dataweb currently offers two database engines known as the TurboDB Native Engine, which runs on all 32-bit Windows platforms and the TurboDB Managed Engine, which runs on .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework.
The TurboDB Engines are a very fast and compact database kernel that have proven to fit the needs of application programmers over the last eight years. They do not need any configuration, so they can be installed by just copying the program files. This feature makes them an ideal solution for downloadable, CD, DVD, mobile or Web applications, that are to run on a remote Web server only available via ftp.
This book contains all the features of the TurboDB database engines themselves, i.e. features independent of the development environment and the component library used. For information specific to the VCL component library for Delphi and C++ Builder, please refer to "TurboDB 5 for VCL". The classes of the ADO.NET provider for the .NET framework are described in "TurboDB for .Net".
Both TurboDB database engines has the following advantages:
| • | Runs without installation |
| • | Visual database manager included |
| • | Many additional tools available for free |
The managed engine has the following additional advantages:
| • | Runs on Windows for mobile devices: Pocket PC and Smartphone. |
| • | Does not require any special rights for running in a .NET environment (e.g. unsafe code) |
The native engine has these additional advantages:
| • | Supports multi-user access |
| • | Encrypted database files |
| • | Special column types for one-to-many and many-to-many relationship between tables |
If you are new to TurboDB you should start reading the sections on TurboDB Engine Concepts. If you are going to upgrade from an earlier version, the sections on New in TurboDB 5 and Upgrade to TurboDB 5 are right for you.