Recital

Login Register

Recital 10 Express Edition Linux x86 Free Download.

Recital 10 introduces the free single-user developer edition called Recital Express that can be used to develop and test multi-user Recital, Recital Server and Recital Web applications. Once the applications are ready for deployment a commercial license must be purchased. Recital Express, Recital Server Express and Recital Web Express can be used unlicensed for non-commercial purposes only.

What does this download include:

Recital 10

A powerful scripting language with an embedded database used for developing desktop database applications on Linux and Unix. Recital has a high degree of compatibility with Microsoft FoxPRO enhanced with many additional enterprise class extensions.

Web

Recital 10 Web

A server-side scripting language with an embedded database for creating web 2.0 applications. Includes plugins for apache and IIS. Coming soon! Recital Web Framework, a comprehensive OO framework built on YUI for building RIA (Rich Internet Applications) in Recital Web.

Recital 10 Server

A cross-platform SQL database and application server which includes client drivers for ODBC, JDBC and .NET enabling Recital data to be accessed client/server from Windows, Linux and Mac.

 Safe

Recital 10 Replication

A comprehensive replication product that addresses urgent data movement and synchronization needs to help support disaster recovery and business continuity for Recital applications.


Recital 10 Quick Start:

Graphical Installation

Note: The installation must be run as root. For systems with a hidden root account, please use ’Run as Root’.

  1. Download the distribution file into a temporary directory
  2. Check that the distribution file has the execute permission set
  3. Run the distribution file
  4. Follow the on screen instructions:
    1. License agreement
    2. Select components
    3. Installation directory and shortcuts
    4. Linking to /usr/bin
    5. ODBC Installation type (Recital Server / Recital Client Drivers)
    6. Java Virtual Machine selection (Recital Server / Recital Client Drivers)
    7. TomCat Installation type (Recital Server / Recital Client Drivers)
    8. Apache Firecat Plugin Installation (Recital Web Developer)
    9. Replication Service Type (Recital Replication Server)
    10. Install license file

Text Installation

Note: The installation must be run as root. For systems with a hidden root account, please precede commands with ’sudo’.

  1. Download the distribution file into a temporary directory
  2. Check that the distribution file has the execute permission set
  3. Run the distribution file
  4. Follow the on screen instructions:
    1. License agreement
    2. Select components
    3. Installation directory and shortcuts
    4. Linking to /usr/bin
    5. ODBC Installation type (Recital Server / Recital Client Drivers)
    6. Java Virtual Machine selection (Recital Server / Recital Client Drivers)
    7. TomCat Installation type (Recital Server / Recital Client Drivers)
    8. Apache Firecat Plugin Installation (Recital Web Developer)
    9. Replication Service Type (Recital Replication Server)
    10. Install license file


Published in Blogs
Read more...
After installing nomachine, if you get an error connecting whereby nomachine errors out after  "Negotiating link parameters"
 

When installing nomachine on redhat 5.3 64-bit be sure to:

  1. Make sure you have installed the 64-bit packages as the 32-bit ones will not work.
  2. add the hostname to /etc/hosts
  3. Check "Disable encryption of all traffic" (in configuration / advanced tab)
On Centos 32-bit:
  1. add the hostname to /etc/hosts
  2. make sure the host IP is not specified as 127.0.0.1 line
  3. Uncheck "Disable encryption of all traffic" (in configuration / advanced tab)
 
Published in Blogs
Read more...

Recital is a proven and cost-effective database solution that will help reduce the cost of your database and application software infrastructure substantially. As an added benefit, Recital can run many legacy applications with little to no change as it understands FoxBASE, FoxPRO and Clipper languages as a subset of it's overall capability.
Published in Blogs
Read more...
In this article Chris Mavin, explains and details how to Store and Retrieve Binary Objects in a Recital Database.
Published in Blogs
Read more...
Recital 10 introduced the PIPETOSTR() function. This function operates in a similar fashion to the FILETOSTR() function but it can be used to capture the output from externally executed operating system commands. e.g.
// determine how many Recital users are on the system
nusers = pipetostr("ps -ef | grep db.exe | wc -l")
Published in Blogs
Read more...

This article discusses Recital database security: from operating system file permissions through file and field protection to DES3 encryption.

Overview

A company's data is extremely valuable and must be protected, both in operation and in physical file format. Recital products provide a range of ways to protect your data.

Operating System File Permissions

The most basic level of database security is provided by the operating system. Recital database tables and indexes are individual files with their own respective operating system file permissions. Read permission is required to open a table and write permission to update a table. If a user does not have read permission they are denied access. Without write permission, a table will be opened read-only.

Here the owner, root, and members of the recital group have write permission, so can update the example table unless additional protection applies. Other users can only open the example table read-only.

# ls -l example*
-rwxrwxr-x    1 root     recital       147 Nov 29 14:27 example.dbd
-rwxrwxr-x    1 root     recital     41580 Nov 29 14:27 example.dbf
-rwxrwxr-x    1 root     recital     13312 Nov 29 14:28 example.dbt
-rwxrwxr-x    1 root     recital     19456 Nov 29 14:28 example.dbx

Note: As in the example above, a table's associated files should have the same permissions as the table itself:

File Extension

File Type

.dbd

Dictionary

.dbf

Table

.dbt

Memo

.dbx

Index


Database Dictionary

Each Recital table may have a Database Dictionary. The Dictionary can be used both to protect the integrity of the data and to protect access to the data. This section covers Column Constraints, Triggers, Security and Protection.

Column Constraints: Data Integrity

The Dictionary attributes or constraints either prevent the entry of incorrect data, e.g. must_enter and validation or aid the entry of correct data, e.g. default, picture and choicelist. The Dictionary can be modified in the character mode CREATE/MODIFY STRUCTURE worksurface, via SQL statements, or in the Recital Enterprise Studio Database Administrator.


Click image to display full size

Fig 1: MODIFY STRUCTURE Worksurface: Dictionary.

The SQL Column Constraints are as follows:

Constraint

Description

AUTO_INCREMENT | AUTOINC

Used to auto increment the value of a column.

CALCULATED

Used to calculate the value of a column.

CHECK | SET CHECK

Used to validate a change to the value of a column.

DEFAULT

Used to set a default value for the specified column.

DESCRIPTION

Used set the column description for the specified column.

ERROR

Used to define an error message to be displayed when a validation check fails.

FOREIGN KEY

Used to define a column as a Foreign Key for a parent table.

NOCPTRANS

Used to prevent code page translation for character and memo fields.

NOT NULL | NULL

Used to disallow/allow NULL values.

PRIMARY KEY

Used to define a table’s Primary Key.

RANGE

Used to specify minimum and maximum values for a date or numerical column.

RECALCULATE

Used to force recalculation of calculated columns when a column’s value changes.

REFERENCES

Used to create a relationship to an index key of another table.

UNIQUE

Used to define the column as a candidate index for the table


These can be specified in CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE statements:

exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  ALTER TABLE customers ADD COLUMN timeref char(8) CHECK validtime(timeref)
  ERROR "Not a valid time string";

Click image to display full size

Fig 2: Database Administrator: Column Constraints and Attributes.

TRIGGERS

Table Level Triggers are event-driven procedures called before an I/O operation. These can be used to introduce another layer of checks before a particular operation is permitted to take place or to simply set up logging of those operations.

The CREATE/MODIFY STRUCTURE worksurface <TRIGGERS> menu bar option allows you to specify table level triggers. You may edit a trigger procedure from within the <TRIGGERS> menu by placing the cursor next to the procedure name and pressing the [HELP] key. A text window pops up for editing. If the table triggers are stored in separate <.prg> files, rather than in a procedure library, procedures need not be predefined (SET PROCEDURE) before using the table.


Click image to display full size

Fig 3: MODIFY STRUCTURE Worksurface: Triggers.

 

The following triggers can be selected and associated with a specified procedure name in the <TRIGGERS> menu.

Trigger

Description

UPDATE

The specified procedure is called prior to an update operation on the table. If the procedure returns .F., then the UPDATE is canceled.

DELETE

The specified procedure is called prior to a delete operation on the table. If the procedure returns .F., then the DELETE is canceled.

APPEND

The specified procedure is called prior to an append operation on the table. If the procedure returns .F., then the APPEND is canceled.

OPEN

The specified procedure is called after an open operation on the table.

CLOSE

The specified procedure is called prior to a close operation on the table.

ROLLBACK

The specified procedure is called when a user presses the [ABANDON] key in a forms based operation.


The Recital Enterprise Studio Database Administrator also allows you to associate existing programs as Table Trigger Procedures.

Click image to display full size

Fig 4: Database Administrator: Triggers.

 

Programmatically, Trigger Procedures can also be associated with a table using SQL. The following table constraints may be applied in the SQL CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE statements:

Trigger

Description

ONUPDATE

The specified procedure is called prior to an update operation on the table. If the procedure returns .F., then the UPDATE is canceled.
e.g. SQL> ALTER TABLE customer modify ONUPDATE "p_update";

ONDELETE

The specified procedure is called prior to a delete operation on the table. If the procedure returns .F., then the DELETE is canceled.
e.g. SQL> ALTER TABLE customer modify ONDELETE "p_delete";

ONINSERT

The specified procedure is called prior to an insert operation on the table. If the procedure returns .F., then the INSERT is canceled.
e.g. SQL> ALTER TABLE customer modify ONINSERT "p_insert";

ONOPEN

The specified procedure is called after an open operation on the table.
e.g. SQL> ALTER TABLE customer modify ONOPEN "p_open";

ONCLOSE

The specified procedure is called prior to a close operation on the table.
e.g. SQL> ALTER TABLE customer modify ONCLOSE "p_close";

ONROLLBACK

The specified procedure is called when a user presses the [ABANDON] key in a forms based operation.
e.g. SQL> ALTER TABLE customer modify ONROLLBACK "p_rollback";


SECURITY

As mentioned above, all Recital files are subject to Operating System read and write permissions. These permissions can be further refined, while still using the Operating System user and group IDs, in the Security and Protection sections of the Dictionary. The Security section handles table based operations and the Protection section focuses on individual fields.

Security and Protection rules can be defined in the CREATE/MODIFY STRUCTURE worksurface of Recital Terminal Developer, via the SQL GRANT and REVOKE statements or in the Recital Enterprise Studio Database Administrator.

Click image to display full size

Fig 5: MODIFY STRUCTURE Worksurface: Security.

 

The Security section has table operations for which Access Control Strings can be specified. An Access Control String (ACS) is a range of valid user identification codes, and is used to restrict table operations to certain individuals or groups. Each user on the system is allocated a group number and a user number. The user identification code is the combination of group and user numbers. When constructing an Access Control String of linked user identification codes, wild card characters may be used.

Example ACS

Description

[1,2]

In group 1, user 2

[100,*]

In group 100, all users

[2-7,*]

In groups 2-7, all users

[*,100-200]

In all groups, users 100-200

[1,*]&[2-7,1-7]

In group 1, all users, in groups 2-7, users 1-7


Please note that the maximum ACS length is 254 characters. OpenVMS group and user numbers are stored and specified in octal. On other Operating Systems, group and user numbers are stored and specified in decimal.

Access Control Strings may be associated with the following operations:

Operation

Description

READONLY

Users specified in the ACS have read-only access to the table. All other users have update access.

UPDATE

Users specified in the ACS have update access to the table. All other users are restricted to read-only access.

APPEND

Users specified in the ACS can append records into the table. No other users can append.

DELETE

Users specified in the ACS can delete records from the table. No other users can delete.

COPY

Users specified in the ACS can copy records from the table. No other users can copy.

ADMIN

Users specified in the ACS can use the following commands:
SET DICTIONARY TO
MODIFY STRUCTURE
PACK
ZAP
REINDEX
All other users cannot, except the creator of the table, who is always granted ADMIN access.


The corresponding SQL privileges are:

Operation

Description

SELECT

Users specified in the ACS may name any column in a SELECT statement. All other users have update access.

UPDATE

Users specified in the ACS may name any column in an UPDATE statement. All other users are restricted to read-only access.

INSERT

Users specified in the ACS can INSERT rows into the table. No other users can INSERT.

DELETE

Users specified in the ACS can DELETE rows from the table. No other users can DELETE.

ALTER

Users specified in the ACS can use the ALTER TABLE statement on this table.

READONLY

Users specified in the ACS may read any column in a SELECT statement. All other users have update access.


// Grant insert privilege for the customer table
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  GRANT UPDATE (lastname, firstname)
  INSERT ON customers
  TO '[20,100]'; 
	
// Grant all privileges to all users
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  GRANT ALL 
  ON shippers TO PUBLIC;

PROTECTION

Security and Protection rules can be defined in the CREATE/MODIFY STRUCTURE worksurface of Recital Terminal Developer, via the SQL GRANT and REVOKE statements or in the Recital Enterprise Studio Database Administrator.

Click image to display full size

Fig 6: Database Administrator: Protection.

 


The format of the ACS is the same as in <SECURITY> above. The following protection can be defined:

Operation

Description

READONLY

Users specified in the ACS have read-only access to the field. All other users have update access.

UPDATE

Users specified in the ACS have update access to the field. All other users are restricted to read-only access.


Recital Terminal Developer also has 'HIDDEN' Protection:

Operation

Description

HIDDEN

Users specified in the ACS see the 'hiddenfield'character rather than the data in the field. All other users see the data.


Hidden fields can be accessed and viewed on a work surface, but the field contains the hiddenfield character, ‘?’. If the field is referenced in an expression, it will contain the following: blanks for character fields, ‘F’ for logical fields, 00/00/0000 for date fields and blank for memo fields.

The corresponding SQL privileges are:

Operation

Description

SELECT

Users specified in the ACS may name the column in a SELECT statement. All other users have update access.

UPDATE

Users specified in the ACS may name the column in an UPDATE statement. All other users are restricted to read-only access.

READONLY

Users specified in the ACS may read the column in a SELECT statement. All other users have update access.


// Grant update privilege for columns lastname and firstname from the customer table
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  GRANT UPDATE (lastname, firstname)
  customers TO '[20,100]';

Encryption

From Recital 8.5 onwards, Recital installations that have the additional DES3 license option have the ability to encrypt the data held in Recital database tables. Once a database table has been encrypted, the data cannot be accessed unless the correct three-part encryption key is specified, providing additional security for sensitive data.

ENCRYPT

The ENCRYPT Recital 4GL command is used to encrypt the data in the specified table or tables matching a skeleton. If the skeleton syntax is used, then all matching tables will be given the same encryption key. The encryption key is a three part comma-separated key and may optionally be enclosed in angled brackets. Each part of the key can be a maximum of 8 characters. The key is DES3 encrypted and stored in a .dkf file with the same basename as the table. After encryption, the three parts of the key must be specified correctly before the table can be accessed.

// Encrypt individual tables
encrypt customers key "key_1,key_2,key_3"
encrypt employees key "<key_1,key_2,key_3>"

// Encrypt all .dbf files in the directory
encrypt *.dbf key "key_1,key_2,key_3"
SET ENCRYPTION

If a database table is encrypted, the correct three-part encryption key must be specified before the table's data or structure can be accessed. The SET ENCRYPTION TO set command can be used to specify a default encryption key to be used whenever an encrypted table is accessed without the key being specified. The encryption key is a three part comma-separated key.

If the command to access the table includes the key, either by appending it to the table filename specification or using an explicit clause, this will take precedence over the key defined by SET ENCRYPTION TO.

Issuing SET ENCRYPTION TO without a key causes any previous setting to be cleared. The key must then be specified for each individual encrypted table.

The default key defined by SET ENCRYPTION is only active when SET ENCRYPTION is ON. SET ENCRYPTION OFF can be used to temporarily disable the default key. The SET ENCRYPTION ON | OFF setting does not change the default key itself. SET ENCRYPTION is ON by default.

// Encrypt individual tables
encrypt customers key "key_1,key_2,key_3"
encrypt shippers key "key_2,key_3,key_4"
// Specify a default encryption key
set encryption to "key_1,key_2,key_3"
// Open customers table using the default encryption key
use customers
// Specify shippers table's encryption key
use shippers<key_2,key_3,key_4>
// Disable the default encryption key
set encryption to
// Specify the individual encryption keys
use customers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"
use shippers<key_2,key_3,key_4>
DECRYPT

The DECRYPT command is used to decrypt the data in the specified table or tables matching a skeleton. The specified key must contain the three part comma-separated key used to previously encrypt the table and may optionally be enclosed in angled brackets. The skeleton syntax can only be used if all tables matching the skeletonhave the same key.

The DECRYPT command decrypts the data and removes the table’s .dkf file. After decryption, the key need no longer be specified to gain access to the table.

// Decrypt individual tables
decrypt customers key "key_1,key_2,key_3"
decrypt employees key "<key_1,key_2,key_3>"

// Decrypt all .dbf files in the directory
decrypt *.dbf key "key_1,key_2,key_3"

All of the following commands are affected when a table is encrypted:

  • APPEND FROM
  • COPY FILE
  • COPY STRUCTURE
  • COPY TO
  • DIR
  • USE
  • SQL INSERT
  • SQL SELECT
  • SQL UPDATE
APPEND FROM
Used to append records to the active table from another table.
// The key must be specified for an encrypted source table
use mycustomers append from customers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"; for country = "UK"
COPY FILE
Used to copy a file.
// The key file must also be copied for an encrypted source table
// as the target table will be encrypted
encrypt customers key "key_1,key_2,key_3" copy file customers.dbf to newcustomers.dbf copy file customers.dkf to newcustomers.dkf use newcustomers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"
COPY STRUCTURE
Used to copy a table's structure to a new table.
// The key file is automatically copied for an encrypted source table
// and the target table encrypted
encrypt customers key "key_1,key_2,key_3"
use customers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3" copy structure to blankcust use blankcust encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"
COPY TO
Used to copy a table.
// By default, the key file is automatically copied for an encrypted
// source table and the target table encrypted with the same key
encrypt customers key "key_1,key_2,key_3"
use customers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"
copy to newcustomers
use newcustomers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"

// You can also create a copy with a different key
encrypt customers key "key_1,key_2,key_3"
use customers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"
copy to newcustomers encrypt "newkey_1,newkey_2,newkey_3"
use newcustomers encryption "newkey_1,newkey_2,newkey_3"

// Or create a decrypted copy
encrypt customers key "key_1,key_2,key_3"
use customers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"
copy to newcustomers decrypt
use newcustomers

// You can also create an encrypted copy of a non-encrypted source table
use orders
copy to encorders encrypt "newkey_1,newkey_2,newkey_3"
use encorders encryption "newkey_1,newkey_2,newkey_3"
DIR
Used to display a directory listing of tables.
// Encrypted tables are flagged as such with (DES3)
> open database southwind
> dir
Current database: southwind
Tables				# Records		Last Update	Size		Dictionary	Triggers	Security
categories.dbf			8			01/10/06		24576	None		None		None
cisamdemo.dbf       ---> CISAM/Bridge        [cisamdemo]
customers.dbf (DES3)		91			05/12/04		49600	None		None		None
employees.dbf			9			05/12/04		25520	None		None		None
example.dbf   (DES3)		100			12/24/05		38080	Yes		Yes		None
order_details.dbf			2155			05/12/04		296320	None		None		None
orders.dbf				829			05/12/04		232704	None		None		None
products.dbf			77			05/12/04		37112	None		None		None
productsbyname.dbf		77			05/12/04		29104	None		None		None
shippers.dbf  (DES3)		3			05/12/04		20864	None		None		None
suppliers.dbf			29			12/08/05		29992	Yes		None		None

   0.765 MB in 11 files.
   1.093 GB remaining on drive.
USE
Used to open a table.
// The three part key must be specified to open an
// encrypted table.  All of the following are valid.
// 1. Specifying a default encryption key before opening the table
set encryption to "key_1,key_2,key_3"
use customers
// 2. Appending the key to the filename
use customers<key_1,key_2,key_3>
// 3. Using the ENCRYPTION clause, optionally specifying angled brackets
use customers encryption "key_1,key_2,key_3"
use customers encryption "<key_1,key_2,key_3>"
SQL INSERT
Used to add a row to a table via SQL.
// The three part key can be specified using a
// default encryption key before opening the table
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  SET ENCRYPTION TO "key_1,key_2,key_3";
exec sql
  INSERT INTO customers
  (customerid, companyname)
  VALUES
  ('RECIT','Recital Corporation');
// Or by appending the key to the filename
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  INSERT INTO customers<key_1,key_2,key_3>
  (customerid, companyname)
  VALUES
  ('RECIT','Recital Corporation');
SQL SELECT
Used to return data from a table via SQL.
// The three part key can be specified using a
// default encryption key before opening the table
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  SET ENCRYPTION TO "key_1,key_2,key_3";
exec sql
  SELECT * FROM customers;
// Or by appending the key to the filename
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  SELECT * FROM customers<key_1,key_2,key_3>;
SQL UPDATE
Used to update data in a table via SQL.
// The three part key can be specified using a
// default encryption key before opening the table
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  SET ENCRYPTION TO "key_1,key_2,key_3";
exec sql
  UPDATE customers
  SET companyname='Recital Corporation Inc.'
  WHERE customerid='RECIT';
// Or by appending the key to the filename
exec sql
  OPEN DATABASE southwind;
exec sql
  UPDATE customers<key_1,key_2,key_3>
  SET companyname='Recital Corporation Inc.'
  WHERE customerid='RECIT';

Summary

Recital offers a range of ways to keep your data secure. These start with the Operating System read/write permissions, which can be further refined to the level of table I/O operations and then field access in the Dictionary based Security and Protection rules. The Dictionary also provides the means to protect the integrity of the data via data validation and to assist in correct data entry through the use of choicelists, help messages and picture clauses etc. A further role of the Dictionary is in the provision of Table Triggers, which can be used to enable a programmatic response to table operations to add in additional checks or audit trails. For the most sensitive data, DES3 encryption is the ultimate protection: encrypting the physical data on the disk and only permitting table access on the production of the three part encryption key.

Published in Blogs
Read more...
An extremely useful article that describes some firefox undocumented features that allow you to install Firefox XPI And JAR Firefox Add-ons And Themes. 

http://www.universefirefox.com/how-to/how-to-install-xpi-and-jar-firefox-add-ons-and-themes
Published in Blogs
Read more...
If you use Eclipse Ganymede with large projects on linux you may run out of memory. To prevent this happening, you can specify the amount of memory to be allocated to Eclipse in the eclipse.ini file which is located in the eclipse directory.

Specifying this seems to reslove the problem:

-Xmx512m
-XX:MaxPermSize=512m

Published in Blogs
Read more...

In this article Chris Mavin, explains and details how to use the Recital Database Server with the Open Source Servlet Container Apache Tomcat.

Overview

PHP has exploded on the Internet, but its not the only way to create web applications and dynamic websites. Using Java Servlets, JavaServer Pages and Apache Tomcat you can develop web applications in a more powerful full featured Object Oriented Language, that is easier to debug, maintain, and improve.

Tomcat Installation

There are a number of popular Java application servers such as IBM Web Sphere and BEA WebLogic but today we will be talking about the use of Apache Tomcat 5, the Open Source implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies developed at the Apache Software Foundation. The Tomcat Servlet engine is the official reference implementation for both the Servlet and JSP specifications, which are developed by Sun under the Java Community Process. What this means is that the Tomcat Server implements the Servlet and JSP specifications as well or better than most commercial application servers.

Apache Tomcat is available for free but offers many of the same features that commercially available Web application containers boast.

Tomcat 5 supports the latest Servlet and JSP specifications, Servlet 2.4, and JSP 2.0, along with features such as:

  • Tomcat can run as a standalone webserver or a Servlet/JSP engine for other Web Servers.

  • Multiple connectors - for enabling multiple protocol handlers to access the same Servlet engine.

  • JNDI - The Java Naming and Domain Interface is supported.

  • Realms - Databases of usernames and passwords that identify valid users of a web application.

  • Virtual hosts - a single server can host applications for multiple domain names. You need to edit server.xml to configure virtual hosts.

  • Valve chains.

  • JDBC - Tomcat can be configured to use any JDBC driver.

  • DBCP - Tomcat can use the Apache commons DBCP for connection pooling.

  • Servlet reloading (Tomcat monitors any changes to the classes deployed within that web server.)

  • HTTP functionality - Tomcat functions as a fully featured Web Server.

  • JMX, JSP and Struts-based administration.

Tomcat Installation

In this next two sections we will walk through the install and setup of Tomcat for use with the Recital database server.

To download Tomcat visit the Apache Tomcat web site is at http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat.
Follow the download links to the binary for the hardware and operating system you require.

For Tomcat to function fully you need a full Java Development Kit (JDK). If you intend to simply run pre compiled JavaServer pages you can do so using just the Java Runtime Environment(JRE).

The JDK 1.5 is the preferred Java install to work with Tomcat 5, although it is possible to run Tomcat 5 with JDK 1.4 but you will have to download and install the compat archive available from the Tomcat website.

For the purpose of this article we will be downloading and using Tomcat 5 for Linux and JDK 5.0, 
you can download the JDK at http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp.

Now we have the JDK, if the JAVA_HOME environment variable isn't set we need to set it to refer to the base JDK install directory.

Linux/Unix:
$ JAVA_HOME= /usr/lib/j2se/1.4/
$ EXPORT $JAVA_HOME
Windows NT/2000/XP:

Follow the following steps:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Click the System icon.
3. Go to the Advanced tab.
4. Click the Environment Variables button.
5. Add the JAVA_HOME variable into the system environment variables.


The directory structure of a Tomcat installation comprises of the following:

/bin 			- Contains startup, shutdown and other scripts. 
	/common  	- Common classes that the container and web applications can use.
	/conf 		- Contains Tomcat XML configuration files XML files.
	/logs 		- Serlvet container and application logs.
	/server 		- Classes used only by the Container.
	/shared 		- Classes shared by all web application.
	/webapps 	- Directory containing the web applications.
	/work 		- Temporary directory for files and directories.

The important files that you should know about are the following:

  • server.xml

The Tomcat Server main configuration file is the [tomcat install path]\conf\server.xml file. This file is mostly setup correctly for general use. It is within this file where you specify the port you wish to be running the server on. Later in this article I show you how to change the default port used from 8080 to port 80.

  • web.xml

The web.xml file provides the configuration for your web applications. There are two locations where the web.xml file is used, 
web-inf\web.xml provides individual web application configurations and [tomcat install path]conf\web.xml contains the server wide configuration.

Setting up Tomcat for use

We'll start by changing the port that Tomcat will be listening on to 80.

To do this we need to edit [tomcat install path]/conf/server.xml and change the port attribute of the connector element from 8080 to 80.

After you have made the alteration the entry should read as:

<!-- Define a non-SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8080 -->
<Connector port="80" maxHttpHeaderSize="8192"

Next we want to turn on Servlet reloading, this will cause the web application to be recompiled each time it is accessed, allowing us to make changes to the files without having to worry about if the page is being recompiled or not.

To enable this you need to edit [tomcat install path]/conf/context.xml and change <Context> element to <Context reloadable="true">.

After you have made the alteration the entry should read as:

<Context reloadable="true">
<WatchedResource>WEB-INF/web.xml</WatchedResource>
</Context>

Next we want to enable the invoker Servlet.

The "invoker" Servlet executes anonymous Servlet classes that have not been defined in a web.xml file.  Traditionally, this Servlet is mapped to the URL pattern "/servlet/*", but you can map it to other patterns as well.  The extra path info portion of such a request must be the fully qualified class name of a Java class that implements Servlet, or the Servlet name of an existing Servlet definition.

To enable the invoker Servlet you need to edit the to [tomcat install path]/conf/web.xml and uncomment the Servlet and Servlet-mapping elements that map the invoker /servlet/*.

After you have made the alteration the entry should read as:

<servlet>
<servlet-name>invoker</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>org.apache.catalina.servlets.InvokerServlet</servlet-class>
<init-param>
<param-name>debug</param-name>
<param-value>0</param-value>
</init-param>
<load-on-startup>2</load-on-startup>
</servlet>

<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>invoker</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/servlet/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

If you are you not interested in setting up your own install of Tomcat there are prebuilt versions Tomcat that has all of the above changes already made, and has the test HTML, JSP, and Servlet files already bundled. Just unzip the file, set your JAVA_HOME

Next we will give Tomcat and your web applications access to the Recital JDBC driver.

For the purposes of this article we are going to install the Recital JDBC driver in the /[tomcat install path]/common/lib/ this gives Tomcat and your web applications access to the Recital JDBC driver. The driver can be installed in a number of places in the Tomcat tree, giving access to the driver to specific application or just to the web application and not the container. For more information refer to the Tomcat documentation.

Copy the recitalJDBC.jar which is located at /[recital install path]/drivers/recitalJDBC.jar to the /[tomcat install path]/common/lib/ directory.

Linux:
$cp /[recital install path]/drivers/recitalJDBC.jar /[tomcat install path]/common/lib/
Once you have completed all the steps detailed above, fire up the server using the script used by your platform's Tomcat installation.

Linux/Unix:
[tomcat install path]/bin/startup.sh
Windows:
[tomcat install path]/bin/startup

If you are having problems configuring your Tomcat Installation or would like more detail visit the online documentation a the Apache Tomcat site.

Example and Links

Now we have setup our Tomcat installation, lets get down to it with a JSP example which uses the Recital JDBC driver to access the demonstration database (southwind) shipped with the Recital Database Server.

The example provided below is a basic JDBC web application, where the user simply selects a supplier from the listbox and requests the products supplied by that supplier.

To run the example download and extract the tar archive or simple save each of the two jsp pages individually into /[tomcat install path]/webapps/ROOT/ on your server.

By enabling the invoker Servlet earlier we have removed the need to set the example up as a web application in the Tomcat configuration files.

You can now access the example web application at http://[Server Name]/supplier.jsp if the page doesn't display, check you have followed all the Tomcat installation steps detailed earlier in this article and then make sure both Tomcat and a licensed Recital UAS are running.

Downloads:
Archive: jspExample.tar

Right click and save as individual files and rename as .jsp files:
supplier.txt details.txt

Further Reading on JSP and JDBC can be found at http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-webdata/

Final Thoughts

Recital and Apache tomcat are a powerful combination, using Java Servlet technology you can separate application logic and the presentation extremely well. Tomcat, JSP, Java Servlets and the Recital database server form a robust platform independent, easily maintained and administered solution with which to unlock the power of your Recital, Foxpro, Foxbase, Clipper, RMS and C-SAM data.

Published in Blogs
Read more...

This article talks about the log files available in Recital products and how to enable logging when required.

Overview

When discussing a problem with the Recital Support Team, one of the most common requests is that you enable logging and send them the log files produced. Log files along with error files are designed to provide detailed information about Recital processes and the prevailing environment and can be a fast-track to resolving a problem.

Log Files

There are three main types of log file:

  1. System Log
  2. Client/Server Communication Logs
  3. Custom Logs

System Log

The System log is a system-wide  all product log.  It tracks all login and logout operations from either Recital or the Recital Server. Logout details include the exit code: 0 for an error-free, 'normal' exit and the error number and message when an error has occurred. It also shows the licenses that have been loaded and any license error codes and messages. The system log filename is recital.log.
 

Client/Server Communication Logs

The Client/Server communication logs track the requests and responses between the Recital Server and its clients. The log files are as follows:


Filename Type Description

dbserver.log

System-wide

The Recital Server startup log. This logs any problems with the Recital Server startup.

port.log

System-wide

The port listener log. The port listener (or portserver) listens on port 8001 for client connection requests and spawns the appropriate server process.

net.log

Connection

The netserver log. The netserver is the Recital Server database and 4GL engine.

rsi.log

Connection

The Recital Server Interface (RSI) Gateway log. This logs communication with the Database Gateways to SQL databases.

rec.log

Connection

The Recital Database Gateway log. The Recital Database Gateway (or recserver) is the SQL database engine for Recital Gateway data access.

mys.log

Connection

The MySQL Database Gateway log.

ora.log

Connection

The Oracle Database Gateway log.

inf.log

Connection

The Informix Database Gateway log.

ing.log

Connection

The Ingres Database Gateway log.

pos.log

Connection

The PostgreSQL Database Gateway log.

jdb.log

Connection

The JDBC Driver Database Gateway log.


Custom Logs

The Recital/4GL USERLOG() function can be used to log information to a user-specific log file for debugging or audit trail purposes. For full information on this function, please see the USERLOG() documentation.

Enabling Log Files

For instructions on enabling log files for individual products, please follow these links:

Enabling Log Files: Recital Server for Windows

To enable the system log file for the Recital Universal Application Server for Windows, include the following command in the UAS\config.db file:

set syslogging on

The Recital Server Manager System Logging tab allows for the viewing and resetting of the System log.

Section

Item

Description

System Logging

DateTime

Date and time stamp of the action.

Name

Login name used by connection

Action

Action logged: Login, Logoff, Errot

Details

Details of action

Buttons

Purge

Allows the log file to be reset

Refresh

Refreshes the display

To set up Client/Server logging, use the Recital Server Manager Settings tab to update the server's Registry entries:

The following Log file settings can be configured:

Item

Description

Log files Directory Path

Enter the directory in which log files will be created. The default is the UAS\log directory.

Enabled

Check to enable log file creation.

Versions

Check to enable log file versioning.

Listener

Click to view the current port listener log file

Server

Click to view the current netserver log file

Purge

Click to purge all log files

Enabling Log Files: Recital Server for Linux

To enable the system log file for the Recital Server for Linux, include the following command in the conf/config.db file:

set syslogging on

To set up Client/Server logging, the Recital Server can be started with the 'logging' parameter, in which case, all relevant logging will take place.

# service startup logging<

Alternatively, one or more of the following environment variables can be added to the dbserver.conf file or set at the Operating System prompt.  The Recital Server must be restarted before environment variable changes will be recognized.  Each environment variable should be set to the name of a log file.

Environment Variable

Logs Activity of...

UASLOG_PORT

Port Server (db_rsiserver)

UASLOG_NET

(Net) Server (db_netserver)

UASLOG_ORA

Oracle Server (db_oraserver)

UASLOG_INF

Informix Server (db_infserver)

UASLOG_ING

Ingres Server (db_ingserver)

UASLOG_JDB

JDBC Server (db_jdbserver)

UASLOG_REC

Recital Server (db_recserver)

Extract from recital.conf:

UASLOG_PORT="port.log" ; export UASLOG_PORT
UASLOG_NET="net.log"   ; export UASLOG_NET
UASLOG_ORA="ora.log"  ; export UASLOG_ORA
UASLOG_INF="inf.log"     ; export UASLOG_INF
UASLOG_ING="ing.log"   ; export UASLOG_ING
UASLOG_JDB="jdb.log"   ; export UASLOG_JDB
UASLOG_REC="rec.log"   ; export UASLOG_REC
DB_LOGDIR

If the environment variable DB_LOGDIR is set to an existing directory, all log files will be written to this directory.  If not, the log files will be created in the bin directory.

DB_LOGDIR is set in the conf/recital.conf file. By default it is set to the log directory:

DB_LOGDIR=${ROI_ROOT}log/           ; export DB_LOGDIR
DB_LOGVER

If the environment variable DB_LOGVER is greater than 0, version numbers are added to the file names.  For example, the activity of the first Net Server process will be logged to net.log, the second to net001.log, the third to net002.log etc. up to the maximum value of DB_LOGVER.

DB_LOGVER is set in the conf/recital.conf file:

DB_LOGVER=10; export DB_LOGVER

Enabling Log Files: Recital Server for UNIX

To enable the system log file for the Recital Server for UNIX, include the following command in the conf/config.db file:

set syslogging on

To set up Client/Server logging, the Recital Server can be started with the 'logging' parameter, in which case, all relevant logging will take place.

# service startup logging

Alternatively, one or more of the following environment variables can be added to the <em>dbserver.conf</em> file or set at the Operating System prompt.  The Recital Server must be restarted before environment variable changes will be recognized.  Each environment variable should be set to the name of a log file.

Environment Variable

Logs Activity of...

UASLOG_PORT

Port Server (db_rsiserver)

UASLOG_NET

(Net) Server (db_netserver)

UASLOG_ORA

Oracle Server (db_oraserver)

UASLOG_INF

Informix Server (db_infserver)

UASLOG_ING

Ingres Server (db_ingserver)

UASLOG_JDB

JDBC Server (db_jdbserver)

UASLOG_REC

Recital Server (db_recserver)

Extract from recital.conf:

UASLOG_PORT="port.log" ; export UASLOG_PORT
UASLOG_NET="net.log"   ; export UASLOG_NET
UASLOG_ORA="ora.log"  ; export UASLOG_ORA
UASLOG_INF="inf.log"     ; export UASLOG_INF
UASLOG_ING="ing.log"   ; export UASLOG_ING
UASLOG_JDB="jdb.log"   ; export UASLOG_JDB
UASLOG_REC="rec.log"   ; export UASLOG_REC
DB_LOGDIR

If the environment variable DB_LOGDIR is set to an existing directory, all log files will be written to this directory.  If not, the log files will be created in the bin directory.

DB_LOGDIR is set in the conf/recital.conf file. By default it is set to the log directory:

DB_LOGDIR=${DB_ROOT}log/           ; export DB_LOGDIR
DB_LOGVER

If the environment variable DB_LOGVER is greater than 0, version numbers are added to the file names.  For example, the activity of the first Net Server process will be logged to net.log, the second to net001.log, the third to net002.log etc. up to the maximum value of DB_LOGVER.

DB_LOGVER is set in the conf/recital.conf file:

DB_LOGVER=10; export DB_LOGVER

Enabling Log Files: Recital Universal Application Server for OpenVMS

To enable the system log file for the Recital Universal Application Server for OpenVMS, include the following command in the db_uas:config.db file:

set syslogging on

To set up Client/Server logging, one or more of the following symbols can be added to the <em>db_uas:login.com</em> file.  The Recital Server must be restarted before symbol changes will be recognized.  Each symbol should be set to the name of a log file.

Symbol

Logs Activity of…

UASLOG_PORT

Port Server (db_rsiserver)

UASLOG_NET

(Net) Server (db_netserver)

UASLOG_ORA

Oracle Server (db_oraserver)

UASLOG_INF

Informix Server (db_infserver)

UASLOG_ING

Ingres Server (db_ingserver)

UASLOG_JDB

JDBC Server (db_jdbserver)

UASLOG_REC

Recital Server (db_recserver)

Extract from db_uas:login.com

$ uaslog_port :==  port.log
$ uaslog_net  :==  net.log
$ uaslog_ora  :==  ora.log
$ uaslog_inf  :==  inf.log
$ uaslog_ing  :==  ing.log
$ uaslog_jdb  :==  jdb.log
$ uaslog_rec  :==  rec.log
DB_LOGDIR

If the symbol DB_LOGDIR is set to an existing directory, all log files will be written to this directory.  If not, the log files will be created in the UAS directory.

DB_LOGDIR is set in the db_uas:login.com file. By default it is set to the UAS.log] directory:

$db_logdir    :== 'db_root'.log]               ! system logging directory
DB_LOGVER

If the symbol DB_LOGVER is enabled, version numbers are added to the file names. For example, the activity of the first Net Server process will be logged to net.log, the second to net001.log, the third to net002.log etc.

DB_LOGVER is set in the db_uas:login.com file:

$db_logver  :== true                           ! enable multiple log files

Enabling Log Files: Recital for Linux

To enable the system log file for Recital for Linux, include the following command in the conf/config.db file:

set syslogging on

Enabling Log Files: Recital for UNIX

To enable the system log file for Recital for UNIX, include the following command in the conf/config.db file:

set syslogging on

Enabling Log Files: Recital for OpenVMS

To enable the system log file for Recital for OpenVMS, include the following command in the db_ovd:config.db file:

set syslogging on

In Brief

  • Log files provide important information to aid problem resolution, but they are also an overhead, so logging should only be enabled when required, not in normal production operation.
  • The System log provides a system-wide view of logins, exits and error codes.
  • The System log can be viewed in table format via the SYSLOGGING System Table.
  • The System log is enabled using the SET SYSLOGGING ON Recital/4GL command in the conf/config.db file.
  • Client/Server logs provide detailed information on client/server requests and responses.
  • Client/Server logs are enabled using environment variables, symbols or Registry entries or by specifying the 'logging' parameter when starting the Recital Server.
  • The location of log files is determined by the DB_LOGDIR setting.
  • Versioning of log files is determined by the DB_LOGVER setting.
Published in Blogs
Read more...

Copyright © 2025 Recital Software Inc.

Login

Register

User Registration
or Cancel