Hi!

Ok, I'm afraid that my application is not installed or configured properly.
Many people says that  application .EXE have to be installed in "...\Program Files\MyApp" folder. Ok.
DataBase Administrators say that DataBase files, config files, etc... have to be installed in "...\MyApp\Data" folder. Ok.

But now, I have read that data files (database, config files, etc...) have to be installed in "...\[AllUsers]\[AppData]\MyApp\Data" folder.

Is it really necessary? because I would have to re-code all my application to use the new folders.

The problems appear when using a database application in a multi-user OS, without enough user permissions and rights.
Is it really 'better' to copy the database files to "AppData" folders and the EXE file to "ProgramFiles" folder? any 'pros' and 'cons'?


Another 'little' problem is that, after designing or printing a report with ReportBuilder, or making some runtime sql queries with my app, a .LCK file appears in my desktop.
I know that there are temp folders, private folder, etc... but I don't know how to set it up in a shared-mode environment and in a client-server one. Any differences? Only a simple line of
code to set up the PrivateDir folder?

I'm using DBISAM 4.25 and Delphi 7 pro.

Thanks!!!

Hi Luis

Use the Database.Session.PrivateDir to say where the .lck file should
be created.  Otherwise whenever it is needed it will be created in the
current working directory.

It is highly recommended that you follow the MS guidance on locating
your program and data files.  Otherwise you will keep running into
trouble.  Vista is less forgiving than earlier Windows versions, but
since Windows NT, MS has been advising developers to use the Program
Files tree only for files for which the user does not need write
access.  User writeable files should be under either the individual
user's application data folder tree or in the common application data
folder tree, depending on the program's data needs (roaming/shared/etc).

The complication is that the folder names and locations differ with
Windows versions and Languages.  You really should be using the Windows
Shell constants to obtain the actual paths if you want painless
installations on all Windows variants.

What Installer do you use?  There are hundreds of posts about this
issue on the InnoSetup newsgroups and I expect the same applies to
other Installers.

You will need to modify your code .. but it should be a one-time
exercise.  At startup, just grab the application folder from the .exe
location and ask Windows for the common application data folder (or
whatever), then you can set variables (eg. AppPath and DataPath) to the
actual locations and use those throughout your code.

Malcolm

Luis,

Malcolm's answer is spot-on and very complete.

--
Tim Young
Elevate Software
www.elevatesoft.com

HI, Malcolm...

Thanks for your complete answer.
I have a doubt about PrivateDir. If I have 3 DBISAMDataBase in the same
form, can all of them have the same PrivateDir? Will be any interference?

Thanks!

"Malcolm" <malcolm@spam.will.bounce> escribió en el mensaje de
noticias:9815EADA-DC31-4F91-9DB3-50A0393D668C@news.elevatesoft.com...
> Hi Luis
>
> Use the Database.Session.PrivateDir to say where the .lck file should
> be created.  Otherwise whenever it is needed it will be created in the
> current working directory.
>
> It is highly recommended that you follow the MS guidance on locating
> your program and data files.  Otherwise you will keep running into
> trouble.  Vista is less forgiving than earlier Windows versions, but
> since Windows NT, MS has been advising developers to use the Program
> Files tree only for files for which the user does not need write
> access.  User writeable files should be under either the individual
> user's application data folder tree or in the common application data
> folder tree, depending on the program's data needs (roaming/shared/etc).
>
> The complication is that the folder names and locations differ with
> Windows versions and Languages.  You really should be using the Windows
> Shell constants to obtain the actual paths if you want painless
> installations on all Windows variants.
>
> What Installer do you use?  There are hundreds of posts about this
> issue on the InnoSetup newsgroups and I expect the same applies to
> other Installers.
>
> You will need to modify your code .. but it should be a one-time
> exercise.  At startup, just grab the application folder from the .exe
> location and ask Windows for the common application data folder (or
> whatever), then you can set variables (eg. AppPath and DataPath) to the
> actual locations and use those throughout your code.
>
> Malcolm
>

Santy Concepción wrote:

> HI, Malcolm...
>
> Thanks for your complete answer.
> I have a doubt about PrivateDir. If I have 3 DBISAMDataBase in the
> same form, can all of them have the same PrivateDir? Will be any
> interference?
>

Santy

I will leave that one to Tim.
I don't have that setup so I would be guessing.  

Malcolm

--

Santy


No problem - it has to be able to deal with stuff in threads which require a separate database and session after all.

Roy Lambert

Santy,

<< I have a doubt about PrivateDir. If I have 3 DBISAMDataBase in the same
form, can all of them have the same PrivateDir? Will be any interference? >>

Yes, they can all share the same PrivateDir setting.

--
Tim Young
Elevate Software
www.elevatesoft.com

Tim,

I'm having a problem with the dbisam.lck file location as well. (In ended up in this
message thread after searching the newsgroups...)

I assumed that if all TdbIsamDatabase components share the same Session ("Default"), and
that if I set:

   dbisamtb.Session.PrivateDir := ...some path...

in my DataModule that gets instanced first, then only one dbisam.lck file should be
created (in "...some path..."). Correct?

Well, it's not working that way for me.

I've stepped through my code and find there's one .lck file (in the folder assigned by the
PrivateDir property) until I reach a certain point, then a second .lck file is created in
the same folder where the tables are. The following two routines show where the 2nd .lck
file is being created.

begin
 ATable := TDBISAMTable.Create(nil);
 try
       with ATable do begin
         Databasename := ACompanyFolderPath;       //...just a path string
         TableName := Strings[ii];
         Active := False;                                 
         case dbiCheckTableVersion(ATable, GetTableMajorVer(TableID)) of
            ...
            ...
 finally
   ATable.Free;
 end
end;


function dbiCheckTableVersion(ATable: TDBISAMTable; CurrVersionNum: Integer):
TdbiVersionResult;
{ Return table version flag w/r/t CurrVersionNum. }
begin
 with ATable do

       //***** The 2nd .lck file is created when the following line executes *****

   if not Exists then
     Result := vrTableNotExist
   else
     if CurrVersionNum = 0 then
       Result := vrNoVersionInfo                     //Tell caller no version info was passed
         //We only observe UserMajorVersion, not UserMinorVersion
     else if UserMajorVersion  > CurrVersionNum then
       Result := vrNewer
     else if UserMajorVersion < CurrVersionNum then
       Result := vrOlder
     else
       Result := vrSame;
end;

How is my thinking wrong here?

Thanks,
Mark Wilsdorf
Flagship Technologies, Inc.
QuickBooks™ Add-Ons and Solutions You Can Use
http://www.goflagship.com

Well, no, after checking again...

No .lck file is ever created in the folder specified by

   dbisamtb.Session.PrivateDir := ...some path...

They're all created in folders where tables reside.

And I've tried several folders (common_user_appdata, windows temp folder, etc.), including
some per-user folders my app writes to, so permissions shouldn't be the problem.

Ideas?

Thanks,
Mark Wilsdorf

Mark

Session.PrivateDir will be used only to store temporary data.
There are some operations that DBISAM needs to create temporary tables and
these tables are created in this path (session.privatedir).

Eduardo