I use mainly Clarion For Windows to develop my Win32 based software.
It is a great programming tool and great language. One bonus is that you can include other programming languages in your work. I have used C++ code, but you can also include Assembler, and Modular-2.
Clarion For Windows is developed by Softvelocity
For data storage, I use Microsoft SQLServer. This is a reliable and fast database system that suits my work very well. Clarion provides drivers for easy access to many database types, including MSSQL and ODBC.
For my install and update programs, I build these all with SetupBuilder from Lindersoft. They make it so easy and offer such a great tool.
John Griffiths