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SQL Documentation

Contents
 
<< Back to Complete Documentation
   
General Information
  Introduction (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)
  Clarion / SQL Fundamentals (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)
     
Designing your SQL Database
  SQL Data Types (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)
  Field Management (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)
  Key Management (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)
  Oracle Tablespaces
     Using multiple backends simultaneously
In Depth
  FM3's ConnectToSQLBackend Templates
  New SQL Applications
  Converting to SQL (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)
     
Other Information
     
  Miscellaneous Topics
  Hot Tips (Check out the HotTips section for more Database specific topics)
  Clarion / SQL related links and resources
     
Can't find what you're looking for?
  Click here to Search the FM3 Docs
 
     

Introduction (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)

Using SQL with Clarion is not difficult, but there are some things to know before you start. If you have no SQL experience, then it is advised that you start with some basic tutorials to get yourself a little more familar with SQL. In terms of using SQL with Clarion, there are often some mindsets that might need to be broken, as Clarion can be very forgiving in terms of database design and implementation with Flat-File systems such as TPS. Once you are familiar with some of these concepts, implementing SQL in Clarion is not difficult. FM3 does everything it can to make the conversion process as quick and easy as possible. There are however some added things to know when using FM3, as it sometimes needs a little more information from you regarding the backend it is working with. All these things are discussed below.

File formats / databases:

Firstly, it is important to understand some of the fundamental differences between using an SQL backend as oppose to a Flat-File format.

Flat-files

TopSpeed
Clarion
Btrieve *

Client - Server

Btrieve *
SoftVelocity’s IP Driver

This is essentially a layer on top of flat files. Server handles / controls access to the files.

SQL / Relation Database Management System (RDMS)

MsSQL
Oracle
FireBird
MySQL
PostgresSQL
PervasiveSQL *
Sybase

This is essentially a layer on top of Client-Server. Data access and manipulation is done using Structured Query Language (SQL). SQL Databases are generally described as relational database management systems.

* The Btrieve driver can be Client Server or Flat File. Pervasive have also built an SQL layer to this file format.

Choosing your Database / File Driver:

Currently, we only discuss the pros and cons of Supported File Drivers and Databases in FM3.
 
Driver Pros Cons
BTrieve   Limited to a 4K record size, Does not return helpful error information for FM3.
Clarion Free Prone to corrupt, unbuilt keys and data files.
Topspeed Free, Good Performance Prone to corrupt files.
MsSQL Good performance, Stored Procedures and Triggers, Good name, Tried and tested Fairly Expensive, Regular security patches
Oracle Good performance, Stored Procedures and Triggers, Good name Very Expensive, Needs a qualified DBA, i.e. a bit difficult for the untrained to manage.
MySQL Good performance Not Free
Firebird Good Performance, Optionally Embedded, Stored Procedures and Triggers, Free Key size limitation of 254K under default characterset, Keys cannot have mixed sort orders, but this can be easily worked around.
Sybase/ASA Good performance, Stored Procedures and Triggers, Good name, Tried and tested Fairly Expensive (although cheaper than MSS)
PostgreSQL Good performance, Stored Procedures and Triggers, Free Text based variables don't handle non-printable characters. Requires binary strings to be set to BINARY in the dct.

 

Clarion / SQL Fundamentals (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)

Questions to ask before you start:

Who is Master?

The Clarion Dictionary

 or

SQL Database Backend

The very idea of File Manager 3 implies that the Clarion Dictionary is the master of the backend structure. In other words, you make changes in the dictionary, and FM3 makes the relevent changes to the backend. In SQL circles this could be severly frowned upon, especially if there is an existing database, and / or a DataBase Administrator. Read on for further discussion on this...

Who is in charge of the Database backend?

You, the developer

 or

Some DBA or other 3rd party

In some SQL enviroments, you the developer are not permitted to change anything on the backend, especially without permission. If there is a Database Administrator, or another person in charge, they are not going to like the idea of FM3. In circumstances like this, it may not be the best solution to use FM3.

Do I have an existing database?

Existing TPS

or

Existing SQL

If you have an existing TPS database, then you'll need to read the documentation on Converting TPS to SQL. If you have an existing SQL database, and are applying FM3, then you may find that FM3 will want to make some changes to the structure, even if nothing has changed. To understand more of this, read the Datatypes section. The Clarion synchroniser / table import in the dictionary does not necessarily pick the best matched datatypes for your app, and again, treats the backend as master instead of the dictionary.

Am I converting from Flat-files (eg: TPS)?

Converting Existing Data

As mentioned above, FM3 makes this a breeze, however, you must follow the instructions laid out in the Converting to SQL section.

Design

ALL tables must contain a PRIMARY Key!

Good design suggests each table must contain a unique record identifier, commonly known as a primary key. This should ideally be a single field key of integer type. You may choose to auto-increment this field, or set it at insert time. However, nulls and zero should not be allowed. While it is not illegal to use other datatypes as your primary key, a numeric datatype often provides the fastest data access to the table. This is also helpful when declaring relationships. It is also not illegal to use multi-component keys as your primary key, but this can also be untidy and slow things down. In other words, create a simple fast primary key, and declare other indexes for all your other purposes. A Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) is most often a string / char datatype, and while this could be a primary key, it is recommended you rather declare it as a seperate unique key. This means relationships can still be declared on the Primary Key of the parent table. If you are using CapeSoft's Replicate, and indeed any other type of replication, you may required to use a multi-component Primary key. For example: PK_Customers key(CUS:Site,CUS:CustomerID).

Ensure all Primary, Unique, and Foreign keys are uniquely named throughout the database.

Different flavours of SQL don't allow duplicate names for certain objects. For example, TPS users may like to name all there primary keys "PrimaryKey". This will fail in most SQL backends. A good naming convention is to use the tablename, or the fieldnames as part of the keyname, eg: PK_Customers, FK_Countries, LastNameKey etc. You could also add the file prefix to the external name attribute to ensure uniqueness, eg: CUS_LastNameKey.

Ensure that all object names do not use Reserved Keywords.

Be sure not to name your tables, fields, and keys with reserved SQL keywords, such as "Date". If you are converting from an existing Dictionary, then you can effectively get around this by using the Full Path Name, and External Name attributes to declare non reserved names. A good suggestion is to use your file prefix and an underscore, eg "PRE_Date".

Define Foreign Keys on Integer type fields.

If you have followed the recommendation for Primary Keys, then this should fall into place nicely. Again, performance will take a hit if you use character type data as your foreign key links. Also, this keeps it clean and simple. For example, if you have a Customer table that relates to a Countries table. Build it something like this:

Code example:
CLARION:
Customers   file,pre(CUS),driver('MSSQL')
PK_Customers   key(CustomerID),primary,nocase
FK_Countries   key(CountryID),nocase ! Links to Countries PK_Countries
record   record
CustomerID     long  
CountryID     long  
LastName     string(40)  
FirstName     string(60)  
    end    
    end  

Countries   file,pre(COU),driver('MSSQL')
PK_Countries   key(CountryID),primary,nocase ! Links to Customers FK_Countries
record   record
CountryID     long  
Country     string(100)
    end
    end  

One of the biggest benefits of this style of design is that you should never ever need to alter those fields - ie, the primary and foreign key fields. This means FM3 can easily and safely upgrade the files, even when your relationships reside on an SQL backend. This also ensures data integrity.

Recommendations and Tips

The Owner string

Use a global variable for this attribute. In the dictionary, place an exclamation mark in front of the variable name: eg: !GLO:dbOwner
For FM3, use a String, not a CString for your owner variable.
Use the FM3:Connect To SQL Backend extension template for creating a connect procedure for priming your owner variable.

The SQL Database

You do not need to create the tables on the SQL backend. FM3 will do this for you.
You need to create the database on the SQL Backend, and setup a user.
The SQL User login must be the dbowner of the database (MsSQL).

You don't need to worry about this next bit as it's now taken care of in the DLL, but we'll keep it in for information purposes.

For complete automation of FM3 administration, the user should also be a member of the SysAdmin role (MsSQL).

  FM3 needs to perform administrative tasks on the SQL backend. It therefore needs some level of administration rights. These rights can be limited to dbowner by completing the following configuration of the MsSQL Server. Two tasks must be completed on your MsSQL Server for FM3 to continue it's job. The server must be a linked server, and the server option DATA ACCESS must be set to true.

To Add the MsSQL Server as a Linked Server
From your SQL Query Analyser, execute this script:
EXEC sp_addlinkedserver '<YourSQLServerName>','SQL Server' where <YourSQLServerName> is the name of your SQL Server.
For more information, see the Microsoft SQL Server Books Online.

To set the DATA ACCESS option to TRUE
From your SQL Query Analyser, execute this script:
EXEC sp_serveroption '<YourSQLServerName>', 'DATA ACCESS', 'TRUE' where <YourSQLServerName> is the name of your SQL Server.
For more information, see the Microsoft SQL Server Books Online.


SQL Data Types (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)

Dates and Times
Memos
Reals
Arrays (Dimensioned fields)
Dynamic and Static Indexes
Oracle DataType Matching
Large String Data
MSSQL - UniqueIdentifier
Binary strings (see the PostgreSQL section of the docs)

Dates and Times

Did You Know?

Some of the SQL drivers DO NOT directly support the DATE and TIME datatypes in Clarion. In some drivers DATE may be used, but there are some things to watch out for and think about when using DATEs and TIMEs.

Note: Sybase (ASA), PostgreSQL, Firebird do support the native DATE and TIME datatypes, so you won't need to follow the below mentioned suggestions.

What to do:

Here are 4 options for Dates and Times. The bottom line is there are pros and cons to all the options! FM3 supports all 4 options. These points are provided for your information to help you make the best design choice for your scenario!

Option 1: Use a GROUP over STRING(8) containing a DATE field and a TIME field (only required for MySQL, Oracle and MSSQL users ).

MSSQL users: You'll only need to use this option if you find yourself in one (or more) of the following situations:

  1. Using MSSQL 2000 or previous.
  2. Your Date and/or time is part of a unique key (or your TIME is part of any index).
  3. You have other applications (probably non-Clarion) using the database that require a datetime (with both portions populated).
This is the default import behaviour for most SQL date datatypes into a Clarion dictionary. This is all very well, but nasty if you're converting an existing app to SQL. Apart from going and updating all the structures in the dictionary, you'll have to make changes to your code within the program to handle the new structure, and process the data as required. Though you can still set up individual date or time key, a date+time key will not be possible! The up side is that by using the standard backend date, other apps will also be able to use the same info. The fact of the matter: if you have to build an app for an existing database with existing data, you're gonna have to go with this structure, and handcode any necessary processing!
 
NB: You'll also need to add the following user options as shown for the specific fields. These are constants and you can add them as they appear in the table below. BDE will add these useroptions in when doing the conversion.
 


Code example:

CLARION:
Example Field Name Data Type UserOption to add
  MyDateTime string(8) UnRealField
  MyDateTime_Group group,over(MyDateTime)
  MyDateTime_Date   date RealField
  MyDateTime_Time   time RealField
    end

SQL: (mssql)
  MyDateTime datetime

Note: CapeSoft's Bulk Dictionary Editor can optionally convert your old Date and Time fields to this structure. Please note that there are some Field User options that need to be added, as BDE currently does not them (will in future). These will ensure that your original date and time date will convert to the new datetime datatype generated in your new SQL file!


Option 2: Use a DATE and a TIME datatype.
In MSSQL (have not tested all backends), you may match a DATE to a DATETIME, and a TIME to a DATETIME. For DATE, it is happy to leave the time portion = 0, but in TIME, the date portion defaults to today's date. This will not make keys and indexes very useful! Other applications accessing your data will also need some explanation.

Code example:

CLARION:

  MyDate date
  MyTime time

SQL: (mssql)
  MyDate datetime
  MyTime datetime
 

Important Note: This option should only be used for DATEs, not TIMEs. If used for TIME (without the DATE portion) - you will be plagued with the "Another user updated this record" error. If you have single TIMEs then rather create the group,over and an extra DATE field. You can then initialize the DATE portion to 0 so that all your local indexes (using the TIME field) will be consistent. This is not an FM3 issue, but a Clarion limitation.


Option 3: Use a LONG datatype.
Well, every Clarion programmer will jump for joy at this idea, ... BUT, is it really a good solution? Well, you would have to analyse the situation completely, and especially think of what may come up in the future! For example, if you are building an app that uses it's own database, and no other frontend apps or tools look at it, or care what's in it, then you have no problem. But, what about those "likely-to-happen" scenarios, like building a dynamic website from the data, or an intranet? Of course, if you're in charge of it all you can build those with Clarion, and you have no problems! But, if a VB guy ever came along and needed to use the data for his application, oh boy - I guess at this point you could start a "Why Clarion is the best RDA tool" argument! Otherwise, if you, and only you (or any other Clarion programmer) are going to be using the data - joy joy and more joy - keys are a breeze, date calculations are a breeze, formatting display is a breeze, and it's only 4 bytes of data each! <sigh>I love Clarion!</sigh>

 Code example:

CLARION:

  MyDate long
  MyTime long

SQL: (mssql)
  MyDate int
  MyTime int

Note: FM3 now optionally creates a utility MSSQL Stored Procedure (ds_ConvertClarionDateTime) for converting your Clarion date time integer values to a valid mssql datatype! This will benefit other applications using your data, by allowing them to retrieve the datetime datatype version of your data. Click here for more info.

 Option 4: Use a STRING or CSTRING datatype.
Hmm, sounds like a reasonable suggestion? Let's think about it. For indexing purposes you are forced to use a "yyyymmdd" and "hhmmss" format (you could of course use "-" or ":" separators). No problem, but if you need to do calculations, you'll have to deformat all the strings first - so, maybe not such a big deal, but remember any other programs using the data will also have to deformat it for their use, and they don't necessarily have the blessing of a DEFORMAT function! It also uses more space than LONGs - 8 bytes for date and 6 bytes for time (and more if you use the separators) instead of 4 bytes each!

Code example:

CLARION:
  MyDate string(8) ! or cstring(9)
  MyTime string(6) ! or cstring(7)

SQL: (mssql)
  MyDate char(8) /* or varchar(8) */
  MyTime char(6) /* or varchar(6) */

Memos

Did You Know?

Memos are NOT directly supported in Clarion's SQL drivers.

What to do:

Either:

Use the ForceSQLDataType = Text field user option (if the backend you are using supports the text character or equivalent, which is an equivalent for a MEMO).

Or:

    Convert all your MEMOs to STRINGs or CSTRINGs.

Reals

Did You Know?

The native MSSQL driver does not directly support the REAL datatype.

What to do:

Leave it as REAL. For Oracle, change to SREAL.

If you import a float from MSSQL to the dct, it generates a Clarion REAL. For this reason, FM3 handles the creation of a float datatype in MSSQL.

Arrays (Dims)

Did you know?

The native SQL drivers do not directly support the DIMs.

What to do:

If you're converting from a DIM supported file driver, then leave the DIM fields as is, and follow the recommendation below.
Once you have selected a SQL driver, you are not permitted to create DIM fields in the dictionary. However, if you change a TPS structure to SQL, the DIM entries are dimmed, and are in fact generated in the structure. We are currently working on a utility to edit your dictionary into a structure that works for SQL and DIM. This way the DIMs remain in your dictionary where they should be, and you have a working structure for both TPS and SQL apps! The idea is that your DIM fields are overed over a group of values. FM3 handles this structure. Bulk Dictionary Editor (a utility that ships with FM3 will save you the work of doing this manually).

Code example:

CLARION:
  MyDim_Group group
    MyDim_1   string(20)
    MyDim_2   string(20)
    MyDim_3   string(20)
  MyDim string(20),dim(3),over(MyDim_Group)

SQL:
  MyDim_1 char(20)  
  MyDim_2 char(20)  
  MyDim_3 char(20)  

Dynamic and Static Indexes

Did you know?

The Clarion native SQL drivers do not support Dynamic and Static Indexes.

What to do:

Change them to keys, or delete them.
If you have any dynamic or static indexes defined in your dictionary, you will need to delete them, or change them to keys.

Oracle DataType Matching

Did you know?

Clarion Datatypes do not match Oracle Datatypes directly.

What to do:

Follow the advice and recommendation below.
This may be obvious for most SQL datatypes, but in Oracle we have found it to be significantly different. For example, if you import an oracle table into your dictionary, you may get a lot of PDECIMAL fields you weren't expecting. This is because, depending on who is master, the datatype must be "big enough" for the other end! ie. The max value contained in a Number(3) can be 999, but that's to big for a BYTE which can has a max of 255, so a SHORT is declared. But, going the other way around, the max value of a SHORT is 32,767 which is too big for a number(3), so Number(5) is created! With FM3, we needed a rule, so we don't go around in circles converting datatypes endlessly! We decided that in FM3's case, the Dictionary is the master, and therefore the backend must be "big enough" to handle any data passed from the frontend. Here a couple of tables showing the import and create matches:

Table import from Oracle:
  Number(1) byte  
  Number(2) byte  
  Number(3) short  
  Number(4) short  
  Number(5) long  
  Number(6) long  
  Number(7) long  
  Number(8) long  
  Number(9) long  
  Number(10) pdecimal(11)  
  Number(11) pdecimal(11)  
  Number(12) pdecimal(13)  

FM3's creation to Oracle:
  byte number(3)  
  short number(5)  
  long number(10)  
  pdecimal(x) number(x)  
  pdecimal(x,y) number(x,y)  

Large String Data (greater than record or datatype limit)

Did you know?

Most SQL databases have a record size limit. In some circumstances, this can be changed. Please see your SQL Documentation.

What to do:

Follow the advice and recommendation below.
As with Clarion, large data is not stored within the record. The drivers do not support Memos, but FM3 will automatically create TEXT fields in MSSQL and CLOB fields in ORACLE to handle data larger than their respective record size limits. Please note, you will need to use STRINGs or CSTRINGs in the Clarion definition. At the moment FM3 does not take the whole record size into account. It will only apply TEXT and CLOB to individual STRINGs or CSTRINGs greater than 8k and 4k respectively.

Code example:

CLARION:
  MyLargeString cstring(10000)  

SQL:
  MyLargeString text (mssql)
  MyLargeString clob (oracle)
 

MSSQL - UniqueIdentifier

Did you know?

FM3 supports the MSSQL datatype - uniqueidentifier. SQL Server does not allow this field to be renamed (after it is created) - so you need to name this field correctly the first time that it is added to your dictionary.

What to do:

1. Your field must be a cstring 37 in your dictionary.
2. You need to enter the following in your user options for the ROWGUID field:

  ForceSQLDataType uniqueidentifier ROWGUIDCOL NOT NULL DEFAULT NewID()  
 
In theory you can allow nulls in a ROWGUID field, but invariably you would want to make this part of a constraint (normally primary) of the table, in which case you will not be permitted to use NULL values. If you would like to allow NULLs in the ROWGUID, then you can enter the following instead:
 
  ForceSQLDataType uniqueidentifier NULL ROWGUIDCOL DEFAULT NewID()  

3. You need to add the | READONLY attribute to the field's external name in the dictionary. If you do not do this, you will get a 22005 error when inserting a record into the SQL table.

NOTE: You must use a fully qualified external name as well as the READONLY attribute. You cannot simply add the | READONLY attribute to the external name field by itself. This will result in an error 47 when trying to use the file. You will then by unable to rename the ROWGUID field, as a ROWGUID field is not permitted to be altered.

Image and Text types vs Binary data

 In TPS files, all string data is stored as binary data. Each byte can contain any value from 0 to 255. In SQL though, all datatypes can be catagorized into either binary or text type data types. This means that strings can be correlated to chars 95% of the time, as they will contain valid text data (like addresses, names, descriptions, etc). However, in flat-files, strings can also be used to contain binary data (non-printable characters) – which makes them non-compatible with text based data types. Where strings are used in TPS files for storing binary data, these fields must be converted to binary based variable type in order to allow the SQL backend to store this data correctly. 

You need to identify each variable that contains binary data and force the data type to convert to binary. On the Field User Options for those fields, enter: 

ForceSQLDataType                         binary 

A Caveat with this approach: Clarion does not handle binary data in browses very well. An alternative approach to this (depending on your backend - PostgreSQL supports this) - is to use a larger stringsize in your dictionary, because PostgreSQL will store non-printable characters in a text datatype using more than one byte (up to 3 bytes for some characters). If you have a string(20) in your dictionary, then restrict the data entry to 20, bump the size up to 60 and this will be a better working solution in PostgreSQL.

Note: GUIDs will be handled later on – so leave these as they are at this stage.

Field Management (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)

The standard behaviour of FM3 follows the Clarion default which implies you can have fields in your SQL tables that don't exist in the dicitonary. Therefore, by default FM3 does not remove any fields and keys. This ensures no valuable data is lost. If you would like FM3 to ensure the backend matches your dictionary (ie, the Dictionary is the Master of the fields), use the DctMasterFields user option. 

This is normally not necessary (with FM3), as your file will not error 47 if there are extra fields or fields with longer dimensions (like if you change a string(200) to a string(100)) - but some folks like to keep it this way. The downside with this is that if other parties use the database (or the clients build in server side triggers for reporting or whatever) then those fields will be used, and when you no longer need those fields and delete them from your dct, then FM3 will delete them - making other applications not work (because the fields have disappeared).

The difference with SQL as apposed to Topspeed,  is that in Topspeed your file structure in your dct had to match the file structure in the db otherwise Error47. Extra fields are a no-no, different length fields, etc. But this rule falls away with SQL as you can have fields on the backend that aren't in your dct and your program will happily open them without knowing the difference (as to whether they are there are not). The question you should be asking is Why do I want DctMasterFields on, rather than why do I want it off. Obviously you need the fields in the backend that are declared in your dictionary.

There are Dictionary, File and Field level user options available. They are DctMasterFields for dictionary and file level, and DctMasterField at field level. This simply means "The Dictionary is Master of the Field(s)".

  Property Value
  DctMasterFields 1

This setting is overridden at each level. In other words, this option set at field level overrides the file level option, which in turn overrides the Dictionary level option. So, if for example you set a certain file with this option on, you can then override that setting for a specific field by setting the field level option to 0. You must also be aware though, that if you add Key level options, and the key is deleted in due course, FM3 will not know what it's setting may have been, and default to the file or dct level setting to handle the management thereof.

For more information on how to use User Options in FM3, see the Dictionary User Option Reference.

Note: Even if you have set the DctMasterFields, FM3 will only do structure changes on the datatables if there is an error opening the tables. This means that if other fields are added to the backend, these won't be deleted, unless FM3 detects an error. If you would like to enforce a structure change, then on the FM3 connect window (at runtime), you can check the Force FM3 Full Data Structure Comparison checkbox.

Key Management (essential reading when converting from TPS to SQL)

Keys in your Clarion dictionary are not necessarily all vital indexes on your SQL Backend. The Clarion docs state that for SQL, it is not vital for your keys to match exactly. Often Clarion programmers will create keys for sorting purposes etc, which are not necessary as indexes on the SQL Backend. In fact, for optimal SQL performance, it's better not to create all the indexes. Most SQL Tools have a utility, or an automatic Index Optimising Wizard. In MsSQL for example, there is the Index Tuning Wizard. This typically studies the statements the server receives and suggests the indexes needed to optimise the database based on the queries.

For this reason, FM3 does not by default create all the keys as indexes on your SQL backend. Here's what it does. It creates all Primary Keys on the backend, as this is both advised and essential. It will also then create Unique Constraints on the backend based on your Unique keys in the dictionary. Just as it won't create any other keys, it will also not manage or drop any of the other keys declared in your dictionary. You may have keys in your dictionary that are never defined on the backend. You may also have indexes on the backend that are never defined as keys in your dictionary.

Because File Manager 3 is an automatic database management tool however, we have added functionality to optionally create and manage certain, or all of the keys you define in your dictionary. We use the ever common User Option as an interface for this. We have Dictionary, File, and Key level user options available. They are DctMasterKeys for dictionary and file level, and DctMasterKey at key level. This simply means "The Dictionary is Master of the Keys".

  Property Value
  DCTMasterKeys 1

This setting is overridden at each level. In other words, this option set at key level overrides the file level option, which in turn overrides the Dictionary level option. So, if for example you set a certain file with this option on, you can then override that setting for a specific key by setting the key level option to 0. You must also be aware though, that if you add Key level options, and the key is deleted in due course, FM3 will not know what it's setting may have been, and default to the file or dct level setting to handle the management thereof.

Currently still functional, but phasing out to obsolete is the CreateKey User Option. This is an exact synonym for DCTMasterKeys.

For more information on how to use User Options in FM3, see the Dictionary User Option Reference.

Note: Even if you have set the DCTMasterKeys, FM3 will only do structure changes on the datatables if there is an error opening the tables. This means that if other keys are added to the backend, these won't be deleted, unless FM3 detects an error. If you would like to enforce a structure change, then on the FM3 connect window (at runtime), you can check the Force FM3 Full Data Structure Comparison checkbox.

Note: For MSSQL backends - there is an issue with MSSQL2000, whereby it struggles to create statistics on large table structures (of a few hundred columns/fields). In this case, FM3 could struggle to create indices on the backend, which will result in only primary and unique keys being created (instead of all the indices, if DCTMasterKeys is set). Here's a note from Developer.* Blogs:

The scenario is that you have a gigantic SQL Server 2000 table--gigantic not necessarily because it has a lot of rows, but gigantic because it has a ton of columns. I've inherited a couple tables like this on different projects, tables with two or three hundred columns. (Don't look at me, I didn't create these tables.)

It's not uncommon to need to add a new index to these kinds of ridiculous tables to cover a query. So you go to try and add your new index and you get an error like this:

Cannot create more than 249 nonclustered indices or column statistics on one table.

You may be frustrated by this initially because you know for a fact that there are not 249 indices on this table (or maybe you do...but you've got bigger problems in that case). What's really blocking you, though, are not too many indices, but too many auto-computed statistics, which are like temporary indices created by SQL Server for columns that don't have indices. What you have to do to add your new index is get rid of one of these auto statistics. Here's how to do that:

For some reason, the "Manage Statistics" dialog box is in SQL Query Analyzer, not Enterprise Manager. Go to the Tools menu in Query Analyzer and choose Manage Statistics. Choose the database and the table, then scroll down to select a "statistic" from the list for a column you don't care about (that is, one that is seldom or never used in a WHERE clause). Use the Delete button to delete it.

Now try adding your new index again. It should work.

Note: one step in the above instructions that I may have skipped is to go to the Properties dialog for the database in Enterprise Manager and turn off Auto Compute Statistics and Auto Create Statistics. When I solved this for myself, I had turned these off, and then I turned them back on after I deleted a statistic and added the new index.

Solution for SQL Server Cannot create more than N nonclustered indices Error developer. Blogs

Note: PostgreSQL users, check out the section: PostgreSQL - Decrementing Indices

Connect to the SQL backend

Introduction

In terms of FM3, the most vital part of your entire application is the Connection procedure. This is where your application makes it's first connection to the SQL backend, and allows FM3 to perform it's initialisation process, which includes collecting some vital information for FM3's File Management responsibilities. The Connect procedure happens really early on in your program, and it is important that no upgradable files are opened before or during this procedure. FM3 therefore uses it's own system file to connect to the backend at this point. You can use one the template utility to import this procedure into your application.

Connection Issues

Advanced Topics on Customisation of the Connect window

The purpose of the Connection process is to connect to a SQL Backend. While the user has security roles and privileges assigned by a SQL Admoninstrator, this is _not_ program level security. It should not necessarily be used as your program user login.

Let me explain further... In FM3's case, it is vital that the SQL user used for the program has at least dbowner rights. This allows some administrative tasks to be performed, which, let's face it, FM3 is in the business of doing. You don't necessarily want your program user to have that level of control himself. Therefore, it is possibly useful to 'hide the connection info' from the user, and rather only let him log in to the program with his assigned username and password. This is done using SecWin for example.

Of course, if you don't need that level of Program security, then by all means, prompt for the Connection info. This obviously also gives the flexibility of connecting to any valid supported database at runtime.

Ok, so how then does FM3's new Control Template allow me to accomplish all this? Firstly, there are embed points in all the right places, so this is a good start. It is however important to understand each step of FM3's Connect Process, and ensure that if any customizations are done, that FM3 still connects effortlessly, and collects the necessary information needed for File Management.

One thing which many will ask, is how can I store the info in a different file... ie, not an INI file! Well, that is a good question, and it is fairly obvious that an INI file does not hold any encryption or protection from being read. Saving Connection info in there is not always the best choice. Although, there may be many apps that can live with that. Don't forget, that you don't have to make it obvious to anyone else where the info is stored. You can tell FM3 on the local extension to use woods.dat for example! Ok, I just picked an arbitrary name out of the sky for that one, but you get the drift. woods.dat is not obviously an ini file. Nor is it obvious that is stores Connection info.

Anyway, the fact is, it is still plain text, and not good enough for all scenarios, so... option two is this... write your own 'encryption / decryption code' and call it from the embed points of the put and get ini routines. So someone finds your ini file which says Password=f739kss823KSJLC((&FDLA@#%K ... and that won't be much help to them.

The next option is to write to the registry. You can code this yourself, but adding code to the embed points of the get and put INI settings routines in the connect procedure. Remember to either EXIT before the FM3 generated code is executed, or omit() the FM3 generated code for that routine.

Option 4 is not recommended, but if you understand the limitations, and the other options, or combination of options are not good enough for you, then you can do the following. If you want to use an encrypted tps file to store your settings, you must understand that this TPS file can never be upgraded by FM3. The Connect procedure happens before the rest of FM3's initialization code, and therefore is not yet manageable. If you change the structure, you're on your own! In other words, if you use this approach, which is "not recommended", and you send us a support email complaining of an error 47, we will send you a link to this very paragraph! And the solution is... you'll have to convert it yourself. Now hopefully, this will be a very rare occurrence, because a file holding this kind of info, should not hold much more than that, and should rarely need to be upgraded.
So, now that everyone understands, here is how you do it. In the get and put ini routines, use omit() around the FM3 generated code, and then add your own file handling. Alternatively, add your code in the first embed point of the routine, and remember to exit afterwards.

Please understand that it is not always necessary to make things more complicated than they are, and that this control template, and amount of generated code means your program works as is! ie, setup and support should drop to a minimum! If you make changes, be sure you understand what is going on, and don't try to omit or workaround any of FM3's code, unless absolutely necessary.

The next issue which is also fairly common, is when using TPS and SQL files in your program, is it absolutely necessary to call the Connect Procedure? Quite simply, the answer is yes. This does not mean you have to prompt for user input... the is an Auto Logon switch, and you can programmatically set the necessary connection variables. If you don't run the Connect proc, then your program could continue to manage TPS files, but would bomb out when the SQL files are accessed. FM3 initialization code must happen at program startup. If you are brave, and wish to block any SQL files being opened if Connection did not take place, then that's up to you to program.

This new template is fully Multi-Proj compatible, and works very nicely with Multi-Proj's Driver Substitution. I will be adding a Multi-Proj / FM3 example in the next little while for those who would like to see how powerful the combination is!

Converting to SQL

Introduction

If you are not familiar with FM2 or FM3, please tryout the example apps before attempting a SQL conversion. Familiarise yourself with FM2's AutoUP feature by trying out the Jump Start example for TPS. Once familiar with AutoUP, follow these simple instructions for converting to SQL.

Before you start

Basic Rule

Always apply FM2/3 to your flat-file application, before attempting a conversion to SQL.

If you have not had FM2/3 previously installed and applied to your program, then follow the steps below.

Before changing your dictionary, follow the steps laid out in the Adding FM3 to your Application section.
Compile and run your TPS driven FM3 enabled program.
Now the UPG.tps file exists, containing valid file structures for each file.
Send out this update to all your clients to allow each client to build a upg.tps file.

If you have already been using FM2/3 in your application, or have completed the steps above, then a upg.tps file should already exist, and you can follow these instructions.

Make your dictionary SQL compliant (see the Clarion / SQL Fundamentals and SQL Data Types sections of this document). Compile and run your application (you will need to ship this exe to your clients, so that the TPS data is at the latest version before upgrading to SQL).

Either:

Generally the best approach is to use Multi-Proj's driver substitution feature to use the same application and dictionary - with multiple exe outputs to support different database types. In this way you can keep supporting your TPS application without leaving your TPS clients in the cold.

Or:

Alternatively, in the Dictionary editor, change the driver to the relevant SQL driver - or you can use the Bulk Dictionary Editor (BDE) to change the whole dictionary over.
Set the Owner attribute with either your connection string, or a string variable. Read about SQL Owner Strings.
Set the Full Path Name for SQL (eg: owner.myfilename). Read about SQL TableNames.
On the Options tab, add the string user option OldName.
Increase the Version Number (if using BDE - this will be done automatically)

Continued for both options:

If your TPS file was encrypted with an owner string, then you need to use the OldOwner user option to migrate the data to the SQL backend

If you have had FM2 applied, follow these steps to Convert to FM3.
On the Global Extension, select the SQL driver, and leave the the previously used driver(s) also checked.
Run the 'Import the SQL Connect procedure' template utility. You'll need to set the Global Owner variable in the SQL_Connect window's "Connect To SQL Backend" Control Template prompts. To do this, double click on the SQL_Connect window and click on the "Connect To SQL Backend" control template to bring up the prompts and enter the Global Owner variable in the field provided on the General tab.
In your FM3 global extension template, on the Auto Up tab, set the "SQL Connect procedure" to 'SQL_Connect' (i.e. the new procedure that the template utility just created).
Compile and run your application.

Miscellaneous Topics

SQL Owners

Driver SQL Owner string Example
MSSQL Server, DatabaseName, UserName, Password CRUNCHIE, CapeSoftDB, Scott, Tiger
SQL Express Machine\Server, DatabaseName, UserName, Password CRUNCHIE\CRUNCHIE, CapeSoftDB, Scott, Tiger
Oracle UserName/Password@Protocol:DatabaseName Scott/Tiger@2:CapeSoftDB
  UserName@Protocol:DatabaseName,Password Scott@2:CapeSoftDB,Tiger
MySQL DSN, UserName, Password (See DSN-less Connections below) MyDSN,Scott,Tiger
Firebird DSN, USERNAME, Password (See DSN-less Connections below) MyDSN,SCOTT,Tiger (note UPPERCASE)
Sybase/ ASA DatabaseName,UserName,Password;ENG=Server;tcpip={host=111.222.333.444:5555} CapeSoftDB,Scott,Tiger;ENG=CapeSoftDB;TCPIP={host=127.0.0.1:49152}
PostgreSQL DSN, UserName, Password (See DSN-less Connections below) MyDSN,Scott,Tiger

SQL TableNames

Driver Table name Example
MsSQL TableOwner.TableName dbo.Customers
Oracle UserName.TableName Scott.Customers
Oracle XPress (10g) TableName Customers
MySQL DatabaseName.TableName CapeSoftDB.Customers
Firebird TABLENAME  (Case-sensitive - UPPERCASE recommended) CUSTOMERS
Sybase / ASA UserName.TableName Scott.Customers
PostgreSQL SchemaName.TableName public.customers

Check out the HotTips section for more Database specific topics.

ODBC

How to set up an ODBC Data Source Name (DSN)

This section will show you how to set up a Data Source Name for your ODBC connections. It also gives examples of a DSN-less connection.

The exact steps may vary slightly between operating systems.

1. Start > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Administrative Tools. (2K, XP, 2003, Vista)
3. Double click on ODBC Data Sources.
4. Select the System tab.


5. Click on Add.
6. Select the driver you wish to use, and click Finish.
7. Type in a descriptive name eg: 'MyApp_dsn' , and follow the prompts for setting up your driver's DSN.
This name can now be used as your connection string.

How to set up an DSN-less Connections (DriverConnect)

A DSN-less connection does not require the above steps, but rather a connection string, semi-colon separated with the driver and connection details:

Here are 2 examples:

DRIVER=MySQL ODBC 3.51 Driver;SERVER=MyServer;USER=MyUserName;PASSWORD=MyPassword;DATABASE=MyDB;

DRIVER=SQL Server;SERVER=SQLBox;UID=Bill;PWD=micro$oft;DATABASE=Northwind;WSID=BillsWorkStation;APP=Microsoft Open Database Connectivity;

Oracle TableSpaces

File Manager 3 now supports the creation of tables into a designated Oracle TableSpace. It is advised that you create this TableSpace manually before allowing FM3 to create the tables. This ensures your full control of the TableSpace definition. That said though, FM3 will create the TableSpace for you if it does not exist. To use this feature, we've added String User Option which can be set at File or Dictionary level. This user option takes the form of a comma separated string as TableSpaceName, TableSpaceDataFile, TableSpaceSize. The TableSpaceDataFile and TableSpaceSize parameters are optional, but FM3 defaults these to the default Oracle Data Folder, and 50M size.

TableSpace MyTableSpace,C:\Oracle\OraData\MyTableSpace\MyTableSpace.ora,100M

Here is an example of the code generated by FM3 to create the TableSpace:

Create TableSpace "MyTableSpace"
Logging
Datafile 'MyTableSpace.dbf'
Size 50M
Extent Management Local


Please note that the File definition overrides the Dictionary setting. ie If you have a dictionary level TableSpace option set, and you have a file level TableSpace option, the file level user option will be used for that file.

Please note too, that the directory for the datafile setting must exist!

We have also added the ability to create your indexes and keys in a separate TableSpace. This is done in much the same way as the TableSpace option, although this can be set at Key, File and Dictionary level. Again, the Key user option has higher priority than the file, which has higher priority over the dictionary level user option.

IndexSpace MyTableSpace,C:\Oracle\OraData\MyIndexSpace\MyIndexSpace.ora,100M

Accessing Multiple Databases in one program at the same time

File Manager 3 can only manage one database at a time. (Managing in this context refers to upgrading files etc.)

In other words, if your program connects to database A, then FM3 will only upgrade the tables on that database.
While FM3 is connected to database A, your program will still be able to access other databases in the normal way.
The Owner of the FM3 table (eg: gMsSqlFile) dictates which database will be managed. Thus in order to manage a second database, you must restart the program, setting the owner appropriately.

If you would like to connect to another SQL database simultaneously, then you will need to suppress the FM3 conversion for those specific tables (this excludes flat files like topspeed and dat files, etc).  Click here to find out more information on how to do this.

Hot Tips

General SQL

MSSQL

Firebird

PostgreSQL

General SQL

SQL Backend Case-Sensitivity

FM3 Supports both Case-Sensitive, and Case-Insensitive SQL Backends. But, for Clarion 5, FM3 assumes the backend is case-insensitive (MSSQL Default Install). Clarion 5 only supports a Case-Insensitive backend.

Converting TPS Zero and Blank data to NULL in your SQL database

TPS does not store true NULL values. Numeric data is stored as zero, and empty character data is blank (spaces). In order to use the functionality of NULL in a SQL backend, we have implemented a template option to set your Zero or Blank data to NULL in the backend during conversion. You will find this on the new SQL Advanced tab on the Global Extension, default off. When off, FM3 converts Zero data to zero data and blank data to blank data (spaces) in your sql backend (not null).

You can now use this option at all levels - Template / Dictionary level, File level, Field level. Just the ZeroNull to the User Options tab in the dictionary:

ZeroNull 1

ZeroNull can be set to 1 (true) or 0 (false). Please note that a Field User Option overrides a File User Option for that field, and File level ZeroNull overrides a Template / Dictionary level option for that particular file.

Are you not sure whether you need to use NULLs or not? Check out this article: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/mcoles/fourrulesfornulls.asp

MSSQL

Utility Stored Procedures

The first in this section is a MSSQL Stored Procedure for returning Clarion date and time integer values in MSSQL's datetime datatype. For example, it is in many ways nicer to store dates and times as a Clarion long (eg: 73838 = Feb 25, 2003 and 5400001 = 15:00), as it makes keys and mathematical calculations much easier. But, this data would be useless to any non-Clarion program, unless converted to meaningful data. This is what ds_ConvertClarionDateTime does. It takes 2 input parameters, 1 output parameter, and a return status. You can optionally convert on a date value or time value, but must pass a value of 0 (zero) into the "unwanted" parameter.

Example: (Calling from SQL Query Analyser)

declare @rs int              -- return status
declare @cd int              -- clarion date - can be a field in a table
declare @ct int              -- clarion time - can be a field in a table
declare @sdt datetime        -- sql datetime
set @cd = 73842              -- March 1, 2003 - 0 if "blank"
set @ct = 5400001            -- 15:00 - 0 if "blank"
exec @rs = ds_ConvertClarionDateTime @cd,@ct,@sdt output
if @rs = -1                  -- Both date and time parameters are zero
  print 'Zero Date and Time!'
if @rs = 1                   -- Integer value is greater than valid clarion date
  print 'Invalid Clarion Date!'
if @rs = 2                   -- Integer value is greater than valid clarion time
  print 'Invalid Clarion Time!'
select @sdt as 'Returned DateTime'
 

MSSQL: Importing and Exporting MDF and LDF files

Importing a MSSQL database from an LDF and MDF file:

  1. Open the SQL Management Studio.

  2. Right-click 'Databases' and select 'Attach' from the drop down menu.

  3. Click Add and locate the MDF file that contains the database structures.

  4. Click OK - if there is an error locating the corresponding LDF file, then use the ellipses button corresponding to the LDF file to locate the correct LDF file.

Exporting an MSSQL database to an LDF and MDF file:

If you're struggling with an aspect of FM3 - where FM3 is not maintaining your database correctly, then we could request a database dump -  which consists of an MDF file and an LDF file, together with your dictionary and the UPG.tps file that corresponds with that dump. This is how it's done:

  1. Open the SQL Management Studio.

  2. Right-click on the Database that requires exporting and select Properties.

  3. On the Files Properties window make a note of the mdf and ldf files used for the database.

  4. Return to the main window - Right-click the database and select detach from the Tasks menu.

  5. The files that you need to send are the mdf and ldf files indicated in step 3.

Connecting to your MSSQL Server using a non-Standard port

You cannot do this directly using the Clarion MSSQL Driver, but you can do this by creating an alias in the MSSQL Client manager. If you want to create a registry entry in your app you can do with:

PUTREG(REG_LOCAL_MACHINE,'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\Client\ConnectTo','MyServer','DBMSSOCN,211.68.105.49,2433')

and then you can use the next owner attribute,

'MyServer,<database>,<uid>,<pwd><;LANGUAGE=language><;APP=name><;WSID=name>'

What FM3 does not support in MSSQL

Firebird

Note: You cannot use Firebird embedded - because the embedded version requires the use of the fbclient.dll api  (not the ODBC driver). FM3 does not support the fbclient.dll api driver.

Firebird Tips

These notes were created using Firebird v1.5.2 CR1 (which is Firebird version 1.5.2.4634).

Downloading Firebird

There are two websites for the Firebird downloads, but the first is more useful:

You’ll need to download and install three items:

SYSDBA User & Password

The default username and password is:

Username: SYSDBA

Password: masterkey 

Creating Your Firebird Database

FM3 requires that you have already created a (blank) database in your SQL backend. (FM3 will create all the tables and keys* for you, you just need to create the database). 

* Not all keys are created by FM3, just the ones it needs, but you can override this. 

Make sure Firebird is running (you can start it from your Control Panel). 

Using IB Expert create a database such as the one below (Database | Create Database): 

  

Note: You must use Dialect 3.
Note: If you are running firebird as a service, then the file path must be accessible to the service.

After creating the database (or if you have already created it), you can view the database, with the following registration information:

You’ll then see your Database listed in the IB Expert database list. If you double click on it, you’ll see the database properties:

 

GDS32.dll

Without this DLL your Firebird applications won’t work. After installation you should find it in your Windows\System32 folder. It’s probably worth shipping a copy of this DLL with your application. 

Key Limitations in Size

Firebird Indices (keys) have a limit of 254 characters, depending on the character set, so it may be less. You may have to shorten some of your keys or fields in order for Firebird tables to be made. 

Key Sort Orders

Each Firebird Index can only contain either all ascending or all descending Key Sort Orders.

Key Limitations in Duplication

Firebird doesn’t like have two unique Indices with the same fields in them. For example the following are not allowed:

DateKey: Date, Share
ShareKey: Share, Date

You’ll need to either add or remove fields from the keys or make one of the keys non-unique. 

Connecting to a remote Firebird Database (in an FM3 enabled application):

In the Connect window:

 

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL - Binary Strings

The char and varchar character types in Postgres are quite rigorous in the use of non-characters used. In Clarion, a string is basically a binary collection of ASCII bytes - which can normally be equated to a char type in Postgres because of the nature of data stored in strings (addresses, names, comments, etc). However, because of the potential that Clarion possesses in the Topspeed driver to store non-printable characters (or binary characters) in strings, this can mean that equating a string to a char in Postgres can have adverse effects - i.e. your TPS data string will not be converted into the Postgres database. This is particularly prevelant in GUIDs (used with Capesoft's Replicate) which will mostly contain binary data.

There're a few ways of working around this issue:

  1. Use the ds_SetMakeGUIDsBinary(1) function before the FM3 init code runs. This will basically ensure that all GUIDs in all your tables will be created as type bytea (or the equivalent of a binary string in Clarion) - without making any changes to your dictionary. This will cater for the use of GUIDs in your dictionary. You only need this for existing applications that used Replicate v2.10 or less at any stage. Applications that only started using Replicate at Replicate version 2.11 or above, are generated with GUIDs that are legal text characters.

  2. Use the | BINARY dictionary switch in the external name (see the dictonary help on External name options) to inform FM3 that this is a binary string and should be created as 'bytea' on the backend, as apposed to the default char type. This will cater for non-GUID fields