DFSETUP is the DP4 setup utility. Use this utility to customise your DP4 system. Changes made using DFSETUP affect the DP4 utilities and any applications programs. Its facilities are described below.
The information specified using the setup utility is written into one of three locations:
The table below shows you which options update what:
| DFSETUP Option | Location Updated |
|---|---|
| Directory Assignment | DP4 Licence File |
| Console/Transaction logging | DP4 Licence File |
| User Preferences | userdata.sys or System database (see below) |
| Keyboard Customisation | userdata.sys |
| Printer Characteristics | System Database |
| Serial Number | DP4 Licence File |
| Terminal Characteristics | terminal.sys (See below) |
Please note the following points:
Options that update the DP4 licence file usually update the local licence file. In a networked environment you may be able to use the -remote osname, though this is disabled if the network manager is using the -rocopy or -nocopy options. You can also use the -from pathname option to update the DP4 licence file in a specific location. This may be useful if you want to prepare a licence file for a different machine on which it will be difficult to run DFSETUP locally.
Changes to the DP4 licence file only becoming fully effective once the DP4 system is stopped and restarted.
Options that update userdata.sys always write to a copy of the userdata.sys file in the current directory. Therefore you may need to move or copy the modified userdata.sys back to the directory containing the licence file, if you want to update the master userdata.sys file.
To run DFSETUP from the DP4 system menu:
On the DP4 System menu, select the Configuration Options option:
On the System & User Setup Options menu, select the System Configuration option:
The options in DFSETUP are briefly described below. You should make sure DP4 help messages are turned on when running DFSETUP as for most options they are quite detailed, and go into much more detail than is given here. For a complete list of command line option see DFSETUP in the DP4 Quick Reference
This allows you to specify the location of databases and files (for example C:\DP4\DB on Windows or /usr/dp4/db on Unix). Please note the following points:
If a path you specify begins with a / (or \ except on Unix like systems) then the location is absolute, otherwise it is relative (to the current directory). Relative pathnames should usually only be used for files that are not shared between users. This means that the first five locations (Data Files,Index Files,Log Files,Rollback Files,Backup Files) should usually all use absolute pathnames.
How relative pathnames behave is depend on the operating system. For example Windows CE does not support current directories at all, and all paths are relative to the root of the system. On Windows, and other MS-DOS like operating systems each "drive" has its own current directory, and relative paths will be relative to the drive specified as the first part of the file location - if no drive is specified the path is relative to the "current drive".
Currently the file locations stored in DP4 are limited to 31 characters. In fact DFSETUP limits you even further because it insists on reserving two characters for the drive, and one for a trailing / or \. The limit is slightly increased in 4.621. If you need to use a longer pathname, then you will have to use relative pathnames, and ensure that all your DP4 applications start in a specific location. Alternatively you may be able to use a "subst" command and drive on MS-DOS like operating systems (including Windows).
If a computer has several independent hard drives DP4 performance may be improved by dividing the various classes of database file between them - in particular placing the data and index files on separate drives may be helpful, and placing the log files on a separate hard drive from the data files reduces the chance of data loss in the event of a hard drive failure. Using separate partitions on the same hard drive is very unlikely to be beneficial.
Using network drives, whether mapped or accessed using a UNC name, is usually a very bad idea, and usually won't work for database files (at least on Windows). You can use network drives for print,spool, and console log files if desired.
This option allows you to specify transaction, rollback and console logging options for your system. The information is also stored in the DP4 licence file. For more information about this option see Setting Up Transaction and Roll-back Logging in the DP4 Developer's Manual, or read the help messages.
The user preferences are the display preferences for your system. These include your choice of number and date formats and your colour preferences. The information is stored in USERDATA.SYS if DFSETUP was run from the command line, or the SYSTEM database if DFSETUP was run from the DP4 system menus. See User Preferences in the DP4 Developer's Manual for further information.
This option allows you to customise the function keys (and any other keys) for use on your system. The information is stored in the key translation table in USERDATA.SYS. For further information see Keyboard Customisation in the OSDI Developer's Guide.
This option is used to set up information about the printers and any specialised hardware controlled by an OSDI used by your DP4 system. This information is stored on the SYSTEM database, and you must be careful to preserve it when you upgrade to a new release of DP4. See Configuring a Device Group for an OSDI and Configuring a Printer in the OSDI Developers' Guide for more information on using this option.
This option allows you to change the client name and licence numbers stored in the DP4 licence file, and add a "time bomb" to create a temporary licence. This option is usually restricted in various ways depending on your licence type.
This option allows you to create a TERMINAL.SYS file that defines your terminal. The TERMINAL.SYS file must be renamed to USERDATA.SYS to be used. This option is only likely to be required if you are using Unix or Linux from an unsupported terminal or emulation. It is a good idea to start with a userdata.sys as similar as possible to what you require. If all you are doing is making a minor modification to an already working userdata.sys, specify the -keeptype command tail when you start DFSETUP.
This option will initially read terminal.sys from the current directory, if one exists, otherwise it uses your current userdata.sys as a starting point.
To use this option successfully you will need a document detailing the escape sequences understood by the terminal, and a terminal or emulation that you can use to test the new USERDATA.SYS file with. Using this option of DFSETUP successfully can be challenging, and you may prefer to commission Itim Technology Solutions to do the work required.