OS/2 Shareware BBS: InfoMgt/InfoMgt.zip/dbup208r.zip/README.TXT

Text File | 1999-09-02 | 12KB | 232 lines

    DBExpert(tm) Relational Database for OS/2 from Sundial Systems
    Release Notes (README.TXT) for DBExpert Version 2.0.8 Runtime
    September 1999


    Thank you for purchasing the DBExpert Version 2.0 Runtime.


    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.


    Documentation Notes

    * 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 2.0.7, 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 pasteing 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 2.0.5, 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
      the DBExpert Runtime work in "Version 1 Macro" compatibility mode.

    * 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).  If you
      encounter 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).


    Limitations Of Interest to All Users

    For information regarding limitations which apply to this version of
    DBExpert, consult the Release Notes accompanying a full copy of the
    product.


    The Legal Fine Print

    The terms and conditions of your DBExpert Runtime 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 [e-mail] or [e-mail].

    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 [phone] 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 [phone] at any time.

    Thanks in advance,
    Sundial Systems Support Services.