Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!lsuc!sparkles!pjr
From: pjr@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Patrick J. Ryan )
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: dBase/Clipper
Message-ID: <1989Aug4.172532.10732@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Date: 4 Aug 89 17:25:32 GMT
Reply-To: pjr@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Patrick J. Ryan )
Distribution: na
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Lines: 23

In trying to run some dbaseIII+ programs using clipper, I have
encountered a problem with the following example:

The database is a baseball team roster which I am trying to order
by batting average.  Thus I have the statement

INDEX ON (1-H/AB) TO BA

(H and AB are numeric fields standing for hits and at-bats respectively)
dbase III+ happily constructs the index, even when some of the records
have a 0 value for AB.  When the list is printed out using the index,
the ratio H/AB is printed out as ****** but occurs at the bottom of
the list, as if it were 0.

Clipper compiles and links ok but when the program runs, it hits a
division by 0 error.  This happens even when there are no records
having AB = 0.
On the other hand, clipper can "list" the file in its standard
ordering and correctly compute and print out H/AB for each 
record.

Does anyone have an idea of why this occurs and/or how to avoid the
problem?  Thanks.