand, was (and still is) the under-the-curtain database engine which was designed right for NetRexx. Today, a beanized version that can accept/return String values instead of Rexx strings (JRXDbase) is now provided along with the original implementation, by Java developers' request. Why not to beanize also the original RXDbase? Currently, there aren't NetRexx IDEs, so this feature would not be crucial to the RXDbase developer (which has full documentation for RXDbase anyway). Should any NetRexx IDEs appear, I will make a Bean out of RXDbase.

MaxBase and RXDbase have been enhanced a lot from the early days, and they still remains nice tools for the developer. Find here how can you access developer-related features. (Under each title you will find the typical use for every item)

Plugins
Plugins are used when you only want to add one or two features to a single instance of MaxBase. They are better suited for consultants in need of a quick and small solution and power users.

Accessing DBs through the Applet
Typically MaxBase is used as an applet in intranets for small database editing (instead of some kind of forms + CGI scripts).

RXDbase (a NetRexx class to access local DBs)
The RXDbase class is where all started. Since you can incorporate database calls in your program with RXDbase, there are many uses for this. I have heard of people using it for servlets, prototyping of applications, and plain quick-n-dirty access to small DBs. This section is for NetRexx developers.

RXDBClient (a NetRexx class to access remote DBs)
This class is often used for remote, automatic database handling (machineries counting pieces and storing the stats in a remote computer running RXDBServer). This section is for NetRexx developers.

Java Beans
The next frontier. Take the MaxBase classes with you on your new IDE and re-use them at will! (This section will be useful to you even if you don't use visual IDEs, however) This section is for both Java and NetRexx developers.

The nrio.utils.convert class
The method in nrio.utils.convert lets you convert files among platforms (translating end line sequences). This section is for both NetRexx and Java developers.

The nrio.utils.ImportExport class
As of the 1.15 release I have moved DBF import/export routines (courtesy of Giuseppe Aprile) into a new class of its own, nrio.utils.ImportExport that also holds new importing/exporting routines. This section is for both NetRexx and Java developers.

A note about NetRexx: NetRexx is a Java tool, a great pre-processor for Java code that adds some features to Java (completely portable: the pre-processor is written in Java, and the features can be freely distributed with the program as classes, as I have done with this program -- check it out!).

Most of the examples in these pages are written in NetRexx, with the exception of the ones in the "Java Beans" section, where I have used Visual Age for Java. Since NetRexx isn't a radical departure from Java, you should be able to completely understand a NetRexx program if you're already a Java developer.

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