Running the Installation Aid Program

The installation aid program, AUXWINST, helps you to configure the DP4 ODBC gateway ADC for accessing the ODBC data sources. You can only run AUXWINST if three conditions are met:

• The DP4 ODBC Gateway ADC programs reside on your system (see step 1 of the Installation Summary);
• The ODBC data sources are defined (see Adding ODBC Data Sources);
• The foreign databases corresponding to the ODBC data sources are running and available.

When you run the installation aid program:

• It will ask for the name of a DP4 database;
• It will ask you to select the ODBC data source to be accessed with the DP4 database;
• It will ask further questions to enable a connection to be established with the ODBC data source (such as your user name and password for the foreign database).

The installation program will optionally create:

• A COPYDB-format file - once you have amended this file you can post it to an empty DP4 database to create one with the same structure as the ODBC data source;
• A .INI file - this contains all the required initialisation information (including the name translation table) to enable the DP4 database based on the COPYDB-format file to be accessed.

Some final points to consider before running the installation aid program are:

• It does not require the DP4 database manager;
• It must be run separately for each ODBC data source to be accessed;
• It may be re-run at any time to alter the configuration. For example, if the name of the data source is changed after running the installation aid program, you must re-run it and select the data source under its new name.

Instructions for using the installation aid program:

1. Start the program (AUXWINST.EXE). The program presents its opening screen:
   
   
2. Enter the name of the DP4 database to be used when accessing the data source, for example "Catalog" - the database need not exist at this time. Click OK. (If you want to leave the installation aid program, click Cancel instead.) The SQL Data Sources dialog box appears, listing all the ODBC data sources defined for the currently installed ODBC drivers
3. Select the data source for the DP4 database you named in step 2, for example "Sample database", and click OK. The dialog that appears now depends on the foreign database to be accessed. For example, the Oracle logon dialog requests your database username and password:
4. Answer any questions and click OK

   Any SQL errors that occur here are due to the failure of the installation aid program to establish a connection with the foreign database. Two common reasons for this are: the data source is incorrectly configured (see Adding ODBC Data Sources to reconfigure the data source); the foreign database is shutdown or unavailable (check the status of the foreign database)

   The Select COPYDB File Name dialog box appears

   This dialog allows you to specify the name and location of the COPYDB-format file to be created. (If you are going to create the DP4 database without using a COPYDB-format file, click Cancel to skip the creation of this file). Take care not to overlook three important check boxes on the right-side of the dialog:

   • Convert date/time to timestamp - Enable this option to convert 'date' or 'time' fields on the ODBC data source into a pair of date and time fields on the DP4 database. This conversion is useful when the ODBC data source has a data type described as 'date' which is actually a combined date and time

   • Convert numeric to char - Enable this option to convert 'numeric' fields on the ODBC data source into character fields on the DP4 database. This conversion is useful when the ODBC data source stores numbers in an internal format that the ODBC driver cannot translate into the standard floating-point format - this is true for Oracle databases

   • Names are case sensitive - Enable this option if names on the ODBC database are case sensitive. If this option is disabled, no name translation entries are generated in the .INI file for names that differ only in their case

   Be aware that the installation aid program treats any data structures on the ODBC data source that are composed of fields and records but not classified as tables, such as Views, as if they were tables

5. Select the desired conversion options, use the Network, Drives, Directories and File Name boxes to select the location and name of the COPYDB-format file to be created. (Leave the List File As Type as "COPYDB Files" to add the extension .PRN to the filename automatically). Click OK. The Select INI File Name dialog appears:
6. Using the Drives, Directories and File Name boxes, select the location and name of the .INI file to be created. (Leave the Save File As Type: box as "INI Files" to add the extension .INI to the filename automatically). Click OK. AUXWINST takes a few seconds to complete its processing and then displays the message: Installation complete
7. Click OK to exit the program.