IMAGE/SQL: Part 5 of 5
Fred White
Adager Corporation
Sun Valley, Idaho 83353-2358 USA
adager.com

Some Final Thoughts on IMAGESQL.PUB.SYS Commands

IMAGE/SQL is an HP3000 product which provides SQL read/write access to TurboIMAGE (IMAGE) databases (DBs) under MPE/iX 4.0 or later.
SQL access is via industry standard data manipulation language (DML) constructs whose table and column naming conventions differ from IMAGE's dataset and field naming conventions. IMAGE/SQL also limits the data sizes it supports for DECIMAL, INTEGER and REAL data types.
In conformance with SQL standards, IMAGE/SQL also does not support compound columns (i.e., IMAGE fields defined by an item whose specs are, for example, “4X8”).
The mapping information needed to support SQL access to a DB is created when the DB is attached to an SQL DBEnvironment (DBE) and may subsequently be modified using the “UPDATE TYPE” and “SPLIT” commands of the utility program IMAGESQL.PUB.SYS (IMAGESQL).
If all of your IMAGE item types truly reflect the data types of the fields they define, the attachment process will be seamless in that there will be no need to employ the “UPDATE TYPE” command to correct any falsely typed fields.
A seamless data type interface simplifies the initial attachment process as well as all subsequent attachments necessitated by database changes as they occur over time. It also minimizes your efforts and the possibility of errors.
For these reasons, it is recommended that you correct the item definitions in your database prior to attaching the database to any DBE.
When you do attach your DB to a DBE:

Not to be continued.

This is the 5th and last Adager Column addressing the command flaws of the IMAGE/SQL utility IMAGESQL.PUB.SYS. There are other flaws, but it's simply too depressing and unrewarding for me to continue addressing them.



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