That db product was Paradox I believe. Yes Microsoft had a lot to do with it. Microsoft in its embrace and extend strategy would keep adding / mucking around with the C/C++ compilers by introducing proprietary extensions that always kept Borland one step behind. Delphi was the gem in Borland's development tool stack. Made Microsoft's Visual Basic look like a toy. It was so far ahead of just about every desktop development platform of the time.

How did Microsoft handle that threat? They stole the lead developer of the Delphi compiler Anders Hejlsberg - who joined Microsoft and is the chief architect of .Net framework. In fact - if a lot of .Net concepts are direct implementations of Delphi and the VCL (properties, etc.)

Yep, Microsoft stole the one certified genius coder right from Borland. And the rest is history.