home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
OS/2 Shareware BBS: InfoMgt
/
InfoMgt.zip
/
dbup208.zip
/
README.TXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1999-09-02
|
49KB
|
892 lines
DBExpert(tm) Relational Database for OS/2 from Sundial Systems
Release Notes (README.TXT) for DBExpert Version 2.0.8
September 1999
Thank you for using DBExpert Version 2.0 for OS/2. This file contains
information which became available after the DBExpert User's Guide and
Getting Started documents went to press.
What is Version 2.0.8?
Version 2.0.8 is a maintenance release of the DBExpert 2.0 series. In
general, the features of this version are identical to earlier releases
within the 2.0 series -- the primary differences are bug fixes, stability
improvements, and other corrections.
A few significant changes have been made, however, which may affect your
use of the product. These are outlined in the "Changes Of Interest To
All Users" sections below.
IMPORTANT Y2K INFORMATION
A problem has been found in Versions 2.0.6 and 2.0.7 of DBExpert that
will affect the display of 2-digit dates once your PC clock rolls over
to the year 2000. The problem has been corrected in Version 2.0.8.
While the problem will not affect your use of DBExpert until January 1,
2000, we strongly urge you to upgrade all your copies of DBExpert (full
and runtime versions) to 2.0.8 before that time.
If, for some reason, you cannot upgrade to 2.0.8 and wish to address this
issue, contact technical support about availability of an updated DLL
to correct this problem in Version 2.0.7.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION IF UPGRADING FROM VERSION 2.0.4 OR EARLIER
Beginning with Version 2.0.5 of DBExpert, significant changes were made
in the way dBase-style tables are "saved" when you make updates to the
definition of the table (via the Table Designer). These changes may impact
your use of DBExpert tables with other applications.
In the past, DBExpert (usually) saved a table into the DBExpert directory
even if the table was originally in a different directory. Now, the table
is saved in its original location. Further, in the past, the physical
table file(s) (DBF file and, optionally, DBT and index files) were given a
new name. Now, the file names are preserved.
In general, these changes are for the better. However, if you are sharing
these tables with another application, you should consider if this change
will have any impact on that application or on your use of DBExpert.
In particular, it was previously possible to "save" a table while it was
in use by another application (since a new table was actually being
created from the old one). This is no longer possible -- if the table is
in use (by another application or by another copy of DBExpert), it cannot
be saved.
Also, be aware that changes you make to a table could impact the other
application -- so we *strongly* recommend that you backup any such tables
and verify that versions you now save will be properly handled by any
other such applications you use on the same tables.
Further, as discussed below, DBExpert now includes the ability to "pack"
dBase-style tables to reclaim wasted space. This packing operation works
much the same way (under the covers) as a "save" does -- thus all of the
above considerations apply when you Pack as well as when you Save.
Finally, for this new save/pack method to work correctly, you must not
have changed the FileOpenCache setting of the "QEDBF[Q+E dBASEFile (*.dbf)]"
ODBC driver. (The default setting is correct -- you may ignore these
instructions unless you have previously used the ODBCADM program to change
the default value.) The value of this setting must be blank or zero.
If it is not, you will probably get unexpected "Table in use" errors
whenever you try to Save a modified table design or Pack a table.
(Despite the similar name, do not confuse this setting -- FileOpenCache --
with the Cache Size setting; the two are unrelated and you may still wish
to adjust the default Cache Size setting as discussed elsewhere.)
Documentation Notes
* The DBExpert User's Guide and Getting Started documents use a mix of old
(DBExpert 1.x) and new (DBExpert 2.x) style names for the various
different DBExpert functions you can use in queries, forms, and macros.
The new names are the same as the old names, except that the prefix
"dbe" has be added to the beginning. (For example, dbeLoadPicture vs
LoadPicture.)
When working with DBExpert 2.x, the new style names are preferred and
should be used -- the old style names are primarily retained for
compatibility with Version 1.x DBExpert applications. In all cases,
both names refer to the same actual function and only the new names are
documented (in Chapter 15 of the User's Guide).
* Various examples in the User's Guide and in the Getting Started documents
inconsistently use different types of quote marks to surround strings.
For example: 'A', `A', and "A". While either single or double quotes
can be used, they must be used in matching pairs. (If you are using
DBExpert with DB2, only single quotes may be used in queries due to a
limitation discussed later.) The "single left quote" (also known as a
grave accent) shown in the middle example cannot be used (either singly
or in pairs).
* On page 9-19 of the User's Guide, the example of CharToDate is incorrect
because it is missing the required second parameter. It should read:
< CharToDate("2/5/95","GD") Date value is before 2/5/95
or, more properly (using the DBExpert 2.x style function name):
< dbeCharToDate("2/5/95","GD") Date value is before 2/5/95
* On page 11-15 of the User's Guide, the text correctly mentions the use
of square brackets ([]) to surround field names containing spaces but
the square brackets are shown as curly brackets ({}) instead.
* On pages 12-15 and 12-16 of the User's Guide, the examples for
"repeating instructions while a condition is true" and "repeating
instructions until a condition becomes true" incorrectly omit the code
which increments the value. In both examples, the second SetValue
statement should be:
rc = SetValue( 'Count', dbeGet( 'Count' ) + 1 ) )
or, a bit more properly using only DBExpert 2.x style function names:
rc = dbeSetValue( 'Count', dbeGet( 'Count' ) + 1 ) )
* The following functions are not documented in Chapter 15 of the User's
Guide:
dbeRunMacro
Runs a DBExpert macro and returns the value returned by the macro's
RETURN statement. You can call this function in expressions to
have macros calculate a value to use in an expression.
For example, if you have a macro called Format that capitalizes the
name passed as a parameter, then in a query, you could have a
calculated column defined as
NewName: dbeRunMacro( 'Format', name )
to get the value of the NewName column from the Format macro.
Parameters:
macro name - the name of the macro to run
parameters - the parameter string to pass to the macro
Note: If the macro requires multiple parameters, these must be
combined together into a single string that is passed in the
second parameter of the dbeRunMacro call. The exact form of the
string will depend on the way in which the particular macro
separates (parses) the parameters.
Returns:
The value returned by the macro if successful, otherwise
'#ERROR n' where n is the error code.
Example:
NewName = dbeRunMacro( 'FormatName', Name ) calls the FormatName
macro to format the value in the Name variable and returns the
formatted name into the NewName variable.
C prototype:
const char* dbeRunMacro( const char* macroName,
const char* parameters )
dbeTruncate -- 2.0.5 or later
Truncates a number at the specified number of digits past the
decimal point. Similar to dbeRound, except no "rounding up" is
performed.
Parameters:
number - the number to truncate
digits - the number of digits from the decimal point to round to
(negative values round to the left of the decimal point)
Returns:
Number truncated to digits
Example:
dbeTruncate(123.456, 0) returns 123
dbeTruncate(123.999, 0) returns 123
dbeTruncate(-123.456, 0) returns -123
dbeTruncate(123.456, 2) returns 123.45
dbeTruncate(123.456, -2) returns 100
C prototype:
char* dbeTruncate( char* numberString, long digitsPastDecimal )
dbePack -- 2.0.5 or later
Packs (compresses) the physical table of a dBase-style table (by
removing the space occupied by deleted records). Has no effect
on tables that are not stored as dBase-style tables.
Note that the table must not be in use by another copy of DBExpert
or by another application for the packing operation to be successful.
Parameters:
name - name of the table to pack
Returns:
0 if successful, otherwise, returns error code
Example:
dbePack('MyTable') packs the table named MyTable
C prototype:
long dbePack( char* name )
* Contrary to what is stated on page 15-30 of the User's Guide, the dbeMsg
function returns the following values:
dbeMsg
Displays a message box with the specified test, title, and style.
Returns:
The id of the button the user pressed to dismiss the message box
1 - OK
2 - Cancel
3 - Abort
4 - Retry
5 - Ignore
6 - Yes
7 - No
8 - Help
9 - Enter
-1 - ERROR
* On page 18-3 of the User's Guide, it discusses the need for binding
DBExpert to any DB2 database you wish to use. One way to do this is
with the SQLBIND command shown in the Guide. Alternatively, you can use
the Client Setup (on DB2 Version 2) or Client Configuration Assistant
(on DB2 Universal Server) to bind DBEDB2.BND to the database(s) of your
choice.
No matter how you bind DBExpert to your DB2 database, you may also
need to specify that the ISO date format be used for date information
being passed to and from DBExpert. This is required if the database
is configured to use a localized date format (rather than the default).
See the Limitations section below for more information.
* It is strongly recommended that you not use SQL keywords as table or
field names. While these may be acceptable in some cases, they may not
be acceptable in others. This is particularly a problem if you intend
to move your tables from one database product to another.
The full list of SQL keywords, including those used only in specific SQL
dialects, is very long. One such list will be found in the SQLWORDS.TXT
file included with this version of DBExpert.
Some of the more common words included in the list are:
AND, ANY, BETWEEN, BY, CATALOG, CHECK, COMMENT, COUNT, DAY, DATE,
DISTINCT, GRANT, GROUP, HOUR, HOURS, IN, INDEX, KEY, LABEL, LIKE, MAX,
MIN, MINUTE, MINUTES, MONTH, MONTHS, NAMES, NOT, NULL, OR, ORDER, PAGE,
PAGES, PART, SECOND, SECONDS, SELECT, SIZE, SUM, TABLE, TIME, UPDATE,
VALUE, YEAR, YEARS, ZONE.
* DBExpert's performance when using dBase-style tables can be greatly
impacted by the amount of memory devoted to database caching in the
ODBC drivers. By default, this amount is only 256K bytes. Unless your
system is both memory and swap space constrained (or you are only using
very tiny tables), we recommend you increase this amount.
To change the setting of the database cache size, you must run the
ODBCADM utility from an OS/2 command line (after switching to the
directory where you have DBExpert installed).
In the ODBCADM main window, select the entry entitled
"QEDBF[Q+E dBASEFile (*.dbf)]"
and press the Setup button. In the field labeled Cache Size, enter a
number larger than the default value of 4.
The number you enter is the number of 64K buffers the database will use.
Thus, you must have enough memory and/or swap space to accommodate this
number. In most cases, the number 100 (i.e., about 6.4M bytes of cache)
is a good starting point. However, if your system is somewhat memory
constrained (say a 12M to 16M system) this number is probably too high;
if you have lots of memory (say a 64M or larger system) you could easily
go higher. There is, of course, a point of diminishing return. In most
cases, this is approximately twice the size of the largest DBF file you
are using.
(Do not confuse this setting with the similarly named FileOpenCache
setting. For this version of DBExpert to work correctly, the
FileOpenCache setting must be set to it's default value of blank
or 0.)
After you make the change, press the OK button in Setup window, and then
press the Close button in the ODBCADM main window to exit from ODBCADM.
The change will not take effect as long as DBExpert is running. Also,
keep in mind that this change does not affect all DBExpert operations.
However, you should notice a significant difference in some operations
(such as moving to the last record of a large table) and/or in some of
your queries.
Changes Of Interest to All Users
* Beginning with Version 2.0.8, a new option on the File menu in the main
DBExpert window allows you to "pack" DBExpert application (.DBE) files.
The Pack Application option works much the same way on files which contain
DBExpert applications as the Pack Physical Table option does on files
which contain dBase tables (.DBF files).
As you design your DBExpert application and make changes to the various
forms, queries, macros, and reports you define, parts of the "old"
definitions may remain in the application file. These old definitions
take up space and make the .DBE file bigger than actually necessary.
When the File->Pack Application option is used, these unnecessary
definitions are removed and a new, smaller version of the .DBE file is
created. (A backup copy of your original .DBE file is also saved as
a .DBB file.) Thus, if you have to make many changes to your application
over time, packing the application can make the .DBE file much, much,
smaller and faster to load as well.
The File->Pack Application option can only be applied to applications
(.DBE files) that are not open, however. Thus you cannot pack the
application you are currently using nor can you pack an application
that other users might have open on a network.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.8, the dbeRequeryControl function has been
extended to support subform controls (in addition to the combo box and
listbox controls previously supported). Thus, you can now use
dbeRequeryControl to force a subform to redetermine what records should
be displayed in a subform.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.8, limitations on WHERE clauses in the Filter
parameter of the dbeQueryAvg, dbeQueryCount, dbeQueryFirst, dbeQueryLast,
dbeQueryMax, dbeQueryMin, and dbeQuerySum functions have been removed.
The limitations sometimes required you to make the WHERE clause more
complex than apparently necessary.
Importantly, however, the change also affects the way DBExpert handles
some queries involving Group By or other "total" functions (such as Count,
Sum, Average, Minimum, or Maximum) when conditions are applied to columns
of the query.
Usually, the difference is unimportant but in rare circumstances it may
yield a different result than would have been produced by earlier versions
of DBExpert. In fact, such a query may be permanently changed if you load
it into the Query Designer and save it (even if you do not make changes
to it yourself).
If you find that you are having trouble with any such queries, please
contact technical support for assistance and for information about
configuring Version 2.0.8 to handle such (unmodified) queries as they
were handled in earlier versions.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.7, the Enter key (and the keypad Enter key)
now perform actions on forms. In general, these keys now move the
cursor from one field to another in the same way as the Tab key. On
a pushbutton, however, these keys "press" the button (rather than move
to the next field). Similarly, on a multi-line entry (MLE) text field,
these keys do not move to the next field but end the current line of
text instead (as they have in earlier versions). In the case of a
combo box control, these keys do not move to the next field if the list
associated with the combo box is currently displayed.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.7, rows of data from other applications can
be pasted from the OS/2 clipboard into the spreadsheet view of a table.
(Previous versions only allowed pasting of rows copied onto the
clipboard from within DBExpert itself.) Each row of data must appear
as one line with tabs between the fields (as specified by the OS/2
standard for clipboard text).
* Beginning with Version 2.0.6, rows of data copied from a spreadsheet
view to the clipboard are now placed on the clipboard in text format
(in addition to the internal format used by DBExpert) using one line
for each row with tabs between the fields (as specified by the OS/2
standard for clipboard text). This allows you to more easily transfer
data from DBExpert to other applications.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.6, the use of the dbeShowWarnings function
has been extended to also apply to the confirmation message that may
appear when a form is being closed. If, for example, the form has
been moved or resized, and dbeShowWarnings(TRUE) has been called, the
message asking if the form should be saved will not be displayed -- the
save will be done automatically instead.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.5, a problem was corrected in the way date
values were converted after being entered into a field of a table or
form. The correction makes the program conform to what is stated in
the User's Guide but has the side-effect of breaking an undocumented
feature of Version 2.0.4 and earlier. In those earlier versions, it
was possible to enter a "formatted" date (such as "1997 January 1") and
have it properly interpreted by the program if the display format for
the field was set to a matching format (such as "YYYY Mmmm DD" in this
case). Such functionality has never been officially supported since,
as the User's Guide shows on page 16-7, the general date format is
always used while a value is being entered/edited.
We do realize this capability is useful and may support it as an option
in the future. In the mean time, if you need compatibility with this
behavior of earlier versions, please contact Sundial Systems Support
Services for information about making this version of DBExpert work in
"Version 2.0.4 Date Entry" compatibility mode.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.5, a change has been made in the way in which
parameters are passed to DBExpert macros. This change allows blanks
(spaces) to be preserved within parameters and/or blanks to be used to
delimit parameters (depending on how the macro itself interprets the
REXX parameter string).
Previously, all blanks were removed and all the parameters converted to
upper case to insure compatibility of macros designed for use with
DBExpert 1.x. If you have any remaining DBExpert 1.x macros, you should
check to make sure they continue to work correctly -- or contact Sundial
Systems Support Services for information on making this version of
DBExpert work in "Version 1 Macro" compatibility mode.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.5, a new dbeTruncate function has been added.
This function is like dbeRound (and takes the same parameters) but does
not perform any "rounding up" of the value.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.5, a change has been made in the way in which
the dbeInt function treats negative numbers to make the behavior of the
function more consistent with the generally accepted definition of an
"integer portion of" function. This means that negative numbers are now
"rounded down" rather than "truncated toward zero". Thus, for example,
dbeInt(-4.5) will now return -5 rather than -4 (as it would have done in
earlier versions).
This change has no impact on the treatment of positive numbers. However,
if you have macros or queries that rely on the older behavior which
"truncates" negative numbers, you should use the new dbeTruncate function
in place of dbeInt.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.5, additional options (Semicolon and Space)
have been added to the Delimiter options which can be selected when
importing text files into DBExpert.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.4, a change has been made in the way in which
dates in the year 2000 and beyond are displayed. While DBExpert has
always handled such dates, the "general" date formats (GD and GDT) have
displayed only the last two digits of the year. This has been changed
so that all four digits will be displayed if the year is not between
1900 and 1999. If you still wish to display only a two digit year, you
must use a format string containing 'yy' as discussed in Chapter 16 of
the User's Guide.
* Similarly, beginning with Version 2.0.4, a change has been made in the
way in which times containing fractional seconds are displayed. The
"general" time formats (GT and GDT) will now display these values
whenever they are found. If you wish to always display times only in
whole seconds, you must use a format string containing 'ss' as discussed
in Chapter 16 of the User's Guide.
Also, please note that the level of support for fractional seconds
depends on the type of field and the type of database being used. In
particular, dBase-style tables support fractional seconds only in
timestamp fields (not time fields) while other database types support
fractional seconds in both time and timestamp fields.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.4, a change has been made in the way in which
DBExpert recognizes the international configuration settings on your
system. Previously, DBExpert determined this information solely based
on the COUNTRY setting in your CONFIG.SYS file. Beginning with 2.0.4,
DBExpert will now override this information based on any changes you
have made using the Country object in the OS/2 System Setup folder as
well. (Changes you make, however, will not take effect while DBExpert
is running.)
While there are still some limitations to DBExpert's international
formatting support, this and other changes that have been made
(including corrections included in Version 2.0.5) should improve the
situation significantly (when compared to earlier DBExpert versions).
The primary remaining restriction concerns the use of numbers containing
"decimal commas" (as opposed to "decimal points" -- 2,9 vs 2.9 for
example) in SQL statements and related situations. These include
numbers typed directly into SQL statements in the SQL Viewer window of
the query designer, conditions entered in the Field lists of the query
designer, and WHERE clauses which are parameters to certain DBExpert
functions such as dbeQueryCount. In all such cases you must use the
"decimal point" representation of the number rather than any
internationally localized representation which includes a "decimal
comma." (The comma confuses the SQL interpreter in these situations.)
If you encounter other situations where your country settings cause
problems in DBExpert (or, are not properly reflected in DBExpert),
please report them to Sundial Systems Support Services so that they
may be addressed in a future version.
* Beginning with Version 2.0.2, a change has been made in the way in
which text import is handled. This results in substantially increased
performance when importing (by as much as a factor of 50).
Changes Of Interest to dBase-style Table Users
* Be sure to consult the information elsewhere in this document about
changes beginning in Version 2.0.5 to the way in which table designs
are saved when using the Table Designer.
* DBExpert follows the standard conventions for deleting records from
dBase tables. This means that the space occupied by these records in
the actual DBF file is not recovered -- instead, the file will continue
to grow as more records are added to the table. In general, this growth
will also occur when using DBExpert to simply update the data in the
table as well. The growth not only consumes disk space but also affects
the performance of queries against the table, etc.
Beginning with Version 2.0.5, DBExpert provides a facility which can be
used to reclaim the wasted space by "packing" the table. To do this,
highlight the table on the Tables page of the DBExpert main window, then
select File->Pack Table. Note that the table must not be in use (by
DBExpert or any other application) for the packing operation to be
completed successfully.
For people that wish to pack tables on a more automated basis (or within
applications being used with the DBExpert Runtime), a dbePack function
is also now provided (as explained elsewhere).
Finally, if you intend to pack tables that are used by applications
other than DBExpert, it is recommended that you verify that the packing
will not adversely affect the other application. (Make sure you have
a backup copy of the table and all indices before you attempt the
packing operation the first time -- contact Sundial Systems Support
Services if you have questions.)
* Beginning with Version 2.0.1, a change has been made in what happens
when attaching dBase-style tables. The current directory now is set to
the directory that the table is in so you can attach more than one table
from the same directory without selecting the directory each time.
Of Interest to DBExpert Users Upgrading from Version 1
* When you open forms created with Version 1.x, the menu, VCR buttons, and
tool bar will not be displayed. To enable them, switch to design view
and set the Menu, VCR Buttons, and Tool Bar attributes to Yes and save
the form.
* If you have trouble using macros which you created in DBExpert Version 1,
contact Sundial Systems Support Services for assistance.
Limitations Of Interest to All Users
* If you choose to use the Default Value attribute for a field in a table
or on a form, the value you enter must be an actual value -- use of an
expression or macro call is not allowed. This restriction may be eased
in a future version.
* While horizontal scrollbars can be included on a DBExpert form, they can
not actually be used to scroll the form. (Vertical scrollbars, however,
do work.) We plan to address this problem in a future version.
* When using the vertical scroll bar on a spreadsheet (table) view or a
form, the scroll bar "thumb" may temporarily "paint" part of itself above
the top (or below the bottom) of the scroll bar in some circumstances.
The problem is strictly cosmetic in nature and does not affect the
operation of the program or the scrollbar. However, we are aware that
it can be disturbing and hope to correct the problem in a future version.
* In general, if you run multiple copies of DBExpert, you may not be able
to access your data (or run macros) from the second and subsequent
copies once you close the first copy. (On the other hand, there is not
a problem if you close any copy other than the first copy.) The only
workaround is to close and reopen all running copies of DBExpert. We
hope to address this limitation in a future update.
* Contrary to the statement on page 6-7 of the User's Guide, the CTRL key
cannot be used in connection with the left mouse button to select
multiple rows in the spreadsheet view of a table (or query). This may
be addressed in a future version.
* There is a limitation on the use of dbeLoadPicture (also known as
LoadPicture) when used to load an image onto a form from a disk file (as
outlined on page 10-44 of the User's Guide). The picture will only be
loaded if there is a source query or table associated with the form
(even though the picture is not coming from the database). This
situation typically arises on forms being used as the initial form for
an application. As a workaround, for pictures on forms without a source
table/query, place the dbeLoadPicture call (inside a dbeSetValue call)
in the On Current event for the form as a whole. For example:
=dbeSetValue('picturefield',dbeLoadPicture('logo.bmp')).
* Contrary to the discussion on page 11-10 of the User's Guide, DBExpert
2.0.x does not support the use of List Box or Combo Box controls on
reports. This will be addressed by a future update.
* Contrary to the statement and examples on page 16-4 of the User's Guide,
DBExpert does not currently support the use of "e+" or "e-" to format
numbers in scientific notation. This will be addressed by a future
update.
* In general, setting the background color for elements of a report does
not produce the desired result -- the elements will have a white
background regardless of the color settings in the report definition.
(Foreground color settings, such as the text color, do work correctly,
however.) We hope to address this issue in a future version.
* When printing some reports that have multiple data groupings, an extra
page without any actual data (only headers and/or footers) may appear at
the beginning or end of the report (depending on the page break options
selected). There currently is no workaround for this problem but we hope
to address it in a future version.
* When printing some reports (typically those with controls which can grow
to contain more data), it may not be possible to print selected pages
unless the selection begins with page 1. For instance, if you request
that only pages 3 through 5 be printed, some or all of what would have
appeared on page 1 appears on page 3 instead. There is currently no
workaround for this problem but we hope to address it in a future version.
* Using subreports (or sometimes controls which can grow) in report headers
or footers sometimes causes blank pages between printed pages or, in the
worst case, a report which prints blank pages forever. Making the header
or footer taller usually makes the problem go away. We hope to address
this in a future version.
* If you try to create a report on an OS/2 system which has no default
print queue, a misleading error will be displayed and you will not be
able to create the report. There is no workaround but we plan to
address this problem in a future update.
* Some update queries which involve a join and attempt to update a field
to a computed value not specifically involved in the join, fail for no
apparent reason. There is no workaround and we are continuing to
identify the exact source of the problem. If you have such a query,
please send the details to Sundial Systems Support Services.
* On occasion, cut, copy, and/or paste operations in DBExpert may stop
working. The only solution is to close and reopen DBExpert. We are
continuing to try to identify the source of this problem and hope to
have it corrected in a future version.
* While an application created with DBExpert can be copied (or moved) from
one system to another, in general, it must be placed on the same disk
drive and in the same directory on the target system as it was in on the
original system. (This also means that it is impractical to move a
DBExpert application from one disk to another on the same system.) This
limitation will be addressed in a future version.
If, however, you do copy or move a DBExpert application to a different
drive or directory, you can generally get the application working once
again by using the File -> Change Physical Table option to change the
location (i.e., drive and directory) of each dBase-style table which
moved along with the application.
* When an application created with DBExpert is copied (or moved) from one
system to another, any reports in the application expect to be able
to find the same OS/2 printer (by name) as they were originally defined
for.
If no such printer is found, then the report will become associated with
the default printer on that system and any printer-dependent attributes
of the report (such as landscape-vs-portrait printing) will be reset to
the default values for the new printer.
If the same printer is found, then print job characteristics which were
saved with the report will be passed to the printer on the new system.
Usually this is not a problem. However some OS/2 printer drivers do not
cope well if the information saved by one version of the driver is
passed to another version of the same driver.
The only work around is to change the printer associated with the report
to some other printer, change it back to the desired printer, and then
the printer-dependent aspects of the report.
* If you move DBExpert from one directory (or disk) to another, you most
likely will not be able to access your existing DBExpert data (unless
you are using only DB2 tables). To solve the problem, you need to
perform the following steps but ONLY if you are not using ODBC drivers
in connection with other products (in which case you should contact
Sundial Systems Support Services for assistance).
In your OS/2 directory, you should find two files named ODBC.INI and
ODBCINST.INI. (If you cannot find the files, contact technical support.)
Rename the two files (or move them to a safe place in case you need
them later).
Reinstall DBExpert over the copy you have in the new directory. This
will not affect any of your existing DBExpert applications or files
(with the exception that any changes you have made to the Sample
application will be undone).
Verify that new copies of the ODBC.INI and ODBCINST.INI files have
appeared in your OS/2 directory and that you can now access your
existing DBExpert data. (If not, contact Support Services.)
Limitations Of Interest to Users of dBase-style Tables
* DBExpert cannot be used to access dBase tables which are stored in files
where the base part of the filename is longer than 8 characters. The
only workaround is to rename the file to a conventional "8.3" format
name (using .DBF for the extension). This is likely to be a permanent
restriction.
* DBExpert cannot be used to access dBase tables which are stored in a
directory where the name of the directory, or any parent directory,
contains a space in the name. The only workaround is to move the
file(s) containing the table to a different directory. We hope to
address this limitation in a future update.
* As noted above, dBase tables do not support fractional seconds in time
fields (though they are supported in timestamp fields). If you enter
fractional seconds in a dBase time field, they may appear on the screen
to have been accepted as part of the value. However, they will not be
stored in the database and will be discarded when you close (or
refresh) the table or form.
* For the version of DBEQ.DLL included in this version to work correctly,
the DBEXPERT directory MUST appear in the LIBPATH statement in your
CONFIG.SYS file. Ordinarily, this addition should have been made by the
DBExpert installation program. However, some earlier versions of the
installation program did not make the change. Thus, after installing
this version, we recommend that you check your CONFIG.SYS file if you
find you cannot attach or access dBase tables in other directories.
Limitations Of Interest to DB2 Users
The following known issues may arise when using this version of DBExpert
(or any earlier 2.0.x version) with any version of DB2:
* If DB2 is not properly installed and operational, DBExpert will trap
if you try to access a DB2 database or table.
* In general, it is strongly recommended that you be logged on with your
DB2 User ID before trying to access DB2 through DBExpert. Failing to do
so may cause DBExpert and the UPM logon to jointly hang the system. We
are continuing to try to determine the cause of this problem.
* When creating expressions which involve string constants (such as ='NY'
or LIKE('SM%') ), be sure to use single (not double) quote marks. This
is due to the fact that DB2 does not recognize string constants that
are surrounded by double quotes. We hope to be able to handle this
conversion automatically in some future version.
* The current method DBExpert uses to import data from a non-DB2 source
into a DB2 table, or to change the structure of an existing DB2 table,
can result in very large transactions when the volume of data being
imported or converted is large. This may result in a transaction that
is larger than DB2 can fit in its uncommitted transaction logs. In
general, the total size of the data being converted, together with
index information on that data, must be able to fit in the transaction
log. You can reduce the required space by importing/converting to
tables which do not have indices defined on them (and then add the
indices later). You may also find it necessary to increase the log file
space used by DB2 for uncommitted transactions.
To do this on DB2 Universal Server using the DB2 Control Center, select
the database you are using and then use the Configure option on the
Selected menu (or the Configure option on the popup menu for the
database) to reach the settings notebook. On the Logs page, select the
Log File Size entry (if is not already selected) and adjust the value of
Log File Size to a higher value than the default. Alternatively, you can
also do this by using the DB2 Command Line Processor and the UPDATE
DATABASE CONFIGURATION command to set the LOGFILESIZ parameter for the
database.
To do this on DB2 Version 2 using the DB2 Database Director, select the
database you are using and then use the Selected option on the Configure
menu to reach the settings notebook. On the Log Files page, set the
value of Log File Size to a higher value than the default.
Alternatively, you can also do this by using the DB2 Command Line
Processor and the UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION command to set the
LOGFILESIZE parameter for the database.
To do this on DB2 Version 1 using the DB2 CONFIG program, select the
database you are using, and then, using the Change Database option on
the Configure menu, change the LogFileSize parameter to a larger number.
The following known issues may arise when using this version of DBExpert
(or any earlier 2.0.x version) with DB2 Version 2 or DB2 Universal Server:
* The current method used by DBExpert for locking records in DB2 causes
the lock to be held for the entire time a user is editing a row within
the spreadsheet view of a table (or the fields of a row on a form).
This will cause other users to be locked out of access to that row (and
possibly adjacent rows) for unacceptably long periods of time unless you
configure DB2 Version 2 or DB2 Universal Server to enable lock timeouts.
To do this on DB2 Universal Server using the DB2 Control Center, select
the database you are using and then use the Configure option on the
Selected menu (or the Configure option on the popup menu for the
database) to reach the settings notebook. On the Applications page,
select the Lock Timeout entry (scrolling the entry into view if
necessary). Uncheck the None option if it is checked and and set the the
Lock Timeout value to a small number (such as 2; the value is in
seconds). Alternatively, you can also do this by using the DB2 Command
Line Processor and the UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION command to set the
LOCKTIMEOUT parameter for the database.
To do this on DB2 Version 2 using the DB2 Database Director, select the
database of interest and use the Selected option on the Configure menu to
reach the settings notebook. On the Locks page, select the Time option
and set the timeout value to a small number (such as 2; the value is in
seconds). Alternatively, you can also do this by using the DB2 Command
Line Processor and the UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION command to set the
LOCKTIMEOUT parameter for the database.
* There is a known issue with mixed case column and table names that can be
created in DB2. Currently, these cannot be properly accessed with
DBExpert. There is no workaround but we plan to address the issue in a
future update.
* There is a known issue with column and table names created in DB2 that
contain non-English alphabetic characters. Currently, these cannot be
properly accessed with DBExpert. There is no workaround but we plan to
address the issue in a future update.
* There is a known problem with displaying DB2 date fields in DBExpert
when localized DB2 date formats are being used. If the default date
format for a database is set to one of these formats, you must bind
DBExpert to the database using ISO date format. To do this, use the
following alternate form of the BIND command (rather than that shown on
page 18-3 of the User's Guide):
SQLBIND DBEDB2.BND database_name DATETIME ISO
Alternatively, you may also use the DB2 Command Line Processor (on any
DB2 version) or Client Setup (on DB2 Version 2) or Client Configuration
Assistant (on DB2 Universal Server) to bind DBEDB2.BND using the ISO date
and time format.
* There is a known issue which sometimes affects the ability of DBExpert
to access DB2 properly. If you have performed the SQL bind statement as
outlined on page 18-3 of the User's Guide, and have granted the
necessary privileges as outlined on pages 18-3 and 18-4, but get an
error about "package CHRIS.DBEDB2 not being found" when trying to access
your data, try using an alternative form of the GRANT statement to
correct the problem. In this form, the statement is the same as that
shown, for your version of DB2, on page 18-4 of the User's Guide except
that "CHRIS.DBEDB2" is substituted for "DBEDB2". For instance, in the
case of DB2/2, rather than
GRANT EXECUTE, BIND ON PROGRAM DBEDB2 TO PUBLIC
use
GRANT EXECUTE, BIND ON PROGRAM CHRIS.DBEDB2 TO PUBLIC
* If you install DB2 on your workstation after installing DBExpert, you
may not be able to run DBExpert or access your data. This is due to a
confusion which arises between the DB2 ODBC drivers and the DBExpert
ODBC drivers (even though neither is used by DBExpert to access DB2).
To correct the problem, you must edit your CONFIG.SYS file and modify
the LIBPATH statement so that the DBEXPERT directory (the directory
where you have DBEXPERT installed) comes before the SQLLIB\DLL
directory.
The Legal Fine Print
The terms and conditions of your DBExpert License apply to the software
and documentation accompanying this file.
DBExpert is a trademark of Designer Software, Inc., and is used by Sundial
Systems Corporation under license.
Other phrases used herein may be brand names, trademarks, or registered
trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., Borland International, Inc., Computer
Associates International, Inc., Designer Software, Inc., International
Business Machines Corporation, Intersolv Corporation, Microsoft
Corporation, Novell, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Sundial Systems
Corporation, or others. All such names and trademarks remain the
property of their respective companies.
Technical Support
We at Sundial Systems are committed to supporting you, our customer.
We track all questions, comments, and "bug reports" concerning our
products and use this information in planning future releases. If
there are features you particularly like or things you think should
be added to our products, please let us know.
If you have questions or suggestions, the most effective way to contact
us is by email to dbexpert@sundialsystems.com or dbexpert@ibm.net.
You can also visit us on the web at www.sundialsystems.com where you
will find information about DBExpert as well as other members of the
Sundial Systems family of OS/2 products. That's also the best place to
find out about updates and other enhancements as they become available.
You can also call us at (562) 596-5121 between 9:00 AM and 4:30 PM
Pacific time, Monday through Friday. We can't guarantee the immediate
availability of support personnel at all times, but all calls are handled
as quickly as possible. You can also FAX your questions and comments to
us at (562) 596-7825 at any time.
Thanks in advance,
Sundial Systems Support Services.