by reinaldocrespo » Fri Oct 12, 2012 6:21 pm
BTW - since we are on this subject, I might as well add some more information. In a client-server paradigm (like any SQL including ADS SQL), index or table corruption is very unlikely. The reason tables and indexes get corrupted is because something happens that breaks or interrupts the communication between the shared drived and the workstation. When this happes, for whatever reason including network failures, and data was either being read or written to the shared drive, corruption occurs. In a 2-tier paradigm, this doesn't happen since read and writes are all managed by the server regardless of the workstation status.
Back when ADS was young, it was advertised as a tool to avoid corruption. The original developers didn't intend to write an SQL. All they did was mostly re-write the communications layer so that all Clipper dbf operation would be carried out by the server. These were Clipper and c programmers writing mobile code. Their .dbfs and ntxs used get corrupted all the time, so they decided to do something about it. That's how ADS was born.
An SQL company called iAnywhere got interested on their mobile code and patents and decided to buy them. The unintended consequence is that they also got ADS SQL. Then Sybase got interested on the mobile technology that was acquired by iAnywhere and thus, decided to buy them out. The unintended consequence is that they now also acquired two SQLs (iAnywhere and ADS). Sybase already owned ASE (adaptive server which is the parent of MS-SQL server) as well as AI. So now Sybase owned 4 SQLs. Recently SAP got interested on all this mobility technology and patents, and ended up purchasing Sybase for 8 billion dollars. So now, ADS belongs to SAP. In essence, with ADS there is more SQL know-how and expertise than at any other company.
Now days ADS is much more than just a means to avoid corruption. Now you get everything other "bigger" and more expensive SQLs have while also keeping the original clipper like syntax. The demands of more modern and complex ways to manage data, forces us each day to migrate more and more towards SQL and multi-tier paradigms. ADS -with its clipper like ISAM RDD -just makes it a little easier to get started. But once you have migrated to ADS REMOTE server, you need to start taking it a step further and learn SQL, triggers, Referential Integrity rules, Web Services + Mobile data access, data dictionary. It takes time. The good news is that you get to keep working with .dbf/fpt/cdx and .adt/adm/adi.
Reinaldo.