My guess is that the complexity of the problem will make Kevin try all the harder!
It is difficult, and only one reason why working with file definitions programmatically is difficult. Personally, I think DINUM is a "mis-feature", but it isn't at all hard to see why it was included in Fileman., as it provides a natural way to model "is-a" relationships, and it simplifies programming in raw MUMPS allowing programmers to check to see if a record is present with a simple $DATA.
"Holloway, Thomas (EDS)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Kevin,
I think you are beginning to see a part of the reason why the tool
that you are seeking doesn't exist. It's not only complicated but may,
in the end, require human decision making at each pointer level to
decide whether to repoint and, if so, where to repoint. The larger
factor, I believe, is that this functionality is not generally needed in
a production database. You are starting from scratch, so to speak, but
with a set of files that contain data you don't need/want. In a live
hospital database they would never be deleting drugs (or other pointed
to values) since there is a need to retain historical accuracy.
tjh
===
Gregory Woodhouse <
"Interaction is the mind-body problem of computing."
--Philip Wadler
