Cory queried...

> But in this case we are working across multiple accounts with a
> single program listening for requests from our web site.  The web
> site is pushing us towards 24 x 7 access, but we still have nightly
> batch processes that must take place each business day.  Since
> these batch programs used to have exclusive access to a production
> database in their account, and the roots of most reach back 20+
> years, the DB opens are not consistent.  Assuming the DB is already
> open we'd like the listening program to find with which mode
> the DB was opened and then use the compatible open mode, 5 or 6.

Several years ago (more like 15 or 16), we encountered a similar problem
developing a new financial application for an oil company where I was
working.  The solution that I remember us implementing was checking the
return status code on the DBOPEN for the new app.  If it was "-32"
(unavailable mode), we simply changed from mode 5 to mode 6 and repeated the
call.  If this second call failed, we gave up...   In this scenario, you
really don't care what mode the database is already opened in - you just
want to open it again in a compatible mode.  Perhaps this solution would
work for your web app as well.

Glenn Koster
Quintessential School Systems
Developers of QWEBS (qwebs.qss.com)