Inquisitor

Running Inquisitor

To run the Inquisitor executable move to the directory containing the database and, at the shell prompt, either type

inquisitor.csh

or

$VULCAN_EXE/dbsmql

You will be prompted for the following information:

Query Language script file      : 
Data-base name                  : 
Database type                   : 
Data-sheet name (if not.<suf>)  : 
Previous selection file         : 
Output file (- for stdout)      : 
Error log file (- for stderr)   : 
Parse check only [N]............:

Valid answers to the above fields are:

Query Language script file

The full name of the text file containing the Inquisitor script to be executed (for example, mapfile.script). This field is compulsory, if no entry is made, then the program will terminate.

Database name

The full name of the database on which the script is to operate (for example, abc.geo). This field is compulsory, if no entry is made, then the program will terminate.

Database type

The type of database system that was used to create the database named above. Currently, there is only one valid entry for this question: IsisDB(in uppercase). This field is compulsory, if no entry is made the program will terminate.

Note:  The program is designed to work with any type of database, and it should be very straightforward to add the few appropriate interface routines for any new systems as required.

Data-sheet name (if not.<suf>)

This is specific to the Isis database system (that is, Isis library, Isis headered and Isis temporary ODBC), and will not be required for other types. The default is blank; that is, no entry is required (for example, for abc.geowhere the suffix geois the data sheet name). The system assumes that the suffix of the name is the appropriate design name. If this is not the case, then enter the actual design name here (for example, if the design name is liththe suffix will just be lit).

Previous selection file

Data selection can be made by a number of passes, and the keys for the headers of appropriate groups placed on file. Files of this type can be generated by the database query option in Vulcan or through Inquisitor. The files must be in the format of the selection (.sel) files produced by Vulcan; that is, a text file with one key per line. If you have such a file, then enter its full name and Inquisitor will only examine the relationship groups with keys in the file. If you are not using a previous selection, then leave the field blank and all relationship groups will be examined.

Output file (- for stdout)

Enter the full name of the file to which any output from the query process should go; for example, any PRINT statements from the Inquisitor script. Most queries will give some output (although not all; for example, if data is being modified). Entering "-" or leaving the field blank will output to the standard output device (stdout; that is, the screen).

Error log file (-for stderr)

Enter the full name of the file to which any error messages should go. Entering "-" or leaving the field blank will output the errors to the standard error device (stderr; that is, the screen).

Parse check only [N]

If you only want to do a syntax check on the Inquisitor script without actually performing the query, then enter "Y" or "y". Entering "N", "n", or leaving the field blank will cause the query to be performed. The syntax check will also include variable type checks, record and field name and type checks. Therefore it is important to have the database (and data-sheet libraries for Isis-DB) accessible, even though the actual query will not be performed.

Environment name (no vulcan.chk)

This only need to be entered if there is no vulcan.chkfile in the working directory, and you are using an IsisDB database. enter the Environment name if this prompt is given. If a vulcan.chkfile does exist, then the VULCAN environment name is read from that file and no entry need be made.

Once the above has been completed, the query or syntax check will be performed. If there are any errors in the Inquisitor script, then they will be reported with some indication as to the cause. The line in error displays with an indicator pointing to the error and a description of the problem. The program will terminate on error with no query performed.

If a parse check is successful, then the following message will be displayed:

*** Query Language Parsed Successfully ***

If the full query is successful, then the following message will be displayed:

*** Query Successfully Completed ***

In either case, these messages displays on the screen; they do not go to the specified output file.

Note:   Inquisitor can be started from the command line, without going through the above prompts. To do this, type each entry after the inquisitor command (or $VULCAN_EXE/dbsmql) and separate each entry with a space, for example,

inquisitor.csh mapfile.script abc.geo IsisDB null null - - N

Null (lower case) is used for entries that are to be left blank.

If an Environment name is required, then this can be added to the end of the line (in fact it can be added regardless, and it will be ignored if not needed.)