Clipper

A dBase II compatible database "compiler" for DOS, originally introduced in 1985 and was one of the host of (mostly) dBase II compatible tools that came to define the term xBase for the family while also being something of a standard on its own, due to extensions it bought to the dBase II language.

Although marketed as one, Clipper is actually not a real compiler as it does not compile to machine code like for instance a C or Oberon compiler would, nor to an intermediate language like xBase compilers like X2C and Harbour that compile to C, and then a C compiler is used to compile to machine code. Clipper actually converts source files into tokens and then links them with an interpreter into an executable. Many developers used Clipper for years without realising that it was actually not a compiler and that even though it had limited if any speed advantage over dBase itself.

Due to the enormous industry support and the high number of add on products available for the product, Clipper was often used in preference to native products when building custom business solutions for OS/2 deployment.

Text & programmers editors with Clipper support

• Boxer - Clipper support built in - Commercial - DOS and OS/2 versions discontinued, Win32 version still sold.

Author

• Nantucket Software (Original developer)
• Computer Associates