How can I obtain time of day without DATETIME, CURRENT or TIME?

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+1 Q:

How can I obtain time of day without DATETIME, CURRENT or TIME?

INFORMIX-SQL 2.10.06E (DOS 6.22):

This is one of the legacy version of isql that runs in pure DOS, but didnt have support for DATETIME or CURRENT! However the ace report writer has the 'time' keyword constant which returns the time of day from the system clock in military format "hh:mm:ss". I could never understand why RDS (in those days, circa 1988) released a product which provides TODAY, but no TIME constant or datatype, yet provides it only in ace, nor did RDS forsee the Y2K problem, etc. etc. Can anyone think of a trick, example: extract time from internal representation of TODAY or somewhere else embedded in the engine?.. from audit table?.. The clear solution would be to upgrade to isql 7.50 or at least 7.X. Some of my users have, but others are stubborn. I could create a cfunc to provide me with system time, but I can't even find custom runners cperf or cace or ESQL/C 2.10 for this legacy DOS version.

+1 A:

The problem was fixed in 1988 or 1989, Frank, and AFAICR it was fixed before some other DBMS of the same era had a time types.

Basically, the only way to deal with that problem in the version you are working with is via the ESQL/C you don't have. There are no backdoors, tricks or workarounds that I know of.

It is time to put that version of the code to rest.

The customer who won't move from it is causing you more pain than gain.

Jonathan Leffler 2010-06-28 15:17:07

@Jonathan- I figured the obvious solution was ESQL/C, if users refused to upgrade. Just thought maybe I could get time from audit table or figure out how to use ace to update transaction row with ace's time function. This is the case of three stubborn sites who will only accept windows platforms with isql as an upgrade option, thus isql/i4gl are not supported under windows. These users want the same functionality which their isql perform screens currently have, so even i4gl might not even cut it, even if it were available for windows. I dislike having to use intimidation tactics these users.

Frank Computer 2010-06-28 20:04:47

@Jonathan- So would isql 4.1 support time or was it fixed in 5.0?

Frank Computer 2010-06-28 20:31:43

@Frank: ISQL 4.00 supported DATETIME and INTERVAL - hence the comment about 1988/9 (as opposed to, say, (31st Dec) 1991 for the 5.0x servers; there never were any 5.0x ISQL or I4GL products). 'The INFORMIX Handbook' says that the date for 4.00 was late 1989.

Jonathan Leffler 2010-06-28 21:42:53

@Frank: It is fair not to want to have to intimidate the users, but there comes a point at which they become unsupportable. In my view, that point was reached more than a decade ago. You have maintained them a lot longer than I would have done. You have to assess the hassle-factor that such over-antiquated systems cost you versus the income that they represent. That becomes a business decision, but I think that it is way beyond time for them to let go of DOS applications.

Jonathan Leffler 2010-06-28 21:45:46

@Jonathan- I have a copy of ISQL 4.10 (DOS) but when I fire up PSTARTSQL.EXE (protected mode SE) I'm getting a DOS16M switch error and it abends. I set DOS16M=3 which is the normal setting for 386 and higher Intel processors, but that fails. The same setting works for ISQL 2.10. I dont expect support or anyone to help me with this because its DOS + unsupported ISQL version. But maybe I can get lucky and refresh someone's legacy experience with these fossils!

Frank Computer 2010-06-29 00:34:35

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How can I obtain time of day without DATETIME, CURRENT or TIME?

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