Magic (now uniPaaS/Magic xpa) is a rapid application development platform with an integrated database layer, using a metadata-driven architecture.
Why Agent Required
Magic applications typically run on servers with Btrieve/Pervasive backend databases that cannot be directly uploaded. The DataMeans Agent extracts data from your Magic environment.
What You Can Extract
- Magic xpa, uniPaaS, eDeveloper versions
- Underlying Btrieve/Pervasive data files
- Magic repository metadata
- Table structures and relationships
What You Get Out
DataMeans converts your data into multiple modern formats:
| Output | Description |
|---|---|
csv/{TableName}.csv | One CSV file per table with all row data |
xlsx/{TableName}.xlsx | Excel workbook per table (omitted for tables over 1,048,575 rows, 16,384 columns or 8,000,000 cells - see note below) |
xls/{TableName}.xls | Legacy Excel format per table (omitted for tables over 65,535 rows, 256 columns or 150,000 cells - see note below) |
json/{TableName}.json | JSON array of records per table |
json/{TableName}.jsonl | Newline-delimited JSON (streaming-friendly) |
postgres.sql | PostgreSQL CREATE TABLE + INSERT statements |
mysql.sql | The same schema and rows, in MySQL dialect |
sqlite.sql | The same schema and rows, in SQLite dialect |
ansi.sql | The same schema and rows, in portable ANSI SQL |
sqlserver.sql | The same schema and rows, in SQL Server (T-SQL) dialect |
report.json | Structured conversion report |
report.md | Human-readable conversion summary |
How It Works
Agent availability: The DataMeans Agent is currently in development and not yet available for download. The steps below describe the planned workflow. To get notified when Magic support launches, reach out via our About page.
- Download and install the DataMeans Agent on the Magic application server
- Configure access to the Magic data directory
- Select schemas and tables to extract
- The Agent extracts data and uploads securely to DataMeans
- Review and download your converted data
Planned Support
- Btrieve/Pervasive file extraction
- Magic repository metadata parsing
- Table structure reconstruction
- Virtual field handling
Known Limitations
- Requires DataMeans Agent installation
- Magic-specific computed fields documented but not executed
- Some SQL backend databases may use direct SQL extraction instead
Note on the Excel formats. An
.xlsxsheet holds at most 1,048,575 rows of data and 16,384 columns, and a legacy.xlssheet 65,535 rows and 256 columns. Rather than ship a file that looks complete but is silently cut short, DataMeans leaves a table out of any Excel format it does not fit and notes it in the job report. The.xlsxcopy is also left out for tables of more than 8,000,000 cells (1,048,575 rows of 12 columns is 12.6 million), which take too long and too much memory to write, and the.xlscopy for tables of more than 150,000 cells, which the legacy format takes far too long to write. The CSV, JSON and SQL outputs always contain every row.
Overview
Documentation coming soon.
This article will contain vendor-neutral technical documentation about the data format used by Magic / uniPaaS applications, including:
- History and background
- File format specifications
- Data types and structures
- Version differences
- Technical references
Not available for hosted uploads. This system is read over a direct database connection by the DataMeans Agent, which is still in development. Contact us to plan a migration.
Can I convert Magic / uniPaaS databases with DataMeans today?
Not yet. Magic / uniPaaS is not available for self-serve upload, and support is still in development. Get in touch and we'll tell you where it stands and help plan the migration.
What will DataMeans convert Magic / uniPaaS databases to?
Once Magic / uniPaaS is available, exports will match every other system we support: clean CSV, Excel, JSON & SQL, one file per table, with a structured report of exactly what was extracted.
Is my data secure?
Yes. Your files are encrypted in transit and at rest, and they're deleted automatically: within 7 days if you don't go ahead with a conversion, and when your download window ends if you do. We never sell or share your data, and we never use it to train machine-learning models.