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Index Tip?

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    Index Tip?

    many times I see incorrect data on one or more tables of a set, I just do a rebuild the index and its working again. How often do we rebuild indexes?

    #2
    Re: Index Tip?

    I think you should find out what is happening to make it necessary to rebuild the Indexes.

    I reckon this should be done once a month, that is, if a lot of records have been deleted.
    Regards
    Keith Hubert
    Alpha Guild Member
    London.
    KHDB Management Systems
    Skype = keith.hubert


    For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Index Tip?

      I just close and open alpha, design some forms and close then open.Nothing more, there are no deletes. Sometimes alpha five stops responding, maybe that was the reason?Not sure, maybe someone has an experience on this.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Index Tip?

        I'm just wondering how the other users or developers handle a hundred users using dbf tables, one bad computer on a network or even one bad nework peripheral like faulty cable or faulty network cards or bad memory of a workstation can corrupt indexes , how is this handled by the user/adminsitrator? I read some threads here on the forum that some users have a hundred users using alpha five with dbf a their database.
        Last edited by doorscomputers; 06-29-2012, 09:04 PM.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Index Tip?

          Keith, what is the connection between re-indexing and deleted records?
          _______________________________
          Steven McLean
          i3 Home Inspections
          [email protected]

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Index Tip?

            Hi Steven,

            Is has been known that records can become out of synch over a period of time, when a number of records have been deleted, in particular when there are a number of users on a network.
            Regards
            Keith Hubert
            Alpha Guild Member
            London.
            KHDB Management Systems
            Skype = keith.hubert


            For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Index Tip?

              If you are jumping into and out of development frequently, you should compact the database frequently, and rebuild the indexes. If you are running something that calls for a query that cannot be resolved (an impossible query) the indexes for some of the related tables may be dropped entirely, or damaged.

              For all clients I have routines in place that completely recreate from scratch all indexes. And it runs daily. Selwyn came up with two functions for creating a text file that contains the definitions for all tables and a function for recreating from that text file.

              For one client, a small chain of hospitals where the app runs 24/7/365, and has 3 shifts of nurses and techs, I auto rebuild the indexes between every shift.

              Complicated queries and scripts that fire in lots of events where there are lots of users (100 for example) can cause trouble. Dr. Wayne once commented (maybe 10 years ago) that on a big network, you should keep things as simple as possible; otherwise you will regret it.

              In general, when a program fails, it will always point back to design.
              Last edited by martinwcole; 06-29-2012, 08:46 PM.
              Cole Custom Programming - Terrell, Texas
              972 524 8714
              [email protected]

              ____________________
              "A young man who is not liberal has no heart, but an old man who is not conservative has no mind." GB Shaw

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Index Tip?

                In general, when a program fails, it will always point back to design.
                Dont the 10 million customers of Natwest Bank know all about that, when they could not get their money out to pay any bills!!
                Regards
                Keith Hubert
                Alpha Guild Member
                London.
                KHDB Management Systems
                Skype = keith.hubert


                For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Index Tip?

                  Even if the design is not the problem.

                  I have an index rebuild routine included in all my applications in case they are needed. It(for me) is a pain to put together, but worth it.

                  I don't seem to have the reindex problems I have heard and am hearing about. I never have been able to explain why this is, but my indexes are always simple and easy(eight characters or less and usually 1 field). Mostly less than 8 per indexes per table. If I need something else, I do it programatically. Always clean up after yourself when you do this.

                  I have seen some indexes done by others and don't know how they even worked.
                  Dave Mason
                  [email protected]
                  Skype is dave.mason46

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Index Tip?

                    Selwyn came up with two functions for creating a text file that contains the definitions for all tables and a function for recreating from that text file.
                    are these available for reference?

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Index Tip?

                      Originally posted by Ray in Capetown View Post
                      are these available for reference?
                      For starters, you can look up GET_INDEX_DEFINITIONS() and Automatic Recovery of Indexes in the Wiki. Or, if you aren't one of those "I like to do it myself just because it's a challenge" type of people (like I am) and it's worth $19 to save you some time, you can get my AIMS_Index_Rebuild addon. Once installed, you just get your application running the way you want it - including all indexes - and go to your Interactive Window and type "cre" then select "create_index_rebld_auto()" from the drop-down and run it. It will create/update a function in your Code tab called (by default) Index_rebuild_auto() and you just put a button on your Utilities menu with the following really complex OnPush event:
                      Index_rebuild_auto()

                      You can also run it in the autoexec (not really recommended on a networked system) or to update selected tables if desired. I use the ability to update specific tables for updating indexes before certain invoicing routines - just in case.

                      If you update your application and add or delete any indexes, just run the "Create..." routine again and it will overwrite the old function with the new index definitions.

                      From the Help file:

                      Other features: (see the function arguments topic for more details)
                      � The user prompt can be turned off.
                      � You can update selected indexes or skip selected indexes.
                      � You can create a list of specific tables to be rebuilt.
                      � You can have the function simply update existing indexes rather than rebuilding them to the original definitions. (Seldom recommended.)
                      � You can hide the Please Wait dialog.
                      � You can, as mentioned above, compare the existing index definitions to the original definitions. If they don't match, the user has the option of either updating the existing indexes or rebuilding them to their original definitions.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Index Tip?

                        Originally posted by CALocklin View Post
                        For starters, you can look up GET_INDEX_DEFINITIONS() and Automatic Recovery of Indexes in the Wiki. Or, if you aren't one of those "I like to do it myself just because it's a challenge" type of people (like I am) and it's worth $19 to save you some time, you can get my AIMS_Index_Rebuild addon. .
                        Thanks Cal for the assistance.
                        I like both. I am a control freak in that I want to know how and if I have it taken care of then I will never really understand.
                        I find the addition of indexes by Alpha a bit suspect - in that I dont know whether they were created for something I tried and discarded and will be extra baggage forever. Even using the Index rebuild addon
                        I am attracted to the use of many of the AIMS utilities.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Index Tip?

                          Originally posted by Ray in Capetown View Post
                          ...I find the addition of indexes by Alpha a bit suspect - in that I dont know whether they were created for something I tried and discarded and will be extra baggage forever. Even using the Index rebuild addon
                          I am attracted to the use of many of the AIMS utilities.
                          I've been known to remove all indexes (at least from a given table) then open the table(s), open related browses, forms, reports, etc. then see what indexes have been added. These are the ones created by Alpha. There may be other things that will cause Alpha to generate indexes but that usually works well enough for me. (I did that enough that I even automated that process. I believe my "open all layouts once" code is in my Grab Bag.)

                          Finding out which of your other indexes are still used in your code/expressions gets a bit trickier and that's where I use my AIMS App Analyzer since that has all the code in one searchable table. Then I do a search on each index name (actually the App Analyzer does the searches) to find out where each index name can be found. The problem with this is that way too often I've used the same index name in two or more tables. That makes it difficult to tell which index reference belonged to which table and the only way to resolve that is to check the code around each "hit" that was found during the search.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Index Tip?

                            I have a very very very big problem on index and memos being corrupted, they will sue me if I will let a hospital use my app if they are going to bill a patient with the wrong data because of index corrupted.I want to buy your utility, what are the options aside from credit cards,I am not from michigan or US.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Index Tip?

                              Originally posted by DaveM View Post
                              I have an index rebuild routine included in all my applications in case they are needed.
                              Me too Dave ever since V4.

                              Help text =
                              Repairing an Index
                              Certain events can corrupt your indexes; for example, if you improperly exit Alpha Five, such as turning off your computer while Alpha Five is running, or if a power failure occurs while Alpha Five is updating an index.
                              When an index becomes corrupted, you might notice that records do not appear as expected. For example, a record that you can see in the Default Browse, viewed in record number order, does not appear on a report.
                              Some database problems can be traced to corrupted or out-to-date indexes. If you have any doubt about the integrity of your indexes, you should update them manually.
                              See our Hybrid Option here;
                              https://hybridapps.example-software.com/


                              Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
                              You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

                              Comment

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