COMMON POWERUp 2023

With the latest releases and technology refreshes the SQL data definition language (DDL) for creating and maintaining database objects was enormously enhanced. DDS on the other hand is stabilized. But still a lot of applications even those with a modern graphical interface and where the latest goodies of the programming language are used in the source code are based on DDS described files. The excuse DDL enhancements cannot be used, because of the DDS description and the native I/O access of these files, does not count any more. With Reverse Engineering, the SQL code for DDS described objects can be retrieved. CREATE OR REPLACE statements allow DDS described files to be converted into SQL defined database objects, while the programs that use these files can stay untouched. With the CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE statement, files with fields based on field reference tables can be managed.

Learning Objectives:
In this session you will learn to convert DDS described files into SQL tables and SQL indexes without touching any program code. It will also be demonstrated how reference files can be used in composition with SQL tables and how (future) enhancements, for example adding columns on a specific position or changing data types and lengths can be managed.