Linking to a subfile (was Subphyla question)
Ohmes, Matt
Matt.Ohmes@COGNOS.com
Wed, 1 Mar 2000 14:43:14 -0500
What? You mean I wasn't interesting on my own? ;-)
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J.M. Edis [mailto:robert.edis@creatcomp.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 1:34 PM
To: 'powerh-l@list.swau.edu'
Subject: RE: Linking to a subfile (was Subphyla question)
Sorry Richard
I originally wrote to Matt privately as I didn't think it was of general
interest, but it got interesting when Bob waded in.
Blue
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Witkopp
To: 'powerh-l@list.swau.edu'
Sent: 3/1/00 1:19 PM
Subject: RE: Linking to a subfile (was Subphyla question)
Wow, I never received any of this discourse except maybe the
first message. I wonder if the problem is with the listserver
or our mail system here.
> G'day Matt, Bob
>
> Actually you may have hit the nail on the head Bob. The
> report I mentioned
> to Matt did have a more complex ACCESS than I intimated. It
> was more along
> the lines of
>
> ACCESS table1 &
> LINK TO table2 OPTIONAL &
> LINK TO RECORD 0 OF *subfile
>
> SELECT IF ....
>
> This took about 45 minutes to run even though only a few
> thousand records
> were involved.
>
> By changing it to
>
> ACCESS table1 &
> LINK TO table2 OPTIONAL
> CHOOSE SYSTEMVALUE ...
> SELECT IF ...
>
> reduced the run time down to about 5 minutes even though the
> same number of
> records were read from the primary file.
>
> Blue
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Deskin, Bob
> To: Ohmes, Matt; 'Robert J.M. Edis'
> Sent: 3/1/00 6:40 AM
> Subject: RE: Subphyla question
>
> Theoretically (love that) a link to a specific record of a
> subfile (via
> LINK
> TO RECORD) should be treated like a link to a unique index. As long as
> the
> index value doesn't change, QUIZ doesn't read the record over
> because it
> "knows" that the record already in the buffer is the correct
> one. That's
> the
> simple case. However, if you throw in SELECTs and SELECT file IFs and
> OPTIONALs, the situation gets more complicated. There are cases where
> the
> input buffers are cleared because otherwise a DEFINE could be
> evaluated
> using data belonging to another complex.
>
> The way to test this is something like
>
> ACCESS A LINK TO B LINK TO RECORD 0/1 OF C
> GO
>
> The 0 or 1 to get the first record depends on the platform. C can be a
> direct file or a subfile, in which case put an asterisk on the front.
>
> There should be very little difference between using C or not using C
> (ACCESS A LINK TO B). But of course you have to run something
> that takes
> a
> reasonable amount of time because there will be file open overhead.
>
> As Matt suggested, this used to work but probably hasn't been
> checked in
> a
> long time. In fact I think it's documented that way, at least
> somewhere
> in
> all the PH manuals on my shelves :-)
>
> Bob
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohmes, Matt
> Sent: February 29, 2000 10:12 PM
> To: 'Robert J.M. Edis'
> Cc: Deskin, Bob
> Subject: RE: Subphyla question
>
>
> Hmmm... Well, to tell you the truth, I've never specifically
> tested it,
> but
> I'd heard this is the way it worked. And I've never had the type of
> performance problem you describe. I've used this technique a lot over
> the
> years and never saw the type of performance you described, but I've
> never
> specifically tried to test it.
>
> Now I must admit, I rarely worked on a UNIX box. My HP
> experience almost
> exclusively on HP3000, but I've also used the technique extensively on
> VAX.
>
> Also, were you accessing a relational table then linking to
> the subfile?
> If
> so, the performance enhancement is almost certainly
> attributable to the
> CHOOSE vs. a SELECT and not the Variable per se.
>
> Do I understand correctly the way we read a single record subfile Bob?
> Matt
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert J.M. Edis [mailto:robert.edis@creatcomp.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 5:29 PM
> To: 'Ohmes, Matt '
> Subject: RE: Subphyla question
>
>
> G'day Matt
>
> I have to challenge you on what you said about "Quiz will read the
> subfile
> record once". I 'fixed' a report for a client last year on a
> HP/UX box
> where a report was taking 45 minutes to run. This report was
> reading a
> table and linking to record 1 of a subfile. It read the subfile for
> each
> occrrence on the primary file.
>
> I replaced the logic using an environment variable and a CHOOSE on the
> primary file instead. This reduced the run time to only 5 minutes.
>
> Blue
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohmes, Matt
> To: 'Scott, Valerie'; POWERH-L@lists.swau.edu
> Sent: 2/29/00 5:48 PM
> Subject: RE: Subphyla question
>
> Actually you can link to the subfile from your data file. Try this:
>
> ACCESS datafile LINK TO RECORD 1 OF *subfile
>
> SELECT IF dateitem of subfile = dateitem of datafile
>
> Quiz will read the subfile record once and keep it in memory
> through the
> entire run, so it should be quite effecient.
>
> You didn't say what machine you are on, but the above works
> for VAX and
> UNIX
> (I believe). If you are on an HP3000, substitute a zero for the "1" in
> the
> ACCESS statement.
>
> Matt
>
> Matt.Ohmes@Cognos.Com
> Cognos Corporation
> 909 E. Las Colinas Blvd.
> Suite 1900
> Irving, TX 75039
> 214-259-6200
> "Matt doesn't really know anything. He just likes to
> pontificate a lot.
> We refuse to acknowledge that he works for Cognos or that we have ever
> met him or anyone with whom he's ever been associated. Don't lend him
> money and don't let him talk to your sister!" ;-)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Scott, Valerie [mailto:vscott@solanocounty.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 4:30 PM
> To: POWERH-L@lists.swau.edu
> Subject: Subphyla question
>
>
> How can I avoid needing a parm prompt entry in all 4 passes
> of a report?
> I
> am unable to pass the user date range beyond the first report.
>
> I am writing a Quiz program that runs 4 passes of data.
> Each pass for data require the same user entered Date range.
> I created a one record subfile(a) to accept the PARM PROMPTED date
> value.
> On the first report, I use a USE to run the subfile(a), prompting for
> the
> date.
> The remaining reports access other files and append to a separate
> subfile,
> which at the end is sorted and reported by type of record.
> I don't believe I can link to my 'date' subfile, because the data file
> is
> driving the reporting.
> Once the date range is captured, is there a way to hold the dates,
> throughout all four passes?
>
> Thank You,
> Valerie
> Solano County
>
>
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Valerie Scott
>
>
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