Hey all,

I have been searching around through this forum for a little bit now,
but I want to make sure I do everything right.  The version I have
runs in a DOS environment and the company I work for wants to get rid
of it for Access.  Now the way I understand it, I can export all the
records using the 'unload' command.  What directory do I have to be in
to do this?  Also how long does it take because we still need it until
it gets moved over, so I would hope to continue to use it while
transferring things over.  Currently, I have been doing searches to
find a group of information (box numbers) and then outputing those
records to the default 'perform.out' and then I bring them home on a
floppy and extract the data further with a Java program I wrote.
Unfortunately, there are upwards of 3000+ boxes to be gone through and
I am on a measley 333, so anything to increase the time it will take
to transfer will help great.  I am the closest these people have to an
IT guy, but I don't officially have the degree.  The IS support people
don't even want to touch this stuff, so any help would be appreciated.

Any with enough space

How big is it and what box are you on?
If you are exporting then you will need a db level lock.

--
Paul Watson             #          
Oninit Ltd              # Growing old is mandatory
Tel: +44 1436 672201    # Growing up is optional
Fax: +44 1436 678693    #
www.oninit.com          #

I don't blame them for wanting to get rid of DOS.  And ISQL 2.10.06 is
not supported any more (and probably hasn't been for a decade or so).

Paul means that if you use the DB-Export (dbexport) command, then you
will get a complete copy of the whole database.  On the other hand, you
may only be interested in certain records from certain tables, in which
case DB-Export may be overkill.  On the other hand, a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
with the exports of all the data may be useful as an archival record of
what you migrated.

You don't have to unload everything; you can also unload any subset of
the records for a single table:

    UNLOAD TO "filename.unl"
        SELECT * FROM TheTable
            WHERE address1 MATCHES "*P*O*B[oO][xX]*";

You would write the WHERE clause to match what you were typing into ISQL
Perform.

I guess you meant 'anything to reduce the time'; if you need to increase
the time, simply don't do anything for another 6 months. :-)

Good luck.

--
Jonathan Leffler                         #include <disclaimer.h>
STSM, IBM Data Management Solutions.      Phone: +1 650-926-6921

Guardian of DBD::Informix v1.00.PC1 -- http://dbi.perl.org
     "I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it!"