Definition: Windows CDE

(Windows Computer Desktop Encyclopedia) The desktop computer version of this encyclopedia. Designed in the mid-1990s by Alan Freedman, author of this encyclopedia, and custom coded in C by Chip Rabinowitz, an extraordinary programmer, the Windows version has been used by hundreds of thousands of people over the years.

Like a Book
CDE is the only program ever written that provides a continuous scroll of 40,000 text entries from A to Z, allowing users to peruse the content like a book.

An Essential Part of the Development Process
CDE was available for sale on CD-ROM from 1995 to 2009. In 2003, it was made into a rich client with automatic Web updates. However, it was always an essential part of our development system. See rich client.

Using console apps written by Freedman in the C language, the set of text files from A to Z is converted into the Windows database in a few seconds. New entries can be viewed as a finished product, because to a writer, seeing the results fully rendered complete with images is extremely helpful. The Windows app also provides a quick database-wide search, another essential tool for the development of content. See XyWrite, C, console app and CDE Help.

Our Windows Application

The user sees two scrolling windows, a lookup routine and a handful of features, but under the covers, it took more than 500 pages of C source code to create the program.