G'day

Here's a newbie question from an old hand...

I've done very little with D3/NT previously. All the real work seems to
be done on *nix. Anyway. Be that as it may...

I'm writing some software that will use a large static data file. The
VME I have is way too small for it so I am getting into creating and
using an fsi file for the first time. The question is : How do I do it?
;-)

I've used the File Manager to create a domain and created a table
within it. Not sure I've done it right so far - kind of feeling my way
here. I can't seem to find any reference to it in the vme though.
Doesn't the File Manager talk to the vme? I'd have expected a file
created using the File Manager to have created some kind of entry in
the MDS - or something.

Help.

Mike.

Hi Mike,

it has been a while since I used D3/NT, and I never used the File
Manager, because it didn't seem to work very well in those days.
You had to shut down and restart D3 every time you did something to it
in Windoze with the File Manager, and I don't know if RD has fixed that yet.
Not very good if you work on a production system ;-(.
I used to create FSI accounts using the create-account verb in dm by
adding fsi: to the account name (i.e. create-account fsi:test).
The account name in this case wwould still be test and you can create
files within that account and create Q-pointers the same way as you do
in normal accounts.

Mecki


Mike Preece wrote:

Mike,

Mecki is right. I believe any command that works on the VME
will also work on the FSI - with a few exceptions.

To create an account

CREATE-ACCOUNT FSI:WHATEVER

To save an account

ACCOUNT-SAVE FSI:WHATEVER

When you do a full file save, the FSI accounts are saved automatically.

When you want to restore an FSI account,

ACCOUNT-RESTORE FSI:WHATEVER

What you do lose are some verbs having to do with resizes. I don't
remember all of the verbs in question since I hardly use them anymore,
but one is HASH-TEST which would allow you to determine if the
new hash was proper. For resizing, at the Windows level, there is
a program that helps you with the new form of file-resizing - designed
for Windows NT servers. Look around through your command folder
for D3 and it should probably leap out at you.

If you are not doing so, I suggest that you make a backup nightly to
a pseudo floppy. I generally make one per night and I call it by the
day name, Monday, Tuesday, etc. That way, I overwrite them each
week with new data. And when I come in on Wednesday and need
to restore something from backup, I can just t-select Tuesday and
restore the file.

Larry Hazel
"Mecki" <meckif (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

From what I have seen, you either create the account in the FSI or VME and
all files for that account are in that area. I do not think you can have an
account in the VME with one file in the FSI. As has been said elsewhere, to
create an account in the FSI do CREATE-ACCOUNT FSI:ACCOUNTNAME.


Mike Preece <michael (AT) preece (DOT) net> wrote

Hi
The trick that works for setting up on another drive ( no doubt there are
others ) say your D3 is on D: and you want archives on E:.
Goto the D3 Windows program and open Databases.
Right Click on Databases
Create New
Enter New Name
Leave Server Blank
Click on ... for the path
Ignore the existing items and enter a Variable Name this opens the
value field
in the value field enter the true path
SET
This will normally setup the appropriate Q pointer in the MDS. However if
it does not then set the qpointer as follows
ED MDS NEWACCOUNTNAME
1 QS
2 FSI:NEWACCOUNTNAME

you can now use the account.
Regards
Peter McMurray

"Mike Preece" <michael (AT) preece (DOT) net> wrote

Hi
My clumsy fingers sent this to Homer instead of the group. Sorry mate.
Hi
A word of warning FSI files are not automatically saved. They are saved on
the same basis as VME accounts, that is the S in attribute 1 so QS will be
saved Q will not.
You may get into strife trying to create FSI accounts on another drive as it
gets quite pernickety and muddles up the Unix slash with the NT backslash.
I will look it up and repost, being the holidays my D3 is off at the moment.
However it does work extremely well. In fact my advice is to dump all VME
accounts and go to FSI only, except HELP, unfortunately that uses UPDATE
which is undoubtedly the worst idea Dick ever had.
To address an account that has not shown up in the MDS simply edit a Q
pointer into the MDS remembering that QS will be saved and Q will not plus
you get all the built in safety protection of NT with an FSI account.
regards
Peter McMurray

"Homer L. Hazel" <hNoOmerlhANTI (AT) SPAMcox (DOT) net> wrote

Excalibur wrote:

Well - it turns out this thread wouldn't exist if it wasn't for my own
clumsy fingers. Turns out everything was as simple as everyone here has
been kind enough to describe. The problem was I had made a typo and,
because it was in my tcl-stack, I kept using it and failing to find
what I was looking for - naturally. Geez I can be an eejit at times.
Sorry to trouble you all.

Having got everything working I have to say I am mightily impressed
with the difference it makes dealing with files in the fsi compared to
in the vme. Quite startling. I'm a happy chappie now.

Cheers,
Mike.

Sorry mate.

Not really in reponse to anything but...

It seems that when you resize an fsi file it eats your ovf frames -
until you save/restore. Am I right?

Mike.

Mike Preece wrote: