It's been to long since I've done a modify. Can someone tell me why this one is not working? It rejects every record.

TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT 
LENGTH AS 'WIDTH'
BY COUNTRY
BY CAR
ON TABLE SET ASNAMES ON
ON TABLE HOLD AS TEMP1 FORMAT ALPHA
END

TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT 
WIDTH
BY COUNTRY 
BY CAR 
ON TABLE HOLD AS TEMP2 FORMAT ALPHA
END
-RUN

MODIFY FILE TEMP2
  FIXFORM FROM TEMP1
  MATCH COUNTRY CAR
 ON NOMATCH REJECT 
 ON MATCH UPDATE WIDTH

DATA ON TEMP1
END
-RUN
TABLE FILE TEMP2
PRINT *
END  

This message has been edited. Last edited by: <Kathryn Henning>,

TEMP2, the modified file needs to be either an SQL table or a FOCUS file.

WAZ: I thought so too, but decided to check, and lo and behold,

"Starting with Version 7.6.1, a fixed-formatted sequential file may be the target of the MODIFY procedure." - so says the Keysheet.

I imagine it only supports UPDATE.


RRKen: What's the error message?

[edit:]

By the nature of the in-place update, it would require a fixed-record-length Filedef. Better check whether that's what your HOLD generates.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: j.gross,

Now you have be interested.

I wonder if its INCLUDE only, just adding to the file.

Waz,
You are quite right.
You can only add records to the end of an existing sequential file.

Fortunately, the error message (apparently) doesn't spell that out. If it did, the question would never have been posted, and we would have lost the educational opportunity provided by this thread.

Why not just HOLD the second table as FORMAT FOCUS ?

That makes the MODIFY easy - INCLUDE, UPDATE, and DELETE are all supported.

Personally, I'd do the two HOLDS in reverse order and get:

TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT 
WIDTH
BY COUNTRY 
BY CAR 
ON TABLE HOLD AS TEMP2 FORMAT FOCUS
-RUN

TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT 
LENGTH AS 'WIDTH'
BY COUNTRY
BY CAR
ON TABLE SET ASNAMES ON
ON TABLE HOLD
END

MODIFY FILE TEMP2
  FIXFORM FROM HOLD
  MATCH COUNTRY CAR
 ON NOMATCH REJECT 
 ON MATCH UPDATE WIDTH

DATA ON HOLD
END
-RUN

TABLE FILE TEMP2
PRINT *
END    

This message has been edited. Last edited by: George Patton,

Even with GP's code I get the same problem off all records being rejected

quote:

 0 NUMBER OF RECORDS IN TABLE=       18  LINES=     18
0 NUMBER OF RECORDS IN TABLE=       18  LINES=     18
0 ERROR AT OR NEAR LINE     25  IN PROCEDURE ADHOCRQ FOCEXEC *
(FOC439) WARNING. A MATCH CONDITION HAS BEEN ASSUMED FOR: FOCLIST
(FOC415)TRANS     1 REJECTED  NOMATCH SEG01
ENGLAND     JAGUAR          @g?33333
(FOC415)TRANS     2 REJECTED  NOMATCH SEG01
...
0 TRANSACTIONS:         TOTAL =    18  ACCEPTED=     0  REJECTED=    18
SEGMENTS:             INPUT =     0  UPDATED =     0  DELETED =     0
0 NUMBER OF RECORDS IN TABLE=       18  LINES=     18 

When you use the PRINT verb, the output can include multiple rows with identical sort-key ("BY" field) values. In order to give each row in the result a unique set of keys in the generated FOCUS file, when you HOLD FORMAT FOCUS, a tie-breaker field named FOCLIST is added as a low-order sort key.

(You'll see it in the output of your final PRINT * request)

Since you are not providing FOCLIST in you FIXFORM, its value defaults to zero, hence the no-match condition.

To avoid that, change PRINT to SUM in the TABLE request that produces TEMP2.

awesome, thanks FOCLIST was my problem
thanks!

Oops ... my bad. Forgot about FOCLIST. Thanks Jack!

Yes, its one of those little gems that jumps out and bites you from time to time.