GYSGT MICHAEL J RILEY <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I appologize for the confusion.  We have a Turbo Image database. We also use
>Transact as the programming language.  The RECNO I'm referring to is
listed as
>one of the options under FIND, GET, and DELETE in the Transact manual and
>DBFIND, DBGET and DBDELETE in the Turbo Image manual. I should have been more
>clear on this.
>
>The records I'm trying to delete are part of detailed sets not masters.  We
>have a poorly designed database and the only way to identify the record to be
>deleted is by doing a serial read.  Since I need to delete 80,000 records
this
>will require separate serial reads on a file of 500,000 records.  To me this
>is very inefficient.  That's why I was asking if RECNO (as described in the
>Turbo Image Manual) remains constant through the life of the record.
>
>The question still remains... Does RECNO (the 32-bit integer used by Turbo
>Image) remain with the record for the life of that record while exists
withing
>the Turbo Image database.  As far as I can tell we DO NOT repack the database
>using any kind of utility.

The RECNO is the actual sequence number of the record in the file.  In
detail datasets, this number does not change, unless, as someone mentioned,
you do a DELETE and a PUT.  Because of this possibility, don't try what you
are suggesting unless you have total control of the database.  With that
proviso, you should have no problems.

In fact, reading serially should be very efficient, particularly as you
want such a large number of records.

If you need to do the same on a master, it is more tricky.  If you delete
the head of a synonym chain the first secondary will move into its place,
and if this is also one you want to delete, its original place will be
empty (and since no-one is adding records it should stay that way).  So,
check to make sure that there is still a record when you try to read it.
Then repeat your process until you have gotten rid of all the duplicates.

John D. Alleyn-Day
Alleyn-Day International
408-286-6421   408-286-6474 (Fax)
[log in to unmask]       http://www.Alleyn-Day.com
"The man that never made a mistake never made anything"