Using fixed record for processing

[Jose Lerebours]

Fairlight wrote:
> The honourable and venerable Jose Lerebours spoke thus:
>> I have never been a fan of using "record 1" or "any one fixed record" to 
>> sit on and run reports nor any kind of process.  This effectively makes 
>> the process "single user" and that would be the ONLY time it should be 
>> used.  I hope that is the case with you.
> 
> Negative.  I use -sr %n where %n is a variable external to dreport.  This
> lets me sit on $LICENSE_COUNT records as control and logging facilities,
> all at once--yet gives me one uniform place each from which to do variable
> -pf operations.
> 
> One record -per specified number-, yes.  Single user?  Hardly.
> 

I just would like to know if %n is always 1 or is it a variable number 1 
to 999999999?  If it is a fixed number 1, it is single user since only 
one process will run at a time ... You cannot have two or more processes 
running at the same time.

Did you read the rest of my post?  I did provide a very clear scenario 
where this is a valid concern.  If you are using variable record 
numbers, how is that fixed in the context in which I am referring?

Yeah, you can have a point-of-reference table with several thousand 
records in it; have a script create a random number X thru Y and then 
set %n so that your process sits in a available record.  If this is what 
your are doing, how is this different from simply adding a new record?

License count? I do not know how things are as far as license count with 
filePro now a days but I though it was a count per *clerk/*report 
instance not per how many records you open.  That said, if nothing has 
changed, and if you have 5 processes running or trying to run on record 
1 versus 5 processes successfully running on 5 separate records, how is 
the license count any different?

In the other hand, if the count actually happens once the "record" is 
successfully opened or locked, then you are right, license count is less 
if you sit on one record.  I still believe that it is a better practice 
to do otherwise ... Buy 10 more licenses (fpTech should support this 
measure) and make sure your processes do not sit waiting around for an 
employee to come back from lunch!


Jose Lerebours
http://www.fpgroups.com
954-559-7186