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Database Administration
Maintaining and Monitoring Your Database : Dumping and Loading : Specialized dump and load techniques : Economizing disk space
 
Economizing disk space
A database can inefficiently occupy system disk space over time, especially during development phases when frequent deletions of database elements occur. One benefit of dumping and reloading a database is better allocation of disk space.
Dumping and reloading a database involves essentially creating a new starting version of the database and loading the table contents into this new database. During the loading stage PROUTIL repartitions the disk, removing any gaps created when database elements were deleted, thereby more efficiently allocating disk space. Use PROUTIL with the TABANALYS qualifier to see how fragmented a database is. For information, see the description of PROUTIL TABANALYS in PROUTIL Utility.
To economize disk space by dumping and reloading a database:
1. Start an OpenEdge session with the database (the source) you want to copy.
2. Dump the database table definitions into a data definitions file.
3. Dump the database table data into a contents file.
4. Dump the sequence values.
5. Create a new copy of the database.
6. Designate the new (target) database you created in Step 5 as the working database.
7. With the data definitions file you created in Step 2, load the database definitions into the new database.
8. Load the table contents files you created in Step 3 into the new database, using either the Load or Bulk Loader utility.
9. Load the sequence values.
10. Delete the old database using the PRODEL utility.