Re: How many records do I have?

["Mervyn E. Bennun" <mebennun@nospam.icon.co.za>]

Enrique,

I repeat the suggestion that I gave to Marjorie the other
day.

If you have backed up the data file(s), I would cut my
losses, delete the whole database, and then recreate the
database with the same name in the same subdirectory. Then I
would copy the good datafiles into it.

My experience has been that trying to repair things is not
always successful but is always tricky. The backup copy of
datafiles is for precisely the sort of situation in which
you find yourself.

The way you use a commuter disk, incidentally, is the way I
do it too. I like to think of the commuter disk as bearing
the master copy.

And I discard it every few months. I think that a floppy
used in this way gets one heck of a thrashing, and I'd hate
for it quite simply to wear out.....

I'm off now to the bush in Botswana (Okavango)..... 'bye,
everyone -  warmest good wishes for the festive season; 2002
looks as though it's making an inauspicious start, but may
peace win through: at least let us have tranquillity in our
hearts and hope for the future.

Affectionately,

Mervyn
________________
Mervyn E. Bennun,
29 Marmion Road,
Oranjezicht,
Cape Town 8001,
SOUTH AFRICA.
mebennun@nospam.icon.co.za
Tel/Fax: +27 (0)21 461 5535

----- Original Message -----
From: "Enrique Lynch" <lynch@nospam.trivium.gh.ub.es>
To: "Multiple recipients of list NOTABENE"
<notabene@nospam.piper.hamline.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, 19 December, 2001 14:40
Subject: How many records do I have?


Dear NB's,

I recently updated my laptop Ibidem datafiles following a
procedure
that, until now, never caused problems. It consists in
copying the
*.#O# files from the database folder on the desktop machine
to the
its corresponding mirror on the laptop by way of a commuter
disk.
Once done, I used to re-index the Ibidem database to avoid
getting
the usual error messages ("Illegal record number" usw.).
This time I
was unable to re-index. Ibidem reported something like
"Cannot create
index file". When called to screen, however, Ibidem would
let me
scroll up & down the database but all records newly added
where
simply omitted from the table view. I tried to re-index two
or more
times and noticed that:

a) Program created on the database (laptop) folder a new
folder with
the name of my database. A number of auxiliary files which I
had
never seen before showed on this folder.

b) Indexing affected ONLY the first three datafiles. The
fourth,
containing recent additions, was skipped.

Obvious to say that everything runs OK on the desktop
machine. So I
decided to simply copy & paste all the Ibidem files,
datafiles and
program files, from one computer to the other.  This worked
as a
partial solution. Now I have sort of clone database on my
laptop and
all my records are accesible but I still find puzzling
Ibidem would
not re-index an appended datafile on the laptop.

Now, the only difference between this datafiles and the
previous ones
is the size. I have the following datafiles:

LIBROS    #00      999147 Kb
LIBROS    #01      231805 Kb
LIBROS    #02      261882 Kb
LIBROS    #03      262133 Kb
LIBROS    #04      814710 Kb

I don't know why  #00 is so big compared to #01, #02 and #03
but I
think that this was the effect of Maintain executed in
NBDos. Libros
is my personal library database, which I started in the Dos
days and
eventually imported into NBWIN. The size of  #04, which
again is
disproportionate to the other datafiles can only be the
result of my
periodic adding of short titles to the records, a step I had
omitted
previously and I now regularly perform in order to take
advantage of
the short title citations in Ibidem. Every now and then I
fiddle into
my records and add the short titles to the old entries.

I don't consider myself as a filthy kind of person, but I
don't like
electronic cleaning-ups, specially when databases are
concerned. It
might be mere superstition but anyway... However, I decided
to take
my chance on the laptop, having the desktop basis as a
reference. So
I went Maintain, and first compacted the datafiles, then I
compacted
the index files (I had never used these features before in
NBWIN)
and, in the end, I re-indexed everything.

The database was accesible as before BUT:

a) I had no longer 3682 entries but 2847 although I am
absolutely
sure that I HAVE NOT ERASED 840 records from my library
database!!
Furthermore, I am absolutely sure that there are NO blank
records on
my database.

b) The sorting routine does not work properly. If I click on
"Author"
to sort alphabetically  the record inmmediately before the
last entry
is placed at the bottom of the sorted table view, overriding
the
alphabetical order.

Where are my 840 missing records?
Does sorting by author work OK on other people's databases?
Why does Ibidem index a 800000-900000 kb datafile on one
computer on
one computer and refuses
to do so on another?

Any comment will be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Enrique


Dr. Enrique Lynch
Departamento de Historia de la Filosofía, Estética y
Filosofía de la
Cultura
Universidad de Barcelona