未知数据库，如何访问？

Question

I am examining a Windows application that uses a database of unknown type. The database consists of several files with file extensions, .i, .iz, .b1, .p and .bi. Is there an API that can be used to view the design, tables and contents of this database? The ambition is to migrate the data to a MySQL environment.

Answer 1

Use a hex editor and see db inside in binary mode. You may get the chance to see the file type in the few starting bytes. Then change the extension appropriately and open it.

Answer 2

也许Unix file实用程序（在Cygwin中可用）可以识别它们。

Answer 3

From FileExt.com :

File Extension BI

File type: Binary File

Primary association: Binary File

Other applications associated with file type BI:

• Progress (Database Before Image File) by Progress Software Corporation
• Quick Basic or Visual Basic for DOS (Include File) by Microsoft Corporation Similar to C's .H but is used only in Microsoft's DOS BASIC dialects. Stands for "Basic Include". This association is classified as Text.

Anyway...

Chances are that it's not a relational database system that this program uses; most ad-hoc, single-use databases developed for use in one program are what are called "flat-file databases" , which means that "records" have a set size and are accessed through a method of seek -ing through it as you would a normal file. For instance, if you set the record size to 20, then the first record would be at the byte range 0-19, the second would be at 20-39, etc.

If you could somehow derive what the record size this particular program uses, you could split the file into the component records as binary data. Decoding that data into meaningful information would probably be a hassle, though.