Adager

What does Adager do for you?

Adapt your databases to changes in your environment

Remodel the fundamental structural layout of your IMAGE/SQL databases to meet your evolving needs while preserving and reformatting all of your valuable information.
• Change data item definitions (for instance, from integer to ASCII) and convert the information from the source format to the target format in all of the fields defined by the changed items. If some of these fields are master search fields, Adager automatically rehashes the appropriate master datasets.
• Redefine the specifications of data items, without changing the information in your dataset fields. (This is a specialized extension for the standard Change Item function in Adager.)
• Add and delete paths.
• Add and delete items, fields, datasets, paths.
• Sort and unsort paths.
• Change the order of data items, datasets, and fields.
• Change master datasets to details (and vice versa).
• Create new files for missing datasets.

Manage and fine-tuning your databases

Fine-tune your IMAGE/SQL databases to maximize the performance of your applications.
• Change dataset capacities.
• Repack detail datasets along the most desirable path, which may or may not be the primary path (Adager is not picky and it repacks any path that you specify).
• Move datasets from one disc unit to another to balance your I/O loads.
• Erase datasets (much quicker than you can do programmatically).
• Reblock datasets for more efficient disc space utilization.
• Find out the exact layout of your IMAGE/SQL database structures and objects.
• Copy databases.
• Rename databases.

Get archival databases into compliance with Y2K

You may still have some old (archival) databases that you never updated during your Year-2000 projects. Adager helps you make such databases Y2K compliant by converting your legacy date formats (and values) into millennium-oriented formats and values.
Examine Date produces a thorough report of potential problems in your date-oriented information.
Change Date converts the formats of your date-oriented data items as well as all of your dataset field values.

Examine, diagnose and fix database problems

Thanks to the robustness of IMAGE, you rarely have to deal with broken databases — but it is reassuring to have Adager available, just in case.
These are some of the database objects that you can examine, diagnose, and fix with Adager:
• Root-file tables (Adager always examines these fundamental objects when opening a database; if Adager finds any problems, it tells you and gives you the opportunity to correct them).
• Dataset files (including their UserLabels and creators).
• Paths between datasets.
• Chains (synonym chains, detail chains, and free-entry chains).
• Date-oriented data items (and their corresponding fields). In fact, you should always use Examine Date to review the validity of all of your date-oriented information before using Change Date to convert it to formats that can hold years beyond 1999.

Is Adager easy to use and maintain?

You don't have to memorize cryptic commands
Adager is self-explanatory and you don't have to memorize cryptic commands.
Adager uses intuitive verbs (add, change, copy, delete, erase, examine, fix, move, reblock, redefine, rename, repack, replace, report, shuffle, use) and intuitive objects (capacity, chain, database, dataset, date, field, item, path, primary, schema, security, sort). If you prefer, you can use Adager's menu interface.
Anywhere in the Adager dialogue (even when you are supposed to provide numeric information), you may:
• Request context-sensitive help — just enter "?" at any prompt
• Get access to operating-system services — enter a colon ":" followed by an MPE command such as :run query.pub.sys or a user-defined command (UDC) such as :q

Meaningful error messages

Adager meticulously checks your IMAGE/SQL databases before, during, and after a transformation.
If Adager discovers inconsistencies in your databases, it gives you explicit diagnostics and suggestions for Adager therapy.
If Adager's self-monitoring system detects an Adager bug, you will receive explicit internal diagnostics that will help us identify and correct the problem.
You will know exactly what to do to recover and you will be able to provide all the necessary clues to your Adager support team.

What happens when you upgrade your OS or your hardware?

Adager does not force you to rebuild its environment when you upgrade your computer. On the contrary, Adager automatically adapts itself, at run time, to the latest versions of:
• HP e3000 computer hardware. Adager contains selected functions that are native-mode accelerated for RISC processors.
• MPE operating-system software. Adager supports all versions of MPE V, MPE/XL, and Posix-compliant MPE/iX.
• IMAGE databases. Adager supports IMAGE/SQL as well as its predecessors, IMAGE/3000 and TurboIMAGE.
(Naturally, Adager Corporation can offer up-to-date support for HP e3000 hardware and software only to Adager customers who are up to date on their maintenance contracts.)