I'm pretty sure Transact only opens databases when the program starts.
Not files. Files must be explicitly opened (all be it automatically if
you're using Transact verbs).

That being true, there is a way by which referenced files in Transact
need not be a "fixed entity".
You issue file equations "on the fly", so to speak, from within a
program.
All you need to do is to construct a "FILE generic = filename_whatever"
string and issue it using proc command.
This construct allows for a "generic" filename in the SYSTEM command and
then as many re-directions as needed.

Costas Anastassiades,
Intracom SA
Athens-Greece


-----Original Message-----
>From: Brad Feazell <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 4:51 PM
>Subject: Re: Transact - howmany users out there?
>
>
>>Sletten Kenneth W KPWA wrote:
>>
>>> [snip] This feature includes what was for many years
>>>a separate request on the SIGRAPID enhancement list:  The ability
>>>to defer database opens until a particular database is actually
>>>needed by a database access verb.
>>
>>Do you know if this will work for MPE files as well? I've been using
>>Transact lately to prep some Image information for display on a
browser
>but
>>I ran into a couple of very annoying problems.
>>
>>1. Transact opens all referenced databases and files when the program
>>starts. Therefore, the filename in the system statement is a fixed
>entity.
>>Yes, you can use file equations but that doesn't help when you are
>using
>>uniquely named message files as communication pipes back to a browser.
>>
>>I wonder if the enhancement will give you the ability to tell Transact
>the
>>filename *after* the system statement - say, when you've dug it out of
>the
>>info string with the getinfo intrinsic. For now I'm using HPFOPEN and
>FWRITE
>>which means I can't use Transact's built-in file writing abilities.
>>
>>2. I cannot call a Transact program from *any* process in a CGI
context
>>under the Apache web server. I tried HPCICOMMAND, TL-CALL-TRANSACT and
>>CREATEPROCESS but with each I get the same result -- tombstone. I CAN
>call a
>>Transact process from the POSIX shell in a POSIX directory. Only fails
>in
>>the CGI context. This is a bummer because Transact is so good at Image
>>processing.
>>
>>In fact, because Transact is so good at Image processing, I created a
>COBOL
>>program to run under a job whose sole purpose is to spawn a Transact
>process
>>on the browser's behalf. Message files are used to communicate between
>the
>>browser and the spawned Transact program.
>>
>>I would have never considered going through all that trouble except
>that the
>>alternative for me was attempting to emulate recursion in COBOL --
>something
>>Transact does with ease. The difference in lines of code would have
>probably
>>been tens instead of hundreds (assuming I could ever figure out how to
>do
>>the recursion with COBOL which is doubtful).
>>
>>Now if I could just get around the CGI problem, I would do all my web
>stuff
>>with Transact.
>>
>>--
>>Brad Feazell
>>
>
>