Rescue for 4D Data - Documentation

RESCUE FOR 4D Data DOCUMENTATION- Doctor

DOCTOR

Doctor
- Choosing which files are checked
Verification (Log Only)
- To launch or halt the checking
- Messages of Doctor
Checking and manual correction
Checking and automatic correction
Additional information
To record a Log

Doctor :

Rescue For 4D Data is designed to bring to you maximum assistance in the repair of your databases. However, it will not perform any miracles before Version 2000 ;-))))

Rescue For 4D Data recovers everything it can. However, it will remove records which are severely damaged. While it is designed to return data to good operating condition, this will not always be enough.

4D Data is actually an advanced relational database with automatic integrity controls.

It is the integrity controls which are likely to be disturbed after a repair procedure in which records were removed.

Let us imagine that file A is related to file B by an automatic link with referential integrity. It would be impossible to validate a record in B without validating the corresponding record in A.

Consider a simpler example, one with or without integrity control, with or without a link. Say you have two files: an Invoice file and a Client file. If a customer record were removed, how would your database react?

Doctor makes it possible to open data created in 4th Dimension:

versions greater than 5.1.x,
version 6.0.x and
version 6.5.

Depending upon which options you have selected in Preferences, Doctor checks :

Indices : Checking of the indices (header check, index type, whether a record exists in this index, the corresponding index and record number).
Primary Address tables (PRA) : checks the Primary Address Record coherence.
Secondary Address tables (SRA): checks the Secondary Address Record coherence.
Delete Records : checks the coherence of the trash table.

Depending upon which options you have selected in the pop-up field of the zone Action, Doctor:

Does not effect corrections (Log Only option),

Allows you to make manual corrections (Manual Correct option),
Or corrects automatically (Auto Correct option).

The Log functions with the additional button on the IntelliMouse from Microsoft©.

Choose the files to be checked

You can choose which files are to be checked. Click on the button, on the right side of the zone Action.

The tables selection window appears :

The Select All button makes it possible to select or deselect all the files.
To select or deselect single a file, click on the icon.

Click on the Use It button to validate your choice or the Cancel button to cancel.
To check only (Log Only):: To check only (Log Only):

To launch or halt the checking procedure.
To launch or halt the checking process, click on the button.

Messages of Doctor:

Saturday, February 13, 1999
The date on which Doctor is run.

Start Log On "MyDataBase.4dD".
The type of operation and the name of the file analyzed.

Used On 4D v5 Macintosh.
The version of 4D and the type of machine on which the database is used.

Data File Size : 6891520 Bytes.
The file size, in bytes.

Checking Resources :
Expert Log.
Checking Index.
Checking PRA Table.
Checking SRA Table.
Checking Deleted Records.
Checking Record Headers.
Checking Record Fields.

Checking Alpha Fields.
Checking Integer Fields.
Checking Long Fields.
Checking Real Fields.
Checking Date Fields.
Checking Time Fields.
Checking Boolean Fields.
Checking SubFields.
Checking Text Fields.
Checking Picture Fields.
Checking Blob Fields.

Checks carried out according to which options you have selected in Preferences.

Checking Data File Tables :
Allocation Table Size 23552 Bytes.
10 Files, 35 Indices.
File Information Table Size 362 Bytes.
114157 Changes Made In Data File Since Last 4D Tool Compact.

- " 4D Was Interrupted When Saving A Bit Table ".
- " 4D Was Interrupted When Saving An Index ".
- " 4D Was Interrupted When Deleting An Index ".
- " 4D Found An Invalid Record Address ".
- " 4D Was Interrupted When Flushing Cache "

- " 4D Has An Unknown Operation Tag "

Size of the allocation table, in bytes.
The number of files, the number of indices
Size of the FIT, in bytes
The number of changes carried out on the database since the last compaction with 4D Util.

The log header displays the state of 4D when the database was last exited:

The Doctor does not change this flag.
It is possible to modify this flag in Editor.

This message indicates an undocumented flag.

Checking the records :

Checking "FSE":
Application begins checking the FSE file.

Checking PRA Validity...
Checking PRA Loading...OK

Checking SRA Validity...
2 SRA Table(s) Used 32768 Bytes.

Checking SRA Loading...OK
Checking SRA / Record Position...OK
Checking SRA / Deleted Records...OK

Checking Record Validity...
6478 Record(s) In File.
0 Unused Record(s) Address(es).

Checking the Primary Record Address.

Checking Secondary Record Address.
The number of SRA and their size in bytes

Checking the record address
and the trash table

Checking of the records
The number of records found
The number of empty records.

Checking Records...OK
Results of the checking procedure

Other Messages, depending upon which options you have selected in the Preferences of Doctor:

Header problems
Message

Rescue For 4D Data Solution

Checking the PRA.

PRA cannot be loaded. This file cannot be repaired.

Contact
JCS Développement

Checking the SRA.

SRA cannot be loaded.

Delete the SRA and the 1024 dependent records
(512 in v. 6).

Checking the record addresses.

Error on SRA record nX.

Delete the associated record.

End of the Delete Table Untraceable

Error Delete Table

Re-creation by Rescue For 4D Data of the deleted table without deterioration of the data.

The number of removed records is different in the Delete Table and the SRA.

Error On SRA Deleted Records

Re-creation by Rescue For 4D Data of the deleted table without deterioration of the data.

Delete damaged tables.

Bad Delete Table, Impossible To Count Records.

Re-creation by Rescue For 4D Data of the deleted table without deterioration of the data.

Checking the Indices

Checking Index "[FSE]NumCard"	Begin checking the index of ' NumCard' field in 'FSE' table
Index Type Long Integer. Checking Headers & Values : Index Number Different from Record Number.	Type of index Checking the Indices and their values Check results - > OK or error message

Other Messages, depending upon which options you have selected in the Preferences of Doctor:

Problem Message Rescue For 4D Data Solution Check that the indices are of known types (Alpha, Integer, etc.) Bad Index Type. Delete the index and rebuild using 4D. Check that there is a corresponding record, then load it. Corresponding Record Not Found. Delete the index and rebuild using 4D. Verify correspondence between number of index keys and number of records. Index Number Different From Record Number. Delete the index and rebuild using 4D. The index headers are bad. Bad Index Headers. Delete the index and rebuild using 4D. The index contains a prohibited alpha type value > 80 characters, Bool! = 0 or 1. Bad Index Value. Delete the index and rebuild using 4D. Seriously damaged index, or Rescue For 4D Data is not able to read it. INDEX CAUSES EXCEPTION. This index cannot be parsed. Delete the index and rebuild using 4D.

Summary of Doctor's Analysis

Doctor Analysis :	Summary of Doctor's Analysis. .
Analysis Time : 00:00:48 Total Major Error: 1. Total Minor Error: 0. Warning(s) Total: 0. Doctor Corrected Nothing. Use This Database With CAUTION...	Duration of the test. Count of Serious Errors. Count of Secondary Errors. Numbers of warnings Doctor's advice

Manual Correction:

For each detected error, a pop-up window appears.

This pop-up window indicates :

Information on the object which poses the problem: Record zone,
The problem encountered: Problem zone,
An explanation of what Doctor will do, should you choose to correct the problem: Advice zone,
and the advice of Doctor. In the above example: ' Press Correct to DELETE the character'.

As always, the final decision is yours. (Warning)

The Stop Doctor button enables you to cancel the Doctor's action.

The Auto Correct check box enables Rescue For 4D Data to automatically correct the present type of error if it is encountered again (very useful, especially for Alpha filtering errors, which are likely to be rather repetitive).

Possible messages in manual correction :

Problem loading a record Message Rescue For 4D Data Solution Bad Record Structure RECORD STRUCTURE : This record has bad structure Delete the record. Record not found RECORD NOT FOUND : This record cannot be found Delete the record. Record Size too large OUT OF MEMORY : This record cannot be Loaded Manually delete the record in Doctor or Editor (the records is, perhaps, too large to be loaded). Bad record header BAD RECORD HEADER : This record cannot be loaded Delete the record. File does not exist FILE DOES NOT EXIST: This record cannot be loaded Delete the record. SRA Not found SRA NOT FOUND : This record cannot be loaded Delete the record. Record does not exist RECORD DOES NOT EXIST: This record cannot be loaded Delete the record. Record deleted DELETED RECORD: This record cannot be loaded Delete the record. SRA cache error SRA CACHE ERROR : This record cannot be loaded No solution (It is a bug) Bad delete file BAD DELETE FILE: This record cannot be loaded Correction by Rescue For 4D Data (without loss of data) Bad SRA BAD SRA : This record cannot be loaded Delete the record. SRA cannot be loaded SRA CANNOT BE LOADED: Impossible to read this SRA Delete the SRA. Size of file too large RECORD SIZE OUT OF DATA FILE: This record cannot be loaded Delete the record. Exception error RECORD CAUSES EXCEPTION: This record cannot be parsed Serious error (Bug Rescue or Data very damaged) Record too large RECORD OUT OF DATA FILE (SRA): This record cannot be loaded Delete the record address in the SRA. Bad trash table BAD TRASH TABLE: Table Data Damaged Correction by Rescue For 4D Data (without loss of data) Problem in the fields Message Rescue For 4D Data Solution Unknown type of field. UNKNOWN FIELD: This record contains an unknown field type Delete the record. Alpha Size ALPHA SIZE : This alpha field has more than 80 characters The size of the alpha field exceeds 80 characters. Rescue For 4D Data limits the size to 80 characters. Hence, there is a high probability that the record is damaged. Alpha Field Type ALPHA FIELD : This field contains a character you defined as a Warning (in Preferences) Warning Only Deletion of Alpha characters ALPHA FIELD: This field contains a character you defined to delete (in Preferences) Deletion of the character Replacement of Alpha characters ALPHA FIELD: This field contains a character you defined to replace (in Preferences) Replacement of the character Value different from 0 or 1 BOOLEAN FIELD : This field contains unreferenced data Set the value to ' 1 ' The value is not a valid date. DATE FIELD: This date is not correct. It does not contain proper month and/or day values. Warning Only NAN Error FLOAT FIELD: This field contains a calculation error or an infinite value. Set the value to ' 0 ' Size greater than 32767 TEXT FIELD: This text field is greater than the maximum text size allowed by 4D. Delete the record. Warning - size of Text Field TEXT FIELD: This text field is larger than the size you designated in Preferences. Warning Only Warning - size of Picture Field PICTURE FIELD : This picture field is larger than the size you designated in Preferences. Warning Only Warning - size of Blob Field BLOB FIELD : This Blob field is larger than the size you designated in Preferences. Warning Only Internal addressing error reported during the record analysis. There is a strong probability that the record is damaged... or that there is a bug. Exception

Checking and Automatic Correction :

If you selected the Auto Correct option in the pop-up window of the Action zone, Doctor corrects errors automatically.

We strongly advise you to use the Log Only option, initially. (Warning)

Further Information :

Rescue For 4D Data does not perform a 100% check of the Allocation Table of the data file. Such verfication can be quite lengthy. Rather, Rescue For 4D Data checks only the parts used by data.
The unchecked part(s) will not endanger your data --- neither today, nor in the future

Also note that when Rescue For 4D Data carries out certain types of corrections, it does not update the Allocation Table of the data file. Omitting this process enables the application to work faster and, thus, it will be less likely to add errors in the 4D file. The Allocation Table update will be done automatically by 4D Utils during the compaction process.
Tests on the indices are complete only if you also test the records. For example, if an index contains a character which you defined as 'forbidden', correcting only the index will not be enough: it will be necessary to correct the record first.
There are two parts in any given 4D database: indices and files. The sub-file is only a very minor subset of the file. Taking into account the manner in which the sub-files are integrated into the heart of the file, the sub-file cannot be partially checked.

As such, there is no optional choice regarding analysis of the sub-files. The file analysis involves an obligatorily analysis of the sub-files of each file. Were you offered the choice of whether or not to check the basic elements of the sub-files, the tests would be INCOMPLETE and, thus, without impact. Moreover, it is impossible to check the variable length fields (such as Text, Picture, or Blob) without parsing the sub-files.

A date test is carried out in order to verify that the month lies between 1 and 12, and that the day is in the range of 1 to 31. Bear in mind the leap years. During leap years, Rescue For 4D Data will signal an alarm but will not make corrections.

In version 6, this kind of error can occur only in programming, because 4D uses a filter to avoid bad date entries.

Take, for example, a database which contains the date 05/35/98. A search between 05/01/98 and 06/30/98 would not find this record.
The developer must force 4D to calculate a correct date. For example:

theDate := !35/05/98! -> Here theDate is 35/05/98
theDate := theDate + 0 -> Here theDate is 04/06/98
If the structure does not correspond EXACTLY to the data, Rescue For 4D Data will not be able to find either the field names or the file names. Instead, they will be replaced with " * Field Name Not Found * " or " * File Name Not Found * " (For example, structure version 1 and data version 10).

When files or other records are removed by Rescue For 4D Data, the space which they occupied is neither released nor declared " reusable " by 4D. The only means of recovering this space is to compact the database (though the space can also be recovered by tag).
Taking into account the continual evolution of 4D and the diversity of the TRIC resources, Rescue For 4D Data does not re-create the indices. The indices will be re-indexed automatically the next time the database is opened.

To Record a Log:
To Record a Log:
: You can record a log by selecting Save from the File menu.
You can open it with an RTF (RichTextFormat) text editor.

Advanced | Help | Welcome to the JCS Web Site | Synopsis | Warning | Version History | Installation | | Advice for better use of Rescue for 4D Data | | Menus | Preferences | Navigator | Doctor | Editor | Viewer | | 4th Dimension™ | Data Structure for 4th Dimension™
Advanced | Help | Welcome to the JCS Web Site | Synopsis | Warning | Version History | Installation | | Advice for better use of Rescue for 4D Data | | Menus | Preferences | Navigator | Doctor | Editor | Viewer | | 4th Dimension™ | Data Structure for 4th Dimension™

Problem loading a record	Message	Rescue For 4D Data Solution
Complete loading of each record.	Loading Error (More message below).	Delete the record.
Memory allocation error.	Not Enough Memory.	The record is too large. This error is due to a damaged record. The Automatic Correction does not remove the record. This decision must be made manually using the Editor. It is, perhaps, a true memory problem.
Unknown Record Header. The record header is not a 4D header.	Bad Data Header.	Delete the record.
Unknown table	Table Does Not Exist.	Delete the record.
Unknown SRA	SRA Does Not Exist.	Delete the record.
Unknown record number	Record Number Does Not Exist.	Delete the record.
Deleted record	Deleted Record.	Delete the record.
Problem with SRA Cache. The SRA, which are in the Rescue For 4D Data cache, are different from the original SRA.	SRA Out Of Cache.	Nothing. (It is a bug --- at least, it smells like a bug ; -)
Bad record address (negative address)	Delete Table Error.	Delete the record.
Untraceable SIAT	SIAT Does Not Exist.	Delete the record.
Address in SRA is out from the data file.	Bad Address In SRA.	Delete the record.
The record is out from the data file. (Interruption of 4D when it was writing the data to the cache)	Record Out Of Data File.	Reinitialize the address in the SRA.
Other unknown problem.	Loading Error On Record nX.	Manually delete the record using the Editor. But first , restart Rescue For 4D Data to check this error. (There is an unknown error but no possibility of interpreting the error).

Problem in the record header	Message	Rescue For 4D Data Solution
Record index tagged as being removed, but is still pointed to by the SRA.	Tag Deleted.	Delete the record.
Unknown Tag	Unknown Tag On Record nX.	Delete the record.
Bad checksum on record.	CheckSum Error On Record nX.	Delete the record.
The number of fields in the record header does not correspond to the number of fields in the record.	Number Of Fields In Record nX.	Delete the record.
The record number does not correspond to the number in the SRA.	Record Number On Record nX.	Delete the record.
Bad flag. The record is not a known 4D type.	Type Flag On Record nX.	Delete the record.

Saturday, February 13, 1999	The date on which Doctor is run.

Start Log On "MyDataBase.4dD".	The type of operation and the name of the file analyzed.
Used On 4D v5 Macintosh.	The version of 4D and the type of machine on which the database is used.
Data File Size : 6891520 Bytes.	The file size, in bytes.
Checking Resources : Expert Log. Checking Index. Checking PRA Table. Checking SRA Table. Checking Deleted Records. Checking Record Headers. Checking Record Fields. Checking Alpha Fields. Checking Integer Fields. Checking Long Fields. Checking Real Fields. Checking Date Fields. Checking Time Fields. Checking Boolean Fields. Checking SubFields. Checking Text Fields. Checking Picture Fields. Checking Blob Fields.	Checks carried out according to which options you have selected in Preferences.
Checking Data File Tables : Allocation Table Size 23552 Bytes. 10 Files, 35 Indices. File Information Table Size 362 Bytes. 114157 Changes Made In Data File Since Last 4D Tool Compact. - " 4D Was Interrupted When Saving A Bit Table ". - " 4D Was Interrupted When Saving An Index ". - " 4D Was Interrupted When Deleting An Index ". - " 4D Found An Invalid Record Address ". - " 4D Was Interrupted When Flushing Cache " - " 4D Has An Unknown Operation Tag "	Size of the allocation table, in bytes. The number of files, the number of indices Size of the FIT, in bytes The number of changes carried out on the database since the last compaction with 4D Util. The log header displays the state of 4D when the database was last exited: The Doctor does not change this flag. It is possible to modify this flag in Editor. This message indicates an undocumented flag.

Checking "FSE":	Application begins checking the FSE file.
Checking PRA Validity... Checking PRA Loading...OK Checking SRA Validity... 2 SRA Table(s) Used 32768 Bytes. Checking SRA Loading...OK Checking SRA / Record Position...OK Checking SRA / Deleted Records...OK Checking Record Validity... 6478 Record(s) In File. 0 Unused Record(s) Address(es).	Checking the Primary Record Address. Checking Secondary Record Address. The number of SRA and their size in bytes Checking the record address and the trash table Checking of the records The number of records found The number of empty records.
Checking Records...OK	Results of the checking procedure

Header problems	Message	Rescue For 4D Data Solution
Checking the PRA.	PRA cannot be loaded. This file cannot be repaired.	Contact JCS Développement
Checking the SRA.	SRA cannot be loaded.	Delete the SRA and the 1024 dependent records (512 in v. 6).
Checking the record addresses.	Error on SRA record nX.	Delete the associated record.
End of the Delete Table Untraceable	Error Delete Table	Re-creation by Rescue For 4D Data of the deleted table without deterioration of the data.
The number of removed records is different in the Delete Table and the SRA.	Error On SRA Deleted Records	Re-creation by Rescue For 4D Data of the deleted table without deterioration of the data.
Delete damaged tables.	Bad Delete Table, Impossible To Count Records.	Re-creation by Rescue For 4D Data of the deleted table without deterioration of the data.

Problem in the fields	Message	Rescue For 4D Data Solution
Field not found	Field Not Found	Delete the record.
Field out of Record	Field Out of Record	Delete the record.

Problem	Message	Rescue For 4D Data Solution
Check that the indices are of known types (Alpha, Integer, etc.)	Bad Index Type.	Delete the index and rebuild using 4D.
Check that there is a corresponding record, then load it.	Corresponding Record Not Found.	Delete the index and rebuild using 4D.
Verify correspondence between number of index keys and number of records.	Index Number Different From Record Number.	Delete the index and rebuild using 4D.
The index headers are bad.	Bad Index Headers.	Delete the index and rebuild using 4D.
The index contains a prohibited alpha type value > 80 characters, Bool! = 0 or 1.	Bad Index Value.	Delete the index and rebuild using 4D.
Seriously damaged index, or Rescue For 4D Data is not able to read it.	INDEX CAUSES EXCEPTION. This index cannot be parsed.	Delete the index and rebuild using 4D.