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                    *                                   *
                    *          DB/C Newsletter          *
                    *             June 2005             *
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                              News and Comments

     DB/C FS 4.0 was released this month.  This month's article describes
the new features and other changes included in this release.

     We expect to start beta testing of DB/C DX 14.0 in July.  If you are
interested in participating in its beta testing, please contact us at
support@dbcsoftware.com.

                                                     don.wills@dbcsoftware.com

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                                DB/C FS 4.0

     DB/C FS 4.0 contains significant new features as well as several other
improvements and changes.

     The most significant change is that all of the file utilities are now
included in DB/C FS.  This isn't actually a new feature; it is actually just
a repackaging to separate the DB/C DX and DB/C FS software products.  This
makes possible DB/C FS installations where DB/C DX doesn't exist.  The file
utilities included are aimdex, build, copy, create, delete encode, exist,
filechk, index, list, reformat, rename and sort.

     The CREATE, ALTER and DROP SQL Data Definition Language (DDL) statements
are now supported.  These statements allow tables and associated indexes to
be dynamically created, modified and deleted.  Here are some examples:

  CREATE TABLE customer (custnum CHAR(6), name CHAR(30), balance NUM(9,2))
  CREATE UNIQUE INDEX customer ON customer (custnum)
  CREATE UNIQUE INDEX customer2 ON customer (name, custnum)
  DROP TABLE customer
  DROP INDEX vendor.vendor3
  ALTER TABLE customer ADD COLUMN (phone CHAR(20))
  ALTER TABLE customer DROP COLUMN balance
  ALTER TABLE customer RENAME TO oldcustomer

     Several new expression operators have been added.  Here is a list:
  . the CAST operator converts a value to a different type or size
  . the SUBSTRING operator creates a string from part of another string      
  . the || (concatenate) operator creates a string from two strings
  . the TRIM operator allows blanks to be removed from a string

     The file utilities may now be executed remotely using the DB/C FS
administrator tool (dbcfsadm).  This means that you no longer need to
have access to the file system via ssh or a Windows volume share to
be able to create, index, reformat, etc. your files.

     An Eclipse plug-in is included that allows you to edit your dbcfs.cfg,
dbcfspwd.cfg and your database definition (.dbd) files from within Eclipse.
The ability to edit your .dbd files in Eclipse also allows you to add your
own meta-data to each table and field definition.

     A NOWAIT option is now available for a SELECT statement to provide an
immediate failure if the record(s) being selected are locked.  An ESCAPE
clause is now allowed after a LIKE preposition.

     The default syntax for the dbcfs.cfg, dbcfspwd.cfg and .dbd files is
a simplified XML syntax.  That syntax is what is now documented in the user
manual.  The existing syntax is also supported, and will continue to be
supported through at least all of the DB/C FS 4.x releases.  Note that
whenever you save a configuration or dbd file in the Eclipse plug-in, it
will be saved as XML, even if it was originally the old syntax.
    

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                          DB/C DX Class Schedule

   Class:     DB/C DX Fundamentals
   Date:      September, 2005
   Location:  to be determined

For information, send email to admin@dbcsoftware.com.


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