Convert old DB

[pdanes]

This is not strictly about Access, but there are some very smart and experienced people here, so I'm going to take a shot.

Someone gave me an old database file, with a .DBS extension. Supposedly created either with something called Gupta SQLBase, or SyBase. I've been looking all over for convertors, ODBC drives and similar stuff, but haven't been able to open it. I will happily send it, if someone wants to take a look, but it's about 60 MB (9 MB zipped) - too big to attach here.

I've looked at it with a hex editor - no engine names that I recognize, but some headers, like SYSADM.SYS$INDEX0, SYSCOMMANDS, SYSROWIDLISTS, SYSVIEWS, SYSSYNONYMS and similar stuff.

None of my existing ODBC drivers are even willing to try it, and no convertor program I've tried so far has had any luck. Anybody have an idea, or want to try their luck?

 

[Isaac]

Sure!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Based on quick-and-dirty web searches, Sybase is owned by SAP, so you might try contacting them.

The SYBASE format DB was, if my memory serves well, created by the engineers of ShareBase, a DB server-class SQL engine from the 1980s-2000s that willingly talked to DEC equipment. Initially, it was a product of a company called Signal Technologies, but after typical corporate gyrations, that DB division became ShareBase... which eventually folded and was reborn as SYBASE. But with declining popularity, they reportedly have stopped their development cycle in 2010. Which places SYBASE in a "legacy" status.

I worked around a ShareBase DB for a while with the U.S. Navy, but when that company upended themselves, I had to reverse engineer the ShareBase format in order to translate it to a format ORACLE would take. They didn't have a lot of cross-compatible interfaces back then either. Since they were folding at the time, we got permission to hack their backup format. The formats they DID have were to convert to whomever it was that was buying them out and they either didn't want our business or legally couldn't TAKE government business. I must admit I have forgotten the sordid detail now after 30-35 years.

 

[BlueSpruce]

IIRC, a .DBS extension could be Informix, or dBase file. Is that the only file when you unzip? The SYS$ files suggest they're system catalog files of an ANSI/SQL based db server. What do the file properties say about the author, dates, etc?

 

[tvanstiphout]

Not too large to upload to an online file service like OneDrive or DropBox, so interested parties can download it and take a look. I might want to take a crack at it.
What can you tell us about this database? How old is it? Is it a single table, or multiple? What is the subject matter? Is the data encrypted?

 

[pdanes]

Based on quick-and-dirty web searches, Sybase is owned by SAP, so you might try contacting them.

The SYBASE format DB was, if my memory serves well, created by the engineers of ShareBase, a DB server-class SQL engine from the 1980s-2000s that willingly talked to DEC equipment. Initially, it was a product of a company called Signal Technologies, but after typical corporate gyrations, that DB division became ShareBase... which eventually folded and was reborn as SYBASE. But with declining popularity, they reportedly have stopped their development cycle in 2010. Which places SYBASE in a "legacy" status.

I worked around a ShareBase DB for a while with the U.S. Navy, but when that company upended themselves, I had to reverse engineer the ShareBase format in order to translate it to a format ORACLE would take. They didn't have a lot of cross-compatible interfaces back then either. Since they were folding at the time, we got permission to hack their backup format. The formats they DID have were to convert to whomever it was that was buying them out and they either didn't want our business or legally couldn't TAKE government business. I must admit I have forgotten the sordid detail now after 30-35 years.

Ah, yes - fond memories of DEC gear. Second machine I worked on - a PDP 11/70. Pretty hot machine for its time. The first was a Univac 9300.

I've looked at the SAP site, hoping to find a convertor, but no luck. I can try writing them. Worst case, they'll tell me to go fly a kite.

 

[BlueSpruce]

I have a tool that can read multiple types of btree files, so please post the link to the online platform that you stored it in so we can dissect it.

 

[pdanes]

IIRC, a .DBS extension could be Informix, or dBase file. Is that the only file when you unzip? The SYS$ files suggest they're system catalog files of an ANSI/SQL based db server. What do the file properties say about the author, dates, etc?

I got it already unzipped. I've zipped it to send to a guy who volunteered to look at it. Hadn't considered Informix, but I just now found something called RazorSQL, which promises to be able to open such stuff. We'll see.

File properties unfortunately say nothing. I got it via a file transfer site, and it is now just a binary Windows file, with me as the author and the download date as the creation date. No other information attached to it.

 

[pdanes]

Not too large to upload to an online file service like OneDrive or DropBox, so interested parties can download it and take a look. I might want to take a crack at it.
What can you tell us about this database? How old is it? Is it a single table, or multiple? What is the subject matter? Is the data encrypted?

Sadly, I know nothing at all about it. The owner just asked if I could open it, since I had done something similar for a friend of his, but he didn't tell me anything about what is supposed to be in it. I didn't ask, either. If I can open it, I'll see what's inside. If not, knowing what should be in there isn't going to help me.

Here is the link to where I sent it to my first volunteer: https://we.tl/t-yuLN7V5HuI

 

[pdanes]

I have a tool that can read multiple types of btree files, so please post the link to the online platform that you stored it in so we can dissect it.

Here you go: https://we.tl/t-yuLN7V5HuI

 

[BlueSpruce]

I got it already unzipped. I've zipped it to send to a guy who volunteered to look at it. Hadn't considered Informix, but I just now found something called RazorSQL, which promises to be able to open such stuff. We'll see.

File properties unfortunately say nothing. I got it via a file transfer site, and it is now just a binary Windows file, with me as the author and the download date as the creation date. No other information attached to it.

Razor opens Informix C-ISAM .idx and their corresponding.dat files. I have seen SYS$ prefix filenames before on DEC VAX/VMS db's such as Informix and Oracle.

 

[BlueSpruce]

I have also seen .DBS files in Visual Fox Pro 6.0.

 

[pdanes]

Razor opens Informix C-ISAM .idx and their corresponding.dat files. I have seen SYS$ prefix filenames before on DEC VAX/VMS db's such as Informix and Oracle.

Just tried it - no luck. It opens the file once, but displays mostly hash. A few things are in clear text, like the SYS stuff, but very little. When I close it and try opening it again, hoping to try a different encoding, it whines that the file is too big for Razor to open - the same file that it just opened earlier. Closing and restarting Razor does this again - opens once, display crap, then refuses subsequent re-opens.

 

[tvanstiphout]

I see SYSTABCONSTRAINTS, which points to SQLBase, according to Google.

 

[BlueSpruce]

I did a hex dump and the data is in Czech language. I saw SQL System Catalog names and "PERCENTFREE" which I have seen used as Oracle index file directives when creating tables. The initial data towards the begining of the file has a similar signature to other Oracle VAX/VMS versions I have seen in the past. The FILETIME has a year 1994 date.

EDIT: I was unable to open the file with my btree reader tool.

 

[sonic8]

But with declining popularity, they reportedly have stopped their development cycle in 2010. Which places SYBASE in a "legacy" status.

When SAP bought Sybase in 2010(?) they rebranded Sybase ASE as SAP ASE and continued development, albeit slowly.
I've got a customer who is just now in the process of upgrading their fairly old Sybase database server to SAP ASE version 16 (probably v16.1).
SAP ASE 16.1 was released in 2023 and has mainstream support until 2030. So, it's definitely not a legacy product, even though SAP currently shows little interest to invest much into further development.

 

[pdanes]

I did a hex dump and the data is in Czech language. I saw SQL System Catalog names and "PCTFREE" which I have seen used as Oracle index file directives when creating tables. The initial data towards the begining of the file has a similar signature to other Oracle VAX/VMS versions I have seen in the past.

View attachment 122044

That language part is correct. I am working in Prague, and the owner is a local person. But the Oracle bit seems off to me. Nobody involved in this is likely to have used such a sledgehammer, or even been able to afford it, especially as far back as this is claimed to have originated.

But if so, how would I extract it? Everything I know about Oracle, which is admittedly not much, is that it is a server database, not anything that would create a single database file the way Access and FoxPro do. I just now looked around for anything like an Oracle file convertor, and found nothing that looks helpful.

You managed to get some of the table descriptions, which is more than I have yet managed. There are remarks about table of vehicles, table of people in vehicle, table of accidents...

 

[BlueSpruce]

When SAP bought Sybase in 2010(?) they rebranded Sybase ASE as SAP ASE and continued development, albeit slowly.
I've got a customer who is just now in the process of upgrading their fairly old Sybase database server to SAP ASE version 16 (probably v16.1).
SAP ASE 16.1 was released in 2023 and has mainstream support until 2030. So, its definitely not a legacy product, even though SAP currently shows little interest to invest much into further development.

I thought Microsoft bought out Sybase and used it to develop SQL-Server back in the early 1990's?

 

[pdanes]

I thought Microsoft bought out Sybase and used it to develop SQL-Server back in the early 1990's?

I have no idea about that, but I wouldn't be surprised - they did a lot of things like that. Do you know what you customer is using for his migration project?

 

[BlueSpruce]

Do you know what you customer is using for his migration project?

I'm currently not migrating any customer's data. You first have to get the db server, or tool, that can read that file so you can export the data to a csv text file.