Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Data Management:
Database Administration

Preface

This Preface contains the following sections:

Purpose
Audience
Organization
Using this manual
Typographical conventions
Examples of syntax descriptions
OpenEdge messages

Purpose

This manual describes OpenEdge® RDBMS administration concepts, procedures, and utilities. The procedures allow you to create and maintain your OpenEdge databases and manage their performance. This manual assumes that you are familiar with the OpenEdge RDBMS planning concepts discussed in OpenEdge Getting Started: Database Essentials .

Audience

This manual is designed as a guide and reference for OpenEdge Database Administrators.

Organization

Part I, Database Basics

Chapter 1 "Creating and Deleting Databases"

Describes how to create and delete OpenEdge databases.

Chapter 2 "OpenEdge RDBMS Limits"

Catalogs limits of the OpenEdge RDBMS, including all aspects of database size, operating system limits, naming conventions, and data types.

Chapter 3 "Starting Up and Shutting Down"

Describes the commands required to start up and shut down an OpenEdge database.

Part II, Protecting Your Data

Chapter 4 "Backup Strategies"

Discusses various approaches to backing up your database.

Chapter 5 "Backing Up a Database"

Describes the mechanics of backing up your database with the PROBKUP utility.

Chapter 6 "Recovering a Database"

Examines recovery strategies and how to use the PROREST utility to restore an OpenEdge database.

Chapter 7 "After-imaging"

Presents after-imaging and how to use it for data recovery. Also, describes how to implement after-imaging with after-image extents.

Chapter 8 "Maintaining Security"

Describes how to implement database security, including assigning user IDs and designating database administrators.

Chapter 9 "Auditing"

Introduces auditing. How to enable and disable auditing on your database, and what can be audited is discussed.

Chapter 10 "Replicating Data"

Examines replication schemes and how to implement log-based replication.

Chapter 11 "Failover Clusters"

Explains how to configure and manage a cluster-enabled database.

Chapter 12 "Distributed Transaction Processing"

Explains distributed transaction processing, and discusses support for two-phase commit and the Java Transaction API (JTA).

Part III, Maintaining and Monitoring Your Database

Chapter 13 "Managing Performance"

Discusses how to monitor tune database performance.

Chapter 14 "Maintaining Database Structure"

Describes methods to manage the database structure and alter it as necessary to improve storage and performance.

Chapter 15 "Dumping and Loading"

Explains how to dump and load databases, including tables, indexes, and sequences.

Chapter 16 "Logged Data"

Examines the process of logging significant database events.

Part IV, Reference

Chapter 17 "Startup and Shutdown Commands"

Catalogs the OpenEdge RDBMS commands for starting up and shutting down database sessions and processes.

Chapter 18 "Database Startup Parameters"

Lists and details the OpenEdge RDBMS startup parameters.

Chapter 19 "PROMON Utility"

Details the PROMON Utility used for monitoring your database.

Chapter 20 "PROUTIL Utility"

Details the PROUTIL Utility used for maintaining your database.

Chapter 21 "PROSTRCT Utility"

Details the PROSTRCT Utility used for creating and updating the physical structure of your database.

Chapter 22 "RFUTIL Utility"

Details the RFUTIL Utility used for managing after imaging.

Chapter 23 "Other Database Administration Utilities"

Details other database utilities including PROBKUP, PROREST, PROCOPY, PRODEL, and PROLOG.

Chapter 24 "SQL Utilities"

Details the utilities used for maintaining your database for use with SQL.

Chapter 25 "Virtual System Tables"

Describes the Virtual System Tables that allow 4GL and SQL applications to examine the status of a database and monitor its performance.

Using this manual

This book is organized into four complementary parts:

Part I, “Database basics,” describes the basic commands for creating and deleting, and starting up and shutting down databases, along with detailing database limits.
Part II, “Protecting your data,” describes the procedures a database administrator uses to protect a database in a flexible business environment. Each chapter discusses a particular administrative activity.
Part III, “Maintaining and monitoring your database,” describes the procedures and tools a database administrator employs to keep a database functioning efficiently.
Part IV, “Reference,” describes the OpenEdge RDBMS commands, startup parameters, utilities, and system tables. Refer to the chapters in Part 4 when you need to access specific descriptive information, such as the syntax of an administration utility.

Typographical conventions

This manual uses the following typographical conventions:

Convention	Description
Bold	Bold typeface indicates commands or characters the user types, provides emphasis, or the names of user interface elements.
Italic	Italic typeface indicates the title of a document, or signifies new terms.
SMALL, BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS	Small, bold capital letters indicate OpenEdge® key functions and generic keyboard keys; for example, GET and CTRL.
KEY1+KEY2	A plus sign between key names indicates a simultaneous key sequence: you press and hold down the first key while pressing the second key. For example, CTRL+X.
KEY1 KEY2	A space between key names indicates a sequential key sequence: you press and release the first key, then press another key. For example, ESCAPE H.
Syntax:
Fixed width	A fixed-width font is used in syntax statements, code examples, system output, and filenames.
Fixed-width italics	Fixed-width italics indicate variables in syntax statements.
Fixed-width bold	Fixed-width bold indicates variables with special emphasis.
UPPERCASE fixed width	Uppercase words are Progress® 4GL language keywords. Although these are always shown in uppercase, you can type them in either uppercase or lowercase in a procedure.
	This icon (three arrows) introduces a multi-step procedure.
	This icon (one arrow) introduces a single-step procedure.
Period (.) or colon (:)	All statements except DO, FOR, FUNCTION, PROCEDURE, and REPEAT end with a period. DO, FOR, FUNCTION, PROCEDURE, and REPEAT statements can end with either a period or a colon.
[ ]	Large brackets indicate the items within them are optional.
[ ]	Small brackets are part of the Progress 4GL language.
{ }	Large braces indicate the items within them are required. They are used to simplify complex syntax diagrams.
{ }	Small braces are part of the Progress 4GL language. For example, a called external procedure must use braces when referencing arguments passed by a calling procedure.
|	A vertical bar indicates a choice.
...	Ellipses indicate repetition: you can choose one or more of the preceding items.

Examples of syntax descriptions

In this example, ACCUM is a keyword, and aggregate and expression are variables:

Syntax

ACCUM aggregate expression

FOR is one of the statements that can end with either a period or a colon, as in this example:

FOR EACH Customer:   DISPLAY Name. END.

In this example, STREAM stream, UNLESS-HIDDEN, and NO-ERROR are optional:

Syntax

DISPLAY [ STREAM stream ] [ UNLESS-HIDDEN ] [ NO-ERROR ]

In this example, the outer (small) brackets are part of the language, and the inner (large) brackets denote an optional item:

Syntax

INITIAL [ constant [ , constant ] ]

A called external procedure must use braces when referencing compile-time arguments passed by a calling procedure, as shown in this example:

Syntax

{ &argument-name }

In this example, EACH, FIRST, and LAST are optional, but you can choose only one of them:

Syntax

PRESELECT [ EACH | FIRST | LAST ] record-phrase

In this example, you must include two expressions, and optionally you can include more. Multiple expressions are separated by commas:

Syntax

MAXIMUM ( expression , expression [ , expression ] ... )

In this example, you must specify MESSAGE and at least one expression or SKIP [ (n) ], and any number of additional expression or SKIP [ ( n ) ] is allowed:

Syntax

MESSAGE { expression | SKIP [ ( n ) ] } ...

In this example, you must specify {include-file, then optionally any number of argument or &argument-name = "argument-value", and then terminate with }:

Syntax

{ include-file     [ argument | &argument-name = "argument-value" ] ... }

Long syntax descriptions split across lines

Some syntax descriptions are too long to fit on one line. When syntax descriptions are split across multiple lines, groups of optional and groups of required items are kept together in the required order.

In this example, WITH is followed by six optional items:

Syntax

WITH [ ACCUM max-length ] [ expression DOWN ]   [ CENTERED ] [ n COLUMNS ] [ SIDE-LABELS ]   [ STREAM-IO ]

Complex syntax descriptions with both required and optional elements

Some syntax descriptions are too complex to distinguish required and optional elements by bracketing only the optional elements. For such syntax, the descriptions include both braces (for required elements) and brackets (for optional elements).

In this example, ASSIGN requires either one or more field entries or one record. Options available with field or record are grouped with braces and brackets:

Syntax

ASSIGN   { [ FRAME frame ] { field [ = expression ] }             [ WHEN expression ] } ...        | { record [ EXCEPT field ... ] }

OpenEdge messages

OpenEdge displays several types of messages to inform you of routine and unusual occurrences:

Execution messages inform you of errors encountered while OpenEdge is running a procedure; for example, if OpenEdge cannot find a record with a specified index field value.
Compile messages inform you of errors found while OpenEdge is reading and analyzing a procedure before running it; for example, if a procedure references a table name that is not defined in the database.
Startup messages inform you of unusual conditions detected while OpenEdge is getting ready to execute; for example, if you entered an invalid startup parameter.

After displaying a message, OpenEdge proceeds in one of several ways:

Continues execution, subject to the error-processing actions that you specify or that are assumed as part of the procedure. This is the most common action taken after execution messages.
Returns to the Progress Procedure Editor, so you can correct an error in a procedure. This is the usual action taken after compiler messages.
Halts processing of a procedure and returns immediately to the Progress Procedure Editor. This does not happen often.
Terminates the current session.

OpenEdge messages end with a message number in parentheses. In this example, the message number is 200:

** Unknown table name table. (200)

If you encounter an error that terminates OpenEdge, note the message number before restarting.

Obtaining more information about OpenEdge messages

In Windows platforms, use OpenEdge online help to obtain more information about OpenEdge messages. Many OpenEdge tools include the following Help menu options to provide information about messages:

Choose Help Recent Messages to display detailed descriptions of the most recent OpenEdge message and all other messages returned in the current session.
Choose Help Messages and then type the message number to display a description of a specific OpenEdge message.
In the Progress Procedure Editor, press the HELP key or F1.

On UNIX platforms, use the Progress pro command to start a single-user mode character OpenEdge client session and view a brief description of a message by providing its number.

To use the pro command to obtain a message description by message number:

Start the Progress Procedure Editor:

install-dir/dlc/bin/pro

Press F3 to access the menu bar, then choose Help Messages.
Type the message number and press ENTER. Details about that message number appear.
Press F4 to close the message, press F3 to access the Progress Procedure Editor menu, and choose File Exit.