[comp.databases] dBase dbf stru modify

cazier@mbunix.mitre.org (Cazier) (08/08/90)

Suppose I copy stru to test and then modi stru to fewer fields with the same
field names and sizes. How do I append from the "fuller" .DBF to the modified
.DBF just those fields with equal names and sizes? Is it required that I copy
the specific data to another file "delimited" then append from delimited?

wew@naucse.cse.nau.edu (Bill Wilson) (08/09/90)

From article <116447@linus.mitre.org>, by cazier@mbunix.mitre.org (Cazier):
> Suppose I copy stru to test and then modi stru to fewer fields with the same
> field names and sizes. How do I append from the "fuller" .DBF to the modified
> .DBF just those fields with equal names and sizes? Is it required that I copy
> the specific data to another file "delimited" then append from delimited?

When you append from a file that has more fields or fields of a 
different size, dBASE automatically looks for fields with the same
names and only appends the data between the files with fields
of the same name.  What you suggest is the standard way of
making a subset of a fuller file.

-- 
Let sleeping dragons lie........               | The RoleMancer 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Wilson             (Bitnet: ucc2wew@nauvm | wilson@nauvax)
Northern AZ Univ  Flagstaff, AZ 86011

mdb@abcom.ATT.COM (5013 ) (08/09/90)

From article <116447@linus.mitre.org>, by cazier@mbunix.mitre.org (Cazier):
> Suppose I copy stru to test and then modi stru to fewer fields with the same
> field names and sizes. How do I append from the "fuller" .DBF to the modified
> .DBF just those fields with equal names and sizes? Is it required that I copy
> the specific data to another file "delimited" then append from delimited?

Just copy the data from the old structure to the new one, if the name,length,
and field type are the same that piece of data will be carried over into
the new database.

			E X A M P L E

OLD DATABASE                               NEW DATABASE
------------                               ------------
FNAME	CHARACTER	10                 FNAME	CHARACTER 	5
LNAME	CHARACTER	20 		   AMOUNT	CHARACTER	10
AMOUNT	INTEGER		5

	-----------------------------------------------------

COMMAND --> USE NEW
	    APPEND FROM OLD

RESULTS --->
FNAME: MICHAEL				FNAME: MICHA
LNAME: BARNES				AMOUNT: 0
AMOUNT: 100

	As you can tell if you shorten character fields the information 
	load into that field will be truncated.

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