Clarion (programming language)

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Clarion is a commercial, proprietary, fourth-generation programming language (4GL), multi-paradigm, programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) from SoftVelocity used to program database applications. It is compatible with indexed sequential access method (ISAM), Structured Query Language (SQL), and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) data access methods, reads and writes several flat file desktop database formats including ASCII, comma-separated values (CSV), DOS (binary), FoxPro, Clipper, dBase, and some relational databases via ODBC, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase SQL Anywhere, and Oracle Database through the use of accelerated native database drivers, and XML, Clarion can be used to output to HTML, XML, plain text, and Portable Document Format (PDF), among others.

The Clarion development environment (IDE) runs on the Clarion language. The IDE provides code generation facilities via a system of templates which allow programmers to describe the program from an abstract level higher than code statements. The generator then turns this higher level into code, which in turn is then compiled and linked using a normal compiler and linker. This generation layer is sometimes referred to as 4GL programming. Using the generation layer is optional. It is possible to create programs fully at the code level (the so-called 3 Lager), bypassing all code generation facilities.

If the templates are used to generate code, then programmers are able to inject their own code into the generated code to alter, or extend, the functions offered by the template layer. This process of embedding code can be done while viewing the surrounding generated code. This mixing of template code and generated code allows the template settings to be updated, and the code regenerated, without loss of the embedded code.

The templates (from which the code is generated) are provided in source form and developers are free to create their own templates. Many templates have been written by various developers: some are offered as commercial add-ons, and some are free.

Three main Clarion products exist: Professional Edition, Enterprise Edition, and .NET.