*********************************************************** BDE and SQL Links Release Notes***********************************************************This file contains important, late-breaking informationabout the Borland Database Engine (BDE) and SQL Links forWindows, including revisions to the documentation.Information in this file supersedes information in the BDEand SQL Links documentation where they differ from thisfile.TABLE OF CONTENTS=========================================================== 1. TIPS FOR USING THE BDE AND SQL LINKS 1.1 Where to start: SQL Links 1.2 Where to start: BDE 2. BEHAVIOR CHANGES 2.1 Performance Improvements on DbiModifyRecord 2.2 Transaction Isolation Levels & InterBase 3. DISTRIBUTING THE BDE AND SQL LINKS 4. BDE AND SQL LINKS DOCUMENTATION 5. UPDATES, TECHNICAL INFO, AND LATE-BREAKING NEWS 6. CONFIGURING THE BDE 7. KNOWN PROBLEMS 7.1 Oracle 8 7.2 Sybase CT-LIB Driver1. TIPS FOR USING THE BDE AND SQL LINKS===========================================================1.1 Where to start: SQL Links-----------------------------For information about configuring and connecting to SQLservers, see the Help file SQLLNK32.HLP. This Help filealso contains a "Hints, Problems, and Notes" topic withtips and troubleshooting information. This help file isinstalled in the main BDE directory.Availability of SQL Links is dependent on the INPRISEproduct used. Consult the documentation for the specificINPRISE product used to see whether SQL Links is included.1.2 Where to start: BDE-----------------------For information about configuring the BDE, working withaliases, and making ODBC driver accessible to the BDE, seethe Help file BDEADMIN.HLP. For information on BDE APIfunctions, see the Help file BDE32.HLP (availabilitydependent on the product with which the BDE was installed).For information on migrating data between databases usingthe Data Pump utility, see the Help file DATAPUMP.HLP. Forinformation on using SQL with local tables (dBASE andParadox) see the Help file LOCALSQL.HLP. All of these BDEHelp files are installed in the main BDE directory.2. BEHAVIOR CHANGES===========================================================2.1 Performance Improvements on DbiModifyRecord-----------------------------------------------DbiModifyRecord no longer generates an UPDATE statement onunchanged record buffers. This improves performance.2.2 Transaction Isolation Levels & InterBase--------------------------------------------By adding 4096 to the setting of DRIVER FLAGS in theBorland Database Engine (BDE) configuration, you canspecify that the InterBase SQL Links driver should use softcommits. Soft commits are a feature of InterBase that letthe driver retain the cursor when commiting changes. Softcommits improve performance on updates to large sets ofdata. When not used, the BDE must re-fetch all the records,even for a single record change. With soft commit thecursor is retained, and a re-fetch is not needed. Softcommits are never used in explicit transactions started byBDE client applications. DRIVER FLAGS Isolation level Commit type ------------ --------------- ------------ 0 Read committed hard commit 512 Repeatable read hard commit 4096 Read committed soft commit 4608 Repeatable read soft commit3. DISTRIBUTING THE BDE AND SQL LINKS===========================================================See the file BDEDEPLOY.TXT for specific informationregarding redistributing the BDE and SQL Links withapplications. This file is found in the main BDE directory.4. BDE AND SQL LINKS DOCUMENTATION===========================================================Documentation for the Borland Database Engine (BDE) and SQLLinks is only available in the form of on-line Help files(see "1. TIPS FOR USING THE BDE AND SQL LINKS" for thenames of these files). When the information in the on-lineHelp files and this file conflict, the information in thisfile should be considered correct.5. UPDATES, TECHNICAL INFO, AND LATE-BREAKING NEWS===========================================================Updates to the Borland Database Engine (BDE), SQL Links,and documentation for the two may be distributed in anumber of ways. Updates are typically always available fromthe BDE Developer Support Web page. See the URL: http://www.inprise.com/devsupport/bde/The BDE Developer Support Web page also contains tips,links to Technical Information sheets (TIs), examples, andother useful technical information.6. CONFIGURING THE BDE===========================================================The Borland Database Engine (BDE) comes with the utilityprogram BDE Administrator. Installed in the main BDE direc-tory, this utility is used to: configure the BDE; add,delete, and modify BDE aliases; configure database drivers;and connect to installed ODBC drivers (this latteroperation not available with all programming tools withwhich the BDE is installed).7. KNOWN PROBLEMS===========================================================7.1 Oracle 8------------The latest Oracle 8.0.4 client is required to work with theOracle 8 driver (SQLORA8.DLL). There are known problems inthe Oracle 8.0.3 client.The BDE does not support references to object memberswithin live queries.The BDE does not support indexes with nested tables.COLLECTION (NESTED TABLE/VARRAY) and REFERENCE access:there is a memory loss when fetching data from andnavigating through NESTED TABLE data. This is an Oracleproblem, Oracle problem #593042. The fix for this isavailable from Oracle in the OCI 8.0.4.2 patch.7.2 Sybase CT-LIB SQL Links Driver----------------------------------The CT-Lib driver works with Sybase version 10.0.4 EBF7264or higher.7.3 Sybase SQL Links Driver---------------------------There is an additional parameter setting not documented:CS CURSOR ROWS, with a default value of 1. The value of theCS CURSOR ROWS setting defines the number of rows that theserver returns to Client-Library per internal fetchrequest. The default setting is 1. For example, if CSCURSOR ROWS is set to 5, Client-Library makes an internalfetch request when an application calls fetch the firsttime, the sixth time, and so on. In general, a higher CSCURSOR ROWS setting can benefit application performancewhen processing a read-only cursor. A higher CS CURSOR ROWSsetting decreases the number of network round tripsrequired to fetch rows. However, if CS CURSOR ROWS is settoo high and Client-Library must buffer rows, the bufferingoverhead can outweigh the gains achieved by decreasing thenumber of round trips.===========================================================Unless otherwise noted, all materials provided in thisrelease are Copyright 1983 - 1998 by INPRISE Corporation.========================= END =============================