Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!thinc!ethan
From: ethan@thinc.UUCP (Ethan A. Lish of THINC)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Progress (DOS) <--> Progress (UNIX) Portability?
Summary: Well. There is *ANOTHER* Way
Message-ID: <83@thinc.UUCP>
Date: 18 Sep 90 11:37:22 GMT
References: <530@oss670.UUCP> <80@thinc.UUCP> <240@ssc.UUCP>
Organization: Tomorrow's Horizons, Inc. -- THINC
Lines: 49

In article <240@ssc.UUCP>, fyl@ssc.UUCP (Phil Hughes) writes:
> In article <80@thinc.UUCP>, ethan@thinc.UUCP (Ethan A. Lish of THINC) writes:
> > In article <530@oss670.UUCP>, tkevans@oss670.UUCP (Tim Evans) writes:
> > > Are Progress database application and data files created under
> > > UNIX (specifically, Interactive's 386/ix) portable to DOS?  That is,
> > > can I use Interactive's doscp utility to move these file from a
> > > UNIX host to a DOS host and have them be usable?  Is any sort of
> > > conversion necessary?  Does Progress itself have conversion utilities?
> 
> > Greetings -
> > 
> > 	Lets talk about the "porting" effort in two stages;
> ... on forever
> 
> In other words, the answer is no.  You have to dump, recompile and reload.
> Which makes sense.  

> I know the semi-compiled programs are not portable
> between systems (or Progress versions) and I guess I would expect the same
> sort of problems with file structure.
> 
> This is too bad, however as I have been in a situation where it would
> be nice to be able to copy the database and just be running.

*****************************************************************
***THIS IS NOT ADVICED FOR THE AVERAGE PROGRESS USER/DEVELOPER***
*****************************************************************

Well for Progress *Experts* There is one other way;

Question: When can one database be *MOVED* from one machine to another?

	There are Five *species* of databases:
		1) 2k block size, backward byte order; VAX VMS, VAX Ultrix
		2) 1k block size, backward byte order; XENIX
		3) 512 byte block size, backward byte order; PC-DOS, OS/2
		4) 2k block size, forward byte order; PYRAMID, SEQUENT...
		5) 1k block size, forward byte order; *MOST* OTHERS

	Databases *CAN* be *FREELY* moved amoung species.

	It is possible to write an intelligent filter program to convert
	between species; 2 <===> 5, or 1 <===> 4.

	Good Luck,
		Ethan
-- 
Ethan A. Lish     ----    301.652.0651    ----    {uunet}!thinc!ethan
Tomorrow's Horizons, Inc.,4807 Bethesda Ave, #330, Bethesda, MD 20814