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Database Compact Date &Time

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    Database Compact Date &Time

    Compact sets the file dates of all files to the current date and time. Does anyone know if there is a way to prevent resettting date and time on compact?
    I would like to be able to select only files that are changed for an app update, but I also like to do a compact before updating an app. I can't seem to do both.

    Thanks
    Russ

    #2
    RE: Database Compact Date &Time

    Russ,

    I'm embarrassed to tell you, but I keep a written list for all dictionaries that are changed during a development session.

    Your question prompted me to think about alternatives.

    1) You could do a screen print of a directory listing, before doing the compact. This would show you the last modified date for the files you need.

    2) I suppose you could write a routine in Alpha Five to populate a table with all the filenames in your development folder, including possibly the file creation dates...

    Perhaps there are more elegant solutions out there... I'll be watching. Good question.

    -- tom

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      #3
      RE: Database Compact Date &Time

      I would think it would be a fairly simple matter for Alpha to add a switch or dialog on the compact, which asks if the user wants to change the dates or leave them. I doubt though that this will be addressed in v5. Maybe a feature for v6?

      Russ

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        #4
        RE: Database Compact Date &Time

        I take a totally different tack. I create a list of dictionaries with their dates and the number of deleted records in each dictionary. From this list I can decide which tables/sets to compact.

        - Any files not changed today probably weren't modified today.
        - Any group of files that were compacted within a few milliseconds of each other should already be compacted.

        (Just because it wasn't modified today doesn't mean it was compacted after it was last changed.)

        It's not perfect because it only uses the date on the .set or .ddd file and the date on other files often gets changed as well. However, I think these are the most significant ones because they are the ".dbf" files of the data dictionaries.

        In the attached screen shot, the number of deleted records is identified by the number after the time and immediately before the file name. The number of deleted records is also followed by an asterisk. (Yes, I know the format could use some cleanup but it just hasn't been worth it.)

        Note: Someone, I don't recall who, tried an earlier version that took a full 5 minutes to determine the number of deleted records on a database with something like 300 tables. The routine has been improved. 300 would still cause a slight delay (1-2 seconds?) but the results displayed in the attachment are based on a database that has 49 tables/sets and the response seems to be instantaneous.

        Cal Locklin
        www.aimsdc.net

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          #5
          RE: Database Compact Date &Time

          Hmmm, as I reviewed the attachment to my previous message I noticed that my comment that "Any group of files that were compacted within a few milliseconds of each other should already be compacted." is apparently wrong.

          Since I'm doing a lot of development on that particular database right now (converting if from v1 actually) there are a lot of changes and some tables have deleted records but the date/time is still within milliseconds of other files. Looks like this situation needs more study. Anyone have any insights they'd like to share?

          Cal Locklin
          www.aimsdc.net

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            #6
            RE: Database Compact Date &Time

            Right after posting the reply to my reply, I realized that at least part of this issue is because some of those are temp files that were used to create some complicated reports. Since the reports are run by a script, it makes more sense that changes to those files would have "common" times.

            The temp files should get deleted but I'm still working on some routines and on others I probably forgot to unrem the .erase() command.

            Comment


              #7
              RE: Database Compact Date &Time

              I haven't tested this, but I suppose it should be easy enough to 'record' the original date(s) using filefind.first()
              and file.update_update().

              Comment


                #8
                RE: Database Compact Date &Time

                What's file.update_update()?
                Peter
                AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

                [email protected]
                https://www.alphabasesolutions.com


                Comment


                  #9
                  RE: Database Compact Date &Time

                  It's a brain fart. :)

                  I meant file.update_time()

                  Comment


                    #10
                    RE: Database Compact Date &Time

                    I found a way to do this.
                    I use Novatix explorer plus (by the same programmer who wrote Powerdesk, he bought the rights to the code and now competes with vcom powerdesk)
                    In powerdesk (and probably other programs) I can add a note to a file. So to keep track of the files that I want for the update, before doing the compact I select all the files that I want for the update, select all of them and put in a note for them. Only needs to be a unique marker. Then I can run the compact. After the compact I sort (in powerdesk) on the note field and all with a note are now first (or last) where they can easily be selected to copy. I can then remove the note if I want or leave it there.

                    Russ

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