1. Announcing the All New DDF Builder 3.0, A SmithwareDevWire Sneak Peek Exclusive

Smithware is releasing the all new DDF Builder 3.0 later this month. The following pre-release information is made available exclusively to the readers of SmithwareDevWire News.

DDF Builder 3.0 has been completely redesigned and is now more powerful than ever! New features in 3.0 include:

• Improved User Interface with toolbar. Flexible and easy-to-use. Fields, indexes and data can be edited by direct typing and using drop-down lists. Look and feel of an MS Office97 application
• Simultaneously View and Edit Multiple Table Definitions. Easy to cut, copy and paste from one table or DDF to another
• Publish DDF Table Definitions to HTML for web-based table documentation
• ODBC/Scalable SQL Syntax Compatibility Checking. Check to ensure that DDFs are ODBC/Scalable SQL compliant
• Index Definition Verification. Automatically compares index information in the DDF table definition to the index structure of the file

Other features
Faster, cooler, 32-bit, additional data type support, customized data browsing, expanded options menu, improved table definition import and export, and much more!

Complete feature descriptions and upgrade information are coming soon to SmithwareDevWire and on the Smithware web site or contact John Scudder via e-mail john.scudder@smithware.com or by calling +615-386-3100 x6.

2. Pervasive Partner Conference on Track for March 15-18

Time is running out to register for the Pervasive Partner Conference which is scheduled for March 15-18, 1998 at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas.

Whether you are a developer, ISV, or VAR, the Pervasive Software Partner Conference going to be a great event. With over 25 workshops and three separate technical tracks (Product Development, Installation and Support, and Marketing and Sales), an Exhibition and Solution Fair, and opportunities for networking and knowledge-share, the Conference offers something for everyone!

Register before January 30th and you will save $100 off the regular $795 registration fee! To register for the event, call 800.580.6715 or use the secure commerce site https://commerce.mindspring.com/www.resultsp.com/pervasive/index.htm.

For more information, see http://www.pervasive.com/conference.html or contact Pervasive's Event Coordinator, Trish Manning via e-mail at trish.manning@pervasive.com or by calling +512-794-1614.

3. Winter Issue of Btrieve Developer's Journal Hits the Streets

The latest issue of Btrieve Developer's Journal contains the latest information about Btrieve and Scalable SQL development trends. Andreas Albrecht of KnowWare Software Systems discusses the issues involved in providing synchronous and asynchronous data replication for Btrieve databases, Doug Reilly presents a simple but powerful command-line sort utility built around a Btrieve intermediate work file, and Jim Kyle discusses how UDA combines OLE-DB with ADO to define Microsoft's preferred interface for connecting languages, tools, and end-user applications to data in relational and non-relational formats.

If you are a subscriber, look for your copy soon. If not, subscribe on-line at http://www.smithware.com/bdj/subscriptionform.html or e-mail kathy.jones@smithware.com.

4. Virtually Visit Smithware

If you've ever wondered what Smithware looks like in person, come see for yourself! We have recently installed a live video camera that constantly publishes a picture of our customer service area to our web-site. Please come virtually visit our office at http://webcam.smithware.com/officecamjpeg.html and you'll see what we actually look like (and notice that we do wear shoes in Tennessee and keep the livestock out back, at least most of the time!)

5. Smithware Knowledge Base a Real-World Success

Be sure to check out the enhanced Smithware on-line Knowledge Base at http://www.smithware.com/support/kbase/index.html.

We recently added a new voting system that helps us gauge the effectiveness of each article (we now have over 3,200 articles on-line). Last week, we calculated that voting users viewed between 2 and 3 articles on average during each visit to the site. The vote form asks the question, "Did this information help answer your question?" The overall non-weighted percentages of the votes were Yes = 50.2, No = 40.1, Didn't Apply = 9.7.

We are very pleased with these percentages as it shows that the Knowledge Base is a fast efficient means of answering questions about Smithware and Pervasive products.

6. New White Papers Available

Several new White Papers are available in the Smithware on-line Knowledge Base at http://www.smithware.com/support/kbase/all/white.html. This information comes from a variety of sources including Smithware and Pervasive Software and provides great insight on a range of topics for Btrieve and Scalable SQL developers. All White Papers are searchable through the main Knowledge Base search engine at http://www.smithware.com/support/kbase/index.html.