I'm having a problem with autoentered serial numbers. The database
is multi user, hosted on FMS7. Users create new contact records by
clicking a button, which runs a script to create a new records in the
contacts table. Out of ~550 records, I've found two pairs of records
with duplicate serial numbers. The users can't edit the serial
numbers; it looks like FileMaker is assigning them the same serial
number if they're created at the same time.
Has anybody seen this with 7 before? For now, I've put in a random
delay before creating a record...

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In article <020920050832393304%BrianHall (AT) nospam (DOT) pobox.com>,
BrianHall (AT) nospam (DOT) pobox.com says...
I've never seen it or even heard of it EVER in all the time I worked
with ANY version of Filemaker.

I've even done concurrency tests. (Setting up multiple PCs on a looping
script that just created piles of records). And its never happened. (And
I let it run 10s of thousands of record.) (I was testing something else,
but it relied on unique serial numbers.)

Are you *sure* there is no other possible cause.

If it really is happening than I'd suspect some sort of database
corruption, not a defect in the filemaker software itself.

But I'd be much more inclined to think that its buggy script that's
applying a setfield where it shouldn't or something. Or perhaps goofups
during an import?

That shouldn't make any difference. The odds of two users pushing 'new'
at the same time are identical to the odds of two users pushing 'new' at
a ramdomized interval. Either way sooner or later the new record
commands will arrive at the server 'at the same time'.

Except that there is no such thing as 'as the same time'. Filemaker
sequences new record requests. One must happen before the next.

A couple questions/suggestions:

1) Are the 'duped' records adjacent in the database?
2) Add a timestamp to the table so that you can see what time they were
created if it happens again.
3) Try to force it to reproduce it. (mulitple computers looping the new
record script...) If you can make it happen that will help immensely to
diagnose it.
4) Add a 2nd independant autoenter serial. See if future 'duped' records
are duping both.

-regards,
Dave

We run a filemaker 6 database and have run our accounts purchase and
sales invoice ledger with it since Feb 2002.

We have seen this once.

two records adjacent to each other both with the same reference number,
but interestingly with the next number not taken.

i.e

12456
12456
12458

I can only assume that tis is two absolutely simulataneous key clicks.
we have 4 users.

David

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