What Detail Datasets Have the Bad Data?

You know there is an invalid key value in a TurboIMAGE automatic master, but you don't know which of the 16 details contain the bad value. How to find them all?

You could create a custom Suprtool job that looks in each of the linked datasets. But perhaps you have not worked on this database in a year or so. It could take a long time to get the names of the related sets, and the names of the key field in each one, all spelled correctly! Nothing difficult, but time-consuming.

Or, you could use the List;Related command of Suprtool's Dbedit module.

This extremely simple command shows you all the entries in the database that are linked to one specific entry!

For example, I know that there is an invalid key value "N45 0002" in the A-ACCOUNT-SITE automatic master, but I don't know what detail sets have the offending data. Remember, automatic entries are created, uh, automatically, when you insert data into a related detail. If you want to have the detail insertion to fail unless the key value has been previously inserted, you would use a manual master dataset.

:run suprtool.pub.robelle
>base cko       {open the database}
Password [;]?
>edit           {enter the Dbedit module}
#               {prompt changes to #}
#
#list a-account-site;related

List in File: A-ACCOUNT-SITE  

    ACCOUNT-SITE       >N45 0002   {Enter the bad value}

ACCOUNT-SITE    = N45 0002

Related Records from the File : D-SITE-INFO     
  Key to path: ACCOUNT-SITE    
No records found for this path.

Related Records from the File : D-ADDRESS       
  Key to path: ACCOUNT-SITE    
No records found for this path.

Related Records from the File : D-CPUS          
  Key to path: ACCOUNT-SITE    
ACCOUNT-NO      = N45            ACCOUNT-SITE    = N45 0002
PRODUCT-CODE    = ST             PRODUCT-OPTION  = LIC
CPU-MODEL       = SERIES 997-800
TIER-PURCHASED  =                CPU-OS          = MPE/iX
CPU-NO          = 4              CPU-HANDLE      = BANDIT
CPU-ID-NO       = 818110156
SUPPORT-FLAG    = Y

ACCOUNT-NO      = N45            ACCOUNT-SITE    = N45 0002
PRODUCT-CODE    = ST             PRODUCT-OPTION  = LIC
CPU-MODEL       = SERIES 969-420
TIER-PURCHASED  =                CPU-OS          = MPE/iX
CPU-NO          = 5              CPU-HANDLE      = SMOKEY
CPU-ID-NO       = 301661304
SUPPORT-FLAG    = Y

ACCOUNT-NO      = N45            ACCOUNT-SITE    = N45 0002
PRODUCT-CODE    = LQ             PRODUCT-OPTION  = LIC
CPU-MODEL       = SERIES 969-420
TIER-PURCHASED  = 1              CPU-OS          = MPE/iX
CPU-NO          = 0              CPU-HANDLE      = SMOKEY
CPU-ID-NO       = 301661304
SUPPORT-FLAG    = Y

The List;Related command found 3 entries in the d-cpus dataset that contain the bad value, ACCOUNT-SITE = N45 0002.

We show our listing to the administration staff and they tell us that the proper ACCOUNT-SITE value is "N45 0001". But what is the fastest way to fix it? We could use a serial Get, an Extract and an Update, but that is a lot of syntax to get correctly.

Or, we could use the Dbedit Change command. With this command, Suprtool changes the value of a master entry, and then updates all the detail entries that were pointed to by the original value.

For example,

#change a-account-site

Change Key Value for File: A-ACCOUNT-SITE  

Enter Existing Key Value to Find: 
    ACCOUNT-SITE       >N45 0002
Enter New Key Value to Replace with:
    ACCOUNT-SITE       >N45 0001

ACCOUNT-SITE    = N45 0002

OK to change this entry [no]: y
Begin changes (be patient) .. .. end changes!!

That's it. Less than 5 minutes to solve a problem that could have taken an hour to debug and fix.

Notes:

You can also do List;Related on a detail entry and Suprtool will show you all the master entries that point to it.

Dbedit also supported with the Eloquence database in Suprtool for HP-UX.