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    #1

    Is there?

    Is there a function that will comapare 2 tables that will check for "fieldmame", "field type", "length" and decimal "places" ? I've looked all over for such a function without results.

    I'll be very grateful for any and all replies,
    efs
    Tags: None
    #2
    RE: Is there?

    Ed, I don't understand your question.

    Are you trying to determine if two tables have the same structure? May I ask why ?

    -- tom

    Comment

      #3
      RE: Is there?

      Edward

      It is possible using xbasic to get all of the field names for a table. The sections in the xbasic manual on table methods show some examples. The section on tbl.fields_get() shows how to get a list of fields. Once you have a list of fields, you can use functions like fld.name_get(), fld.type_get() fld.dec_get(), and fld.width_get() to get all of the structure information.

      But as Tom points out, why? I have one case where I do save index structure information gathered by xbasic, but I can't see any reason to get table information. Actually, if you just need to record the information, check out the A5doc program. It will give you all of the structure information in a report or saved in a table.

      Jerry

      Comment

        #4
        RE: Is there?

        Hi Tom & Jerry,

        The reason I need this is because I have 8 append operations where 2 of them provide errors, the error leads me to believe that some of the fields do not match. In 1 case I found a field supposedly named client_nam, that appeared in the table structure as client_na (no N on the end. The weird part is that the second set of tables had been copied from 1 machine to the other using a burner.

        Thank you both for responding,
        Ed

        Comment

          #5
          RE: Is there?

          Edward

          You say one set of tables was copied using a burner. A file placed a CD is set readonly. When the file is copied to a drive, that attibute has to be turned off manually. If is isn't you can't open the file for any edit.

          Another problem is long file names. What you are seeing may be name truncation where the long name is lost. If ANY of the field names are more than 10 character, this can occur. The long name definition is saved in the table data dictionary files (ddd, ddm, ddx). If these are missing, or can't be opened (readonly), the long name is lost and you will see either 9 or 10 character names only.

          Jerry

          Jerry

          Comment

            #6
            RE: Is there?

            Jerry

            That is a great and informative reply, Jerry. I have been aware for sometime about the read only attributes that a CD puts on the files, I had already taken care of that part. But this is the best explanation of field names over 10 characters, that could be my problem. I had already found 1 field that was missing the last letter, I am sure that is where the problem lies. Thanks a bunch.
            Ed

            Comment

              #7
              RE: Is there?

              Ed

              The problem with truncated field names is that it can be erratic and not always occur. One situation where is seems to be an issue is if the tables are zipped up in a compressed file and then unzipped. For some reason, this on rare occations caused problems for me until I quit using any long names.

              Because of the way Alpha generates the short name from the long name, the first 9 characters should never be the same for 2 fields if long names are used. Alpha takes the first 9 charactrers and adds a numeric character to generate the short name. If 2 fields have the same first 9 characters, this can cause a problem.

              The short name issue is really not an Alpha problem as such but a situation forced by the use of the dbf format that doesn't natively accept long names. I just stay totally away from more than 10 characters in field names or index names (they have the same limitation). For the same reasons, avoid spaces and any punctuation other than the underline.

              Jerry

              Comment

                #8
                RE: Is there?

                Jerry,

                Thank you very much for your tip. I was able to prove you were right on the money about 10 characters in a field name. I have 2 tables that were affected, 1 of them was a minor problem I could change the field name without it worming it's way into scripts and indexes, the second table remains a problem since the long fields are involved in scripts and indexes throughout the application. Which leads me to the dictionary files, can I email those as well and hence preserve the long names?

                I learned a big lesson,
                Ed

                Comment

                  #9
                  RE: Is there?

                  It appears that even a 10 character fieldname might be touchy also, since it truncated the "n" off of client_nam.
                  Ed

                  Comment

                    #10
                    RE: Is there?

                    Ed

                    There was an article in the newsletter some time ago about file structures that talks about this. If you use long names in a field or index, you have to keep the data dictionary files with the dbf and cdx files. They are now linked, since some of the information about the names is saved there. Once you have experienced this type of problem, the idea about using long names is quickly put in the trash heap for most projects.

                    Jerry

                    Comment

                      #11
                      RE: Is there?

                      Ed,

                      You might want to take a look at my little "treatise" on naming conventions on my Tips page at www.aimsdc.net/Tips.htm.

                      Comment

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