Title: To check if BDE exists
Question: How can I check in run-time if BDE was installed?
Answer:
To check the BDE exists you can in two methods:
1. read the registry key:
RootKey := HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE;
OpenKey('SOFTWARE\Borland\Database Engine', False);
try
s := ReadString('CONFIGFILE01');
//BDE installed
finally
CloseKey;
end;
2. you can try to initialize the BDE
IsBDEExist := (dbiInit(nil) = 0)
PS: personally I prefer the second method because the some no-good un-installators may remove the BDE-file but forget to delete the key in registry:)