"then there's unidata" ... talk about grotesque <G> You are right .. moving data is moving data. A simple save/restore solves a lot of problems, if there is one.
Of course I can follow the norm and just write something and charge the client a lot of something that should be there <G> Thanks Saturday, September 13, 2008, 6:54:47 PM, you wrote: BH> G-man: BH> Let me try to answer a couple of your questions... BH> Moving data can be a goal. Whether you or I can foresee the need is BH> irrelevant. I've moved quite a few accounts from D3 to UV and UD and I BH> suspect Dave has an equally justifiable need (not that he should need to BH> justify anything). BH> There used to be a "common" backup to an older format that all platforms BH> did. I can remember upgrading several different platforms to D3 and BH> upgrading several D3 platforms to U2. They all had that familiar BH> "account-save (a" type of thing. BH> Many of the vendors had (have) utilities to bring in accounts from other BH> systems. Flat-file BS is grotesque! Then there's UniData. :-) BH> Bill BH> -----Original Message----- BH> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] BH> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tony G BH> Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2008 5:07 PM BH> To: u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org BH> Subject: RE: [U2] access to mvBase VTF files >> From: David Tod Sigafoos >> My higher goal is to move data from mvBase to >> uniVerse. Account save / account restore >> What I want is information on if this can be done simply. >> I can, as ray suggested, read the tape OR i can simply >> stream in the file and try to restore on my own. BH> [flame jacket in hand] BH> Moving data isn't a goal, it's a tactical effort to satisfy some BH> more strategic business function. I'm still curious as to why BH> you need to move data using platform-specific media. I find that BH> the real answer to problems we see presented here is frequently BH> that the wrong question is being asked. And while I know there BH> can be some resentment when I question why someone is asking for BH> a specific solution, that line of inquiry frequently leads to BH> saving a lot of time and money in accomplishing the real BH> strategic goal. Seriously, I deal with this all the time. BH> The only valid case I can think of for your inquiry is that you BH> have an old VTF and the source system no longer exists - maybe a BH> crash-n-burn where the user wants to move to U2 rather than to BH> pay for a new mvBASE license. Fair enough. If that's the case BH> then my suggestion is to move the data into a live mvBASE system BH> "somewhere" (which you can get for free from any mvBASE dealer) BH> and then to extract it out using more conventional means. BH> The tape mechanisms in all of these platforms was never intended BH> to be cross-platform. They're intended to backup and restore BH> data to a specific platform. And while we expect to be able to BH> move data from one shop to another, across operating systems, and BH> across DBMS releases, many of us have found there are occasional BH> issues here. Extract data from these proprietary formats is a BH> sure way to win geek points, but it's a pointless business effort BH> considering there are better ways to accomplish the goals. BH> So I would back up a moment (pun intended I guess) and ask why BH> you're not writing flat files that can be transported and then BH> read from the file system? If the systems are local then you can BH> simply write to a file in BASIC that's simultaneously accessed by BH> Universe. I do that for development all the time with a bunch of BH> DBMS's. BH> If the mvBASE system is still up and you want to do this on a BH> regular basis, I'm guessing the environments are remote and you BH> want to duplicate one or more accounts from one platform and just BH> read it somewhere else. All the File-Save process does is to BH> select the SYSTEM file, loop through all MD files, loop through BH> all DICT files, and the copy all the DATA file items in a BH> proprietary tape buffer format. I know you could swing that in a BH> few minutes, using the same type of recursive loop to create BH> directories and write items as files. ( I actually have code BH> like that around here somewhere from an effort where I needed to BH> extract an entire R83 system over a network via AccuTerm. ) BH> Anyway, I hope you accomplish your goals. BH> Best, BH> T -- DSig ````` David Tod Sigafoos ( O O ) _______oOOo__( )__oOOo_______ "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -- Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) ------- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
