Performance enhancement in the Recital SQL optimizer

Recital 10 enhances the SQL optimizer. Now, production indexes with a FOR <conditions> will be used to optimize SQL SELECT statements. If a WHERE <condition> on a SELECT statement matches a FOR <condition> on an index tag, this index will be used to optimize the query. The WHERE <condition> must be an exact match with the FOR <condition>. For example;

USE accounts 
INDEX on account_no TAG outstanding FOR balance  > 0
EXPLAIN SELECT * FROM accounts WHERE balance  > 0
  Optimized using for condition on tag 'OUTSTANDING'

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HOWTO: Fix subversion error "working copy admin area is missing"

Occasionally subversion can get itself confused about what is and what is not in a working copy. This usually occurs if you have replaced the contents of a directory such as when you upgrade a component in Joomla!

You receive a message such containing this:

"working copy admin area is missing"

How to resolve this:

Step 1 -- Rename the directory that is causing the error from a shell prompt and prefix it with __

mv com_docman __com_docman

Step 2 -- Using your subversion client refresh your working copy, then "update" the directory that is causing the problem e.g. update com_docman.

Step 3 -- Now you can commit the __com_docman directory.

After you have done this follow these steps, using your subversion client:

Step 4 -- delete the com_docman directory from your working copy

Step 5 -- rename __com_docman back to com_docman

Now "commit all" and both your working copy and repository will be in sync.

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Using Recital with PHP

This article describes how to use Recital with PHP.

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HOWTO: Install Apache on Mac OS X

Mac OS X leopard supports Universal Binaries so executables and dynamic libraries can be run on multiple architectures. A good example of this is the default apache install on Mac OS X.

In order to compile apache modules for this architecture you must use the following flags when configuring the apache install.

 ./configure CFLAGS='-arch x86_64' APXSLDFLAGS='-arch x86_64' --with-apxs=/usr/sbin/apxs

Then you must pass the these additional flags to the apxs command in order to generate a Universal Binary shared module.

-Wl,-dynamic -Wl,'-arch ppc' -Wl,'-arch ppc64' -Wl,'-arch i386' -Wl,'-arch x86_64' 
-Wc,-dynamic -Wc,'-arch ppc' -Wc,'-arch ppc64' -Wc,'-arch i386' -Wc,'-arch x86_64'

If you then do a file command on the shared module it should return;

$ file mod_recital.so 
mod_recital2.2.so: Mach-O universal binary with 4 architectures 
mod_recital2.2.so (for architecture ppc7400): Mach-O bundle ppc 
mod_recital2.2.so (for architecture ppc64): Mach-O 64-bit bundle ppc64 
mod_recital2.2.so (for architecture i386): Mach-O bundle i386 
mod_recital2.2.so (for architecture x86_64): Mach-O 64-bit bundle x86_64

The apache module files are stored in the /usr/libexec/apache2/ directory on a default apache install on the Mac and the configuration file is /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf

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HOWTO: Automate ssh logins to remote machines

Here is a simple shell script to copy your ssh authorization key to a remote machine so that you can run ssh and scp without having to repeatedly login.

#!/bin/sh
# save in file ssh_copykeyto.sh then chmod +x ssh_copykeyto.sh
KEY="$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub"
if [ ! -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub ];then
    echo "private key not found at $KEY"
    echo "create it with "ssh-keygen -t rsa" before running this script
    exit
fi
if [ -z $1 ];then
    echo "Bad args: specify user@host as the first argument to this script"
    exit
fi
echo "Copying ssh authorization key to $1... "
KEYCODE=`cat $KEY`
ssh -q $1 "mkdir ~/.ssh 2>/dev/null; chmod 700 ~/.ssh; echo "$KEYCODE" >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys; \
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"
echo "done!"

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Understanding Recital Logging

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:

System Log
Client/Server Communication Logs
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:

Recital Server for Windows
Recital Server for Linux
Recital Server for UNIX
Recital Server for OpenVMS
Recital for Linux
Recital for UNIX
Recital for OpenVMS

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

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

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.

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Is there a way in linux to see if someone has a file in use by recital?

In Linux you can run lsof and pipe it though grep for the files you are interested in, for example;

$ lsof | grep db.exe | grep accounts
db.exe    16897      john    6uw     REG      253,0    20012    3413872 /usr/recital100/qa/accounts.dbf
db.exe    16897      john    7u      REG      253,0     4176    3413885 /usr/recital100/qa/accounts.dbx

If you want to check for locks you can use lslk, for example;

$ lslk | grep db.exe | grep accounts
db.exe    16897 253,0 3413872 20012  w 0  0  0 12319   0 /usr/recital100/qa/accounts.dbf

If you don't have lslk installed you can install it with one of the updaters, for example on redhat linux:

$ yum update lslk

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Recital Data Validation: static list of choices

Each Recital table can have one or more data dictionaries to provide a central repository for constraints and other metadata.

Here's how to set up field validation for a field with a small static number of acceptable values.

Using the example.dbf table from the southwind sample database, validation can be added to the title field to ensure it matches one of a list values.

open database southwind
alter table example add constraint;
 (title set check inlist(alltrim(title),"Miss","Mr","Mrs","Ms"))

The inlist() function checks whether the specified expression exists in the comma-separated list which follows. An attempt to update title with a value not in the list will give an error: Validation on field 'TITLE' failed.

If you have access to the Recital Workbench, you can use the modify structure worksurface to add and alter your dictionary entries, including a customized error message if required.

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What is the primary business benefit that Recital provides?

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.

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Recital 10 release notes

Recital is a dynamic programming language with an integrated high performance database particularly well suited for the development and deployment of high transaction throughput applications. Recital 10 further enhances Recital with extensive features and functionality to facilitate its use in fault tolerant high availability systems. Much of the development of Recital 10 was concentrated on performance optimizations and cluster aware functionality to provide an application platform that can be scaled as needed without any application changes.

Key features of Recital 10 include:

Cluster aware database engine that works transparently with drbd, heartbeat, glusterfs and samba
High degree of fault tolerance with self healing indexes
Massive performance improvements
Extensive internals overall and modernization with superior object-oriented capabilities
Chronological data versioning with database timelines
SmartQuery caching
Database Administration Tools
Code and Data Profiling
Better integration with unix/linux command shell
Incorporates a range of new built-in functions compatible with those in the PHP core libraries
Built-in support for outputting data in HTML, XML, and JSON format
Seamless SQL command integration into the Recital scripting language
Much improved Microsoft FoxPRO language compatibility
Numerous extensions and improvements (see below for details)
Very large file support (2^63)

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Overview

Log Files

System Log

Client/Server Communication Logs

Custom Logs

Enabling Log Files

Enabling Log Files: Recital Server for Windows

Enabling Log Files: Recital Server for Linux

DB_LOGDIR

DB_LOGVER

Enabling Log Files: Recital Server for UNIX

DB_LOGDIR

DB_LOGVER

Enabling Log Files: Recital Universal Application Server for OpenVMS

DB_LOGDIR

DB_LOGVER

Enabling Log Files: Recital for Linux

Enabling Log Files: Recital for UNIX

Enabling Log Files: Recital for OpenVMS

In Brief

Key features of Recital 10 include:

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