From: marcov@stack.nl   
      
   On 2005-09-15, Floris  wrote:   
   > I've got a big problem. I've got an old program that's written in Turbo   
   > Pascal, I don't know which version. I've only got the compiled executable   
   > (.exe file), I haven't got the source code. The program works with a   
   > database that consists of .dta and .key files which represent the data   
   > tables.   
      
   TP programs data storage falls apart into two categories:   
   1 totally custom   
   2 using a certain known table package.   
      
   So unless you know (or sb replies here) which package it is, it will probably   
   mean you will have to derive the structure of the files yourself, and write   
   a converter yourself.   
      
   Even if you do manage to find the component it is written in, chances that   
   there is a publically available converter is slim. The sources of that   
   package could make deriving the structure easier than working via the hexdump   
   though.   
      
   > The program has been used for years and the database contains lots of data   
   > that has been build up through these years. The problem is that I stopped   
   > using this program but need to extract the data somehow. My goal is to   
   > convert this Turbo Pascal database to MS Excel or MS Access so that the data   
   > can be used by these MS Office applications.   
      
   I suggest you get familiar with a hexdumper.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)