VFP9 ODBC connection errors (again)

[dgrewe]

Just got an Application written VFP3 and they want many changes and it updated to VFP9.

There are 2 database. The main VFP database with all the tables is on the Server. A second VFP database, holding nothing but views and connection string, is on the local computer running the application. Connection string is using ODBC. They are insistent on it being setup this way.

Getting many errors trying to use the VFP7-9 databse features because of the VFP6 ODBC driver shipped with VFP9 SP2.

Any solutions to the problem? Or is the only answer to convert the server Database to MY-SQL or MSSQL Express.




David W. Grewe Dave

 

[Olaf Doschke]

This setup does make much sense to seperate a view database from the central database, they are right to being insistent on it. There just is no need to do that via ODBC on local views. If it's remote views there still is a point
in it, for being the base to later switch to MSSQL or another backend remote database.

You can't use VFP7-9 features in this setup of course, and there's only two things you can do:

1. Use the Advantage Database server and adapt the server database to it, it just does not support RI code in the server DBC, but you can upgrade that DBC to ADS and let it check referential integrity.

2. Don't use VFP7-9 features.

If their demands need both newer DBC features and ODBC connection and ADS doesn't work for you, there's nothing you can do but break one of their demands, if you don't want to migrate their data to another database that still supports ODBC.

I'd perhaps replace remote views with local views. And for the sake of being able to switch backend later via remote instead of local views you'd then either create remote views with the same view names as the local ones or introduce a naming convention and switch in your framework. Eg the deprecated Mere Mortals framework supports that stratege with a prefix on local and remote views, whcich otherwise do not differ in what data they retrieve and update in a DBC or other database.

Bye, Olaf.