How to read a .cds database (TClientDataSet) with .Net

Question

I have an old databasefile from an application written in Delphi. My task is to extract the data, and move it to an SQL-Database. I know it is in .cds format which uses the TClientDataSet-Class from Delphi. The problem is: I have no Delphi, no documentation and the guy who has written the app left the company years ago. So, my question is: Is there any way (besides Delphi or text-parsing) to access the data with Dot.net, Python, Ruby, Java or Perl? A simple "export" to XML or CSV would work too.

Answer 1

TClientDataSet can write to cds or XML. The easiest way to do this would be to use a copy a Delphi to write a simple application that uses a TClientDataSet to read the cds and write an XML file (probably 30 minutes of effort). Trial versions of Delphi are available.