Technology

Clarion Application Modernisation
including the data nothing else can read.

Clarion generates code from a dictionary and templates rather than being written by hand, so the .app and .dct files are the real system. Its TopSpeed .tps data files are read by very little else.

You get the dictionary and templates read properly, the .tps data moved into a current database, and the screens rebuilt. We do this for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US, at a fixed price.

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  • Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
  • 18+ yrs Building business software
  • Fixed Price scopes, no surprises
  • AU NZ UK US Perth-based, working remotely
Australian owned and operated

Built here. Your data stays here.

  • No offshore development. Everything is written by our own team in Australia. Nothing is subcontracted overseas.
  • Your data stays onshore. Hosted in Australia, on infrastructure you own, under Australian law.
  • Every state, not just ours. Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and everywhere between.
Where we fit

Your real system is the dictionary, not the code

Clarion is unusual and it catches people out. You do not maintain the source, you maintain a dictionary describing the data and a set of templates describing the behaviour, and Clarion generates the application from them. A developer who opens the generated code and starts editing it has misunderstood the tool.

The other Clarion-specific problem is data. TopSpeed .tps files are a proprietary format read by almost nothing else, so an ordinary export is not available.

See all legacy upgrade services

What the work actually is

Your data model is already written down

The .dct dictionary is a genuine asset: it describes every file, field and relationship. It gives us a documented data model up front, which is more than most legacy systems offer.

What you have now

  • .app applications and .dct dictionaries
  • TopSpeed .tps data files
  • Custom template sets
  • A Windows desktop deployment
What we build

The dictionary tells us the data model, which makes this quicker

The .dct dictionary is a genuine asset: it describes every file, field and relationship. It gives us a documented data model up front, which is more than most legacy systems offer.

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What you end up with

  • .tps data extracted and reconciled into a standard database
  • The dictionary read as documentation of the data model
  • A web application, or a supported Clarion build
What we do

Only the Clarion work you actually need

Most engagements are some combination of these, and most start with the first.

  1. Read the dictionary

    The .dct describes every file, field and relationship, which is effectively a written data model and a real head start.

  2. Extract the .tps data

    TopSpeed files converted and reconciled into SQL Server or PostgreSQL. This is the piece other firms cannot do.

  3. Understand the templates

    Behaviour lives in the template set, not the generated code. Custom templates are where the business-specific logic hides.

  4. Rebuild or bring forward

    A web application, or a current Clarion build if the application is healthy and only the deployment is the issue.

  5. Free the data first

    Even where the application stays, getting .tps data into a normal database makes reporting and integration possible immediately.

Where you are now

It works, and nobody will touch it

  • Data locked in proprietary TopSpeed .tps files
  • Generated code that misleads any developer who reads it as source
  • A very small pool of Clarion developers
  • Desktop deployment with no remote access

After

Supported, documented and yours

  • Data in a standard database that ordinary tools can read
  • The data model documented from the dictionary
  • Integration and reporting possible for the first time
  • A supported application your team can access remotely

Scoped and quoted before you commit. You own the code, the documentation and the credentials at the end of it.

Get a fixed-price scope
Common questions

What people ask us about Clarion

Can TopSpeed .tps files be converted?

Yes. It is a proprietary format, which is why an ordinary export does not exist, but conversion is a solved problem and we reconcile the result against totals the business already trusts.

Why does the dictionary matter more than the code?

Because Clarion generates the code from the dictionary and templates. Editing generated source is how Clarion projects get broken. The dictionary is the system, and it is also the best documentation you have.

Do we have to leave Clarion?

No. If the application is healthy and only deployment or reporting is the problem, extracting the data while keeping the application is a smaller and cheaper project.

We have custom templates. Does that complicate it?

It means the business-specific logic is in the templates rather than anywhere obvious, so they get read carefully. It is the part a firm unfamiliar with Clarion would miss entirely.

Nobody else would quote on this. Why will you?

Because the dictionary gives a documented data model and the .tps conversion is solvable. The work is methodical. Most firms decline because they have never seen the tool, not because it cannot be done.

Tell us what your Clarion system does

What the system does, roughly how old it is, and what is forcing the question. We will come back with a straight answer and a fixed-price scope, even if the answer is to leave it alone.

Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.