Robelle Tech: What detail datasets have the bad data?

December 2002

Get the most out of your Robelle Tools

What detail datasets have the bad data?

By Bob Green

You know there is an invalid key value in a IMAGE automatic master, but you don’t know which of the 16 details contain the bad value. How to find them all?

You could create a custom Suprtool job that looks in each of the linked datasets. But perhaps you have not worked on this database in a year or so. It could take a long time to get the names of the related sets, and the names of the key field in each one, all spelled correctly! Nothing difficult, but time-consuming.

Or, you could use the List;Related command of Suprtool’s Dbedit module. This extremely simple command shows you all the entries in the database that are linked to one specific entry!

For example, I know that there is an invalid key value “N45 0002” in the A-ACCOUNT-SITE automatic master, but I don’t know what detail sets have the offending data. Remember, automatic entries are created, uh, automatically, when you insert data into a related detail. If you want to have the detail insertion to fail unless the key value has been previously inserted, you would use a manual master dataset.

:run suprtool.pub.robelle
>base cko {open the database}
Password [;]?
>edit {enter the Dbedit module}
# {prompt changes to #}
#
#list a-account-site;related

List in File: A-ACCOUNT-SITE

ACCOUNT-SITE >N45 0002 {Enter the bad value}

ACCOUNT-SITE = N45 0002

Related Records from the File : D-SITE-INFO
Key to path: ACCOUNT-SITE
No records found for this path.

Related Records from the File : D-ADDRESS
Key to path: ACCOUNT-SITE
No records found for this path.

Related Records from the File : D-CPUS
Key to path: ACCOUNT-SITE
ACCOUNT-NO = N45 ACCOUNT-SITE = N45 0002
PRODUCT-CODE = ST PRODUCT-OPTION = LIC
CPU-MODEL = SERIES 997-800
TIER-PURCHASED = CPU-OS = MPE/iX
CPU-NO = 4 CPU-HANDLE = BANDIT
CPU-ID-NO = 818110156
SUPPORT-FLAG = Y

ACCOUNT-NO = N45 ACCOUNT-SITE = N45 0002
PRODUCT-CODE = ST PRODUCT-OPTION = LIC
CPU-MODEL = SERIES 969-420
TIER-PURCHASED = CPU-OS = MPE/iX
CPU-NO = 5 CPU-HANDLE = SMOKEY
CPU-ID-NO = 301661304
SUPPORT-FLAG = Y

ACCOUNT-NO = N45 ACCOUNT-SITE = N45 0002
PRODUCT-CODE = LQ PRODUCT-OPTION = LIC
CPU-MODEL = SERIES 969-420
TIER-PURCHASED = 1 CPU-OS = MPE/iX
CPU-NO = 0 CPU-HANDLE = SMOKEY
CPU-ID-NO = 301661304
SUPPORT-FLAG = Y

The List;Related command found three entries in the d-cpus dataset that ontain the bad value, ACCOUNT-SITE = N45 0002. We show our listing to the administration staff and they tell us that the proper ACCOUNT-SITE value is “N45 0001.” But what is the fastest way to fix it? We could use a serial Get, an Extract and an Update, but that is a lot of syntax to get correctly.

Or, we could use the Dbedit Change command. With this command, Suprtool changes the value of a master entry, and then updates all the detail entries that were pointed to by the original value.
For example,

#change a-account-site

Change Key Value for File: A-ACCOUNT-SITE

Enter Existing Key Value to Find:
ACCOUNT-SITE >N45 0002
Enter New Key Value to Replace with:
ACCOUNT-SITE >N45 0001

ACCOUNT-SITE = N45 0002

OK to change this entry [no]: y
Begin changes (be patient) .. .. end changes!!

That’s it. Less than five minutes to solve a problem that could have taken an hour to debug and fix.

Notes: You can also do List;Related on a detail entry and Suprtool will show you all the master entries that point to it.
Dbedit is not yet supported in Suprtool/UX, but if there is enough interest we will consider implementing it for Eloquence.