Btrieve Interview Preparation Guide
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Btrieve frequently Asked Questions in various Btrieve job Interviews by interviewer. The set of questions here ensures that you offer a perfect answer posed to you. So get preparation for your new job hunting

29 Btrieve Questions and Answers:

1 :: What is Btrieve

Btrieve is a transactional database, navigational database software product. It is based on Indexed Sequential Access Method (ISAM), which is a way of storing data for fast retrieval. There have been several versions of the product for DOS, Linux, older versions of Microsoft Windows, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, 32-bit IBM OS/2 and for Novell NetWare.

2 :: Define a C long integer as a key in Btrieve, when there is no long data type?

C long integer can be defined as a key in Btrieve by specifying the key as an integer. But the length need to be specified as four bytes.

3 :: Suppose When I am attached to a lot of NetWare v3.11 servers (24), each running the NetWare Btrieve NLM v5.15, I get a status 38 (Transaction Control File I/O) even though each Btrieve NLM is configured for transactions. What should I do?

- Verify the number of file servers, the /s parameter on Brequest whether it large enough

- If the number is higher, it may stop the status 38.

- Check the /s parameter (number of file servers) on Brequest to see if it is large enough. A higher setting may stop the status 38.

4 :: Explain with NetWare Btrieve v6.0, when I perform an Insert (2) operation, NetWare Btrieve inserts for a while, then it returns a status 84 (Record in Use). What should I do?

- The application should rerun if it receives a status code 84.

- Btrieve will lock the key page for some time

- At this moment another user may try using it.

5 :: Tell us what you know about Btrieve?

- Btrieve is a navigational database product

- Based on Indexed Sequential Access Method(ISAM)

- ISAM is a way of fast data retrieval

- Btrieve retrieves one record at a time.

- Transaction Operation is faster as there is little overhead with Btrieve Engine

6 :: Explain error codes of Btrieve?

-INVALID OPERATION – The parameter of the operations of a call is invalid

-I/O ERROR – An error occurred during a disk read / write operation.

-FILE NOT OPEN – Any operation on the designated file can not be performed as the file is not open

-KEY VALUE NOT FOUND - The designated key value is not found in the index path

-INVALID POSITIONING - Each time the current position need to be established. This position is application for update / deletion of a record.

7 :: Explain DDF Editor for Btrieve?

-DDF editor allows to create the description of files

-DDF is necessary to access Btrieve files through ODBC / OLE

- Allows to
-create / view / edit dictionary DDF
-import and export data from ODBC data source

-drag and drop / copy and paste the descriptions

-rebuild files

-search filtration data

8 :: How to run Btrieve on SFT III server?

The following engines are required to run Btrieve on SFT III server.

- Btrieve.nlm on MSEngine

- BSPXCOM.NLM on MSEngine

- AFTER311.NLM on IOEngine

- Btrieve is unaware of running SFT III Server

- The I/O and mirroring will be taken care by OS

9 :: Tell me is it necessary to load Brequest if one wants to access the Btrieve NLM from the Windows environment?

-Yes. First the DOS requester is loaded

-Later windows is loaded

-While the windows application is running,

- The first window calls Btrieve to load and Btrieve Request Interface for windows.

10 :: Explain what does the "Total" column in the BUTIL -STAT indicate?

-"Total" column gives the number of UNIQUE values for every key

-The column is different from "Total Records" column