Can someone tell me if a tool exists for extracting data out of Advanced Revelation? Someone suggested Data Junction, but I am not sure if DJ will read AREV databases.

I would greatly appreciate any assistance that someone could provide. I just want to get a data dump to text.

Mike:

If you have a copy of AREV then see the other postings. If you don't, you're out of luck. There are no third-party software packages that can read Linear Hash files and extract the data outside of the products offered by RTI.

Don Miller

I don't specifically have a copy, but we have a client who has inquired with as to how to get all their existing data out of AREV so that they can reuse the data in another newly purchased system.

I had already read through the postings. One posting mentioned exporting data, but I have no idea how to do that. If you would be so kind as to give me a procedure on how to do it, I would be greatly appreciative.

THanks in advance

Mike .. I think you're in for a bit of a bumpy ride. The scope of an answer to your question is beyond what can be done at this site. Basically, Advanced Revelation (AREV) is a variable-length, multi-valued database architecture. What this means is that a direct conversion from AREV data to another platform requires an intimate knowledge of how the data is stored in AREV on a file-content basis and what the representation of this data should be in the target system. There are a number of consultants available in this forum that do this for a living and you, and your client whould probably be dollars ahead to use one.

Don Miller

C3 Inc.

If you need detail assistance E-Me at mdaniel@pcsla.com

Mike Daniel

Just sent you an email…thanks for the offer to assist.

Actually, we read LH files directly from outside the product. Most of the stuff we do is custom though. At one time we began developing a general purpose tool. There was no enough demand for it.

www.bizsoftcorp.com

We read LH files directly all the time. Mostly for data warehousing.

www.bizsoftcorp.com

I do know there is a piece of software that can actually retrieve information from AREV LH files.

It runs under Windows NT and needs Visual basic.

The piece of software is called TRANSVERSE.

I have recently seen a demonstration of TRANSVERSE in the Netherlands. It can handle many formats of Multi-value software.

The good thing is you can make an application in TRANSVERSE and retrieve data from AREV files (or any other PIC oriented file) and manipulate the data and even write it back (an seen in the demo).

Maybe TRANSVERSE is a usefull tool for you.

Bert Houwen

data group europe bv.

Demand is inversely proportional to price, and proportionl to quality and need.

Well said.

Impressive, a third party tool that can WRITE to LH files! Better not let JA hear about this one…oops too late…

Easiest way to export:

From TCL type RUNMENU EXPORT

Pick the format that best suits the target systems import capabilities. There are fairly extensive helps for the export windows.

Drawbacks: Does not explode or normalize multivalued data.

Workaround: Create symbolics that explode the MVed data (drawback, there can be any number of values in MVs).

---

Alternate solution: Write a RBasic export program. Knowledge of the table layouts is required.

Drawbacks: Unless you go through the trouble to make this a generalized tool you have to write an export for each file/table.

Example of an export program that normalizes Associated MVs to Parent/Child files. ARev file of Audio CDs with track information:

• QUICK AND DIRTY EXPORT PROGRAM

    OSwrite '' to 'tracks.txt'

    oswrite '' to 'header.txt'

    osopen 'tracks.txt' TO tracks THEN

       osopen 'header.txt' to header then

       OPEN 'CDS' TO CDS THEN

          SELECT CDS

          OFFSET=0

          offset2=0

          buff='

          buff2='

          cnt=0

          LOOP

             READNEXT @ID ELSE

                buff := char(26)

                buff2 := char(26)

                gosub writeit

                gosub writeit2

                osclose header

                OSCLOSE tracks

                STOP

             END

             READ @RECORD FROM CDS,@ID THEN

                CONVERT '"' TO "'" IN @RECORD

                cat.no=@record

                head=quote(@record):',':quote(cat.no):',':quote(@id)

                buff := head : CHAR(13):CHAR(10)

                if len(buff) ge 64000 then gosub writeit

                nos=@record

                lim=count(nos,@VM) + (nos ne '')

                for i=1 to lim

                buff2 := quote(@ID):',':quote(nos):',':quote(@record)

                buff2 := char(13):char(10)

                if len(buff2) ge 64000 then gosub writeit2

                next i

                cnt += 1

                PRINT @(0,0):cnt "R#6"

             END

          REPEAT

       END

    END

    stop

writeit2:

    convert @SVM to ' ' in buff2

    OSBWRITE BUFF2 TO tracks AT OFFSET2

    OFFSET2 += LEN(buff2)

    buff2='

    return

writeit:

    OSBWRITE BUFF TO header AT OFFSET

    OFFSET += LEN(buff)

    buff='

    return

---

Notes: In this example the export is formatted for the import process for Visual FoxPro, which accepts data surround in quotes("). Not all import utilities will accept data like this.

Also note that the target system may have data limitations not shared by ARev (e.g. max 256 chars).

Unless of course you call us! We have the tools!

Bryan deSilva

Improvisations

Mike:

We have a suite of tools to do this. A big part of our current business is moving data out of Arev (all versions) and into PeopleSoft, Oracle, SAP, Data Warehouses and big tools like SmartDb and Data Junction. Let me know if you need any help.

Bryan deSilva

Improvisations.net – "innovation by design"

bryan_desilva@improvisations.net

If you don't find what you need with the help of the others that have responded to your query, write me (my E-mail is below). I've created an Arev application to move data in Arev 3.12 files to text files that will be pulled into SQL/PowerBuilder tables. We are currently in the middle of a project to duplicate one of our Arev applications in PowerBuilder. The way I've created our process is that it is fairly flexable in creating the way we determine which columns are converted and how. I pull the dictionary information into what I call a control row. Then display it to a window where we add information as to the way the data is to be written to the ascii file. At this time it covers all of our needs. I'm sure that there are some areas where it is weak or doesn't handle but you should be able to modify the code to fit your needs. Due to the way some of our data has been used, I've had to add some exception coding to handle some special cases which you would have to remove and maybe add some of your own

. Please be warned that even tho I've tried to keep the code modulaized, it is still a bit involved and covers one large program and 3 or 4 smaller programs, one window and one table.

My first suggestion to you is to read up on the built in Import/Export processes within AREV and see if it would be something that you can use as part of a process to convert your data to the file format that you are going to.

I've read postings within this area or have been told about one or two langues that have the ability to read and write to and from Arev files, outside of Arev itself. I think that there might be libraries for C or C++ that will allow you to do that but I'm not sure and I don't know where you would find them.

Let me know if I can help.

Michael Slack

E-mail: slackmi@asa.org

What about extracting data from GRev? Is there any other way besides using Porter, and is there more to Porter than I can see? Can I pick which fields to extract, can I make sure null fields are exported, etc.? Thanks.

michellebull@centura.org

would you be able to provide the contact info of Transverse ?

Tks

could you email me for more detail. Tks

mhloh@ast.com.my

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