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DL4 IQ Database

By Terry Biscane - Aug. 01, 2008

I am try to convert an old database from an old SCO UNIX system. From what I can tell it seems to be an IQ database system? But I see a lot of reference to DL4 when I read information about IQ. It would seem each table file is paired with a .idx file which I would guess is the index. Is there any way of reading these files to export the data? Can it be done from a Windows machine?


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  1. By Stan Dupont on Aug. 01, 2008

    The files you are trying to convert are in a specially modified version of C-Tree ISAM files. Generally there is a string portion as the first part of a record followed by an array numerics. The indices are in the "".idx"" file and the records they point to are in the file without the "".idx"". There is a header in the record portion and then the records are all fixed length to the end of the file from the header offset.


    IQ (Intelligent Query) has a manually created dictionary that probably contains some subset of the data schema for users to create ad-hoc reports.


    If you want -all- the data, then the IQ route will probably only give you part of it. -- But, if you are looking mainly for the master files and the main references from those files, then it will probably be your best avenue for conversion.


    If the license you have enables ""IQ Access"" then you can save your queries from IQ in "".csv"" and/or "".xls"" format vs. a report format. If not, then you could use ""Monarch"" (a wonderful report conversion tool) to digest the report format into "".csv"" format.


    To check the license on the SCO box, login as root and from the ""#"" sign type ""ssnmaint"" and the enabled features will be shown. (Only press Enter through the fields - i.e. don't make any changes to the SSN, etc.)


    I have been using those products since 1986 on a 100+ table database that we now have running with MySQL vs. the C-Tree ISAM files.


    Let me know more details of the application and the scope of your conversion and I'll see what tools might help other than IQ. (I have a whole library of data conversion tools written in dL4, UniBasic, c and shell scripts.)


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