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Compact vs pack question

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    Compact vs pack question

    What is/would be the difference between running a5.compact, or a5_databasecompact() as opposed to table.pack on a given set of tables.
    i.e. using production index rebuild and pack on each table as opposed to the database function.

    #2
    Re: Compact vs pack question

    i.e. using production index rebuild and pack on each table as opposed to the database function.
    No difference except probably faster since the routine to select each table is built in, just a shortcut.
    There can be only one.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Compact vs pack question

      Originally posted by Stan Mathews View Post
      No difference except probably faster since the routine to select each table is built in, just a shortcut.
      Not totally true! The difference to the user is the same but there is an important difference the developer should be aware of.

      The database compact routine packs tables and re-indexes them but it ALSO compacts the data dictionaries. Compacting the data dictionaries is something that should be done periodically during development but is not required at all for users who are only entering data.

      The data dictionaries basically contain everything in the application except the data. This includes all the scripts, functions, forms, reports, browses, letters, labels, saved queries and other operations, security settings, and probably a few other things. The data dictionaries ONLY need to be compacted after doing development work - adding/editing anything but data.

      Personally, as a developer I almost never use the built-in Compact routine just because it takes so much time packing and rebuilding indexes when all I want or need is to compact the data dictionaries. After all, as a developer I very seldom change data - at least not nearly as often as I'm changing forms, scripts, etc. So I built a simple routine using the dictionary.update() function to compact just the data dictionaries for the tables/sets I've been editing. This runs much faster than doing a complete "database compact" - in some cases it's a difference of a few seconds vs. a few minutes.

      FWIW: I even had one customer who did NOT want his data to be packed! This eliminated the option of running the "Compact Database" routine but the data dictionaries still needed to be compacted after development changes.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Compact vs pack question

        Cal,

        Of course you are correct. For some reason I looked at

        using production index rebuild and pack
        and read it as dictionary rebuild a la DICTIONARY.UPDATE() followed by pack since the indexes are rebuilt during the packing.

        Senior moment.
        There can be only one.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Compact vs pack question

          Ok... sorry my ignorance but what method is best?

          I run a script that checks a table every day and deletes records that have expired. This script includes this portion:

          table_list = <<%list%
          advertisements
          users
          zads
          %list%

          table_list = *for_each(x, "[PathAlias.ADB_Path]" + chr(92) + x + ".dbf",table_list)
          in_use = *for_each(x, x + "|" + table.in_use(x), table_list)

          tables_to_update = filter_string(in_use, "|False", crlf())
          tables_to_update = stritran(tables_to_update, "|False", "")

          dim count as n
          count = w_count(tables_to_update,crlf())
          dim i as n
          dim tbl as p
          for i = 1 to count
          table_i = word(tables_to_update,i,crlf())
          tbl = table.open(table_i)
          tbl.pack()
          tbl.close()
          next i

          I just want to pack and then index the tables.

          Sorry, just realized this is in the desktop section. I was doing a search for "Pack" and came across this post.
          Last edited by EricN; 01-31-2009, 11:37 PM.
          Eric

          Alpha Five Websites
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          -------------------------------------------------
          socialservicenetwork.org

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Compact vs pack question

            I just want to pack and then index the tables.
            As with many things in Alpha, neither is best. As Cal indicated, any of the means of compacting perform other tasks than packing and indexing. If your application/database is fairly stable and you are not making a lot of changes, you don't need to compact.

            Since your script does what you want, don't change anything.
            There can be only one.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Compact vs pack question

              Originally posted by Stan Mathews View Post
              As with many things in Alpha, neither is best. As Cal indicated, any of the means of compacting perform other tasks than packing and indexing. If your application/database is fairly stable and you are not making a lot of changes, you don't need to compact.

              Since your script does what you want, don't change anything.
              Yup!

              Comment

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