Microsoft KB Archive/116079

{|
 * width="100%"|

-

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5x, 2.6
 * Microsoft FoxPro Connectivity Kit, versions 2.5, 2.6

-

SUMMARY
This article describes how to use the FoxPro Connectivity Kit and ODBC to access data that resides in an ASCII text file.

MORE INFORMATION
This article assumes that you have the Text ODBC driver that is available as a part of the Microsoft ODBC Desktop Database Driver Kit (DDDK). This driver is also included with some Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Word for Windows and Microsoft Excel for Windows.

Support for drivers that are included in the DDDK but not shipped with FoxPro is provided by the Microsoft Advanced Systems group at:


 * (800) 936-5900 (charges billed to your credit card)

To connect to a Text data source, you must install the Text ODBC Driver and set up a Text data source through the ODBC Text Setup dialog box in the Windows Control Panel. Since this is a level 1 ODBC driver, the data source is a directory name or the current directory, as indicated in the Setup dialog box. The Options dialog box in the Text Driver Setup provides users with the ability to select and define various text formats, such as comma-separated values (CSV), tab delimited, and so on.

The following is a code sample that "connects" to a Text data source:   *-- Connect to a Text Data Source PRIVATE lcSource, lcUser, lcPwd, hDBHdle, lnDBRes

*-- Init memvars STORE 0 TO hDBHdle, lnDBRes lcSource = "Text"     && Text Data Source Name from ODBC Dialog lcUser = ""           && Not needed for single-tier drivers lcPwd = ""            && Not needed for Text

*-- Load Library if not already IF !"FPSQL" $ SET('library') SET LIBRARY TO FPSQL.FLL ENDIF WAIT WINDOW "Attempting connection ..." NOWAIT hDBHdle = dbConnect(lcSource, lcUser, lcPwd, "") IF hDBHdle > 0 WAIT WINDOW ; "Connected to Text File - Handle:"+STR(hDBHdle,1,0) TIMEOUT 2 ELSE WAIT WINDOW ; "Unable to connect to Text File .." ENDIF

* If the Text data source does not point to a specific directory * (Use Current Directory is checked in Setup dialog box), the * following DBExec will place the user in the desired directory:

lnDbRes = DBExec(hDBHdle, "USE f:\smpldata\text\csv") *(change drive and directory to suit)

* The Text ODBC driver can be useful in the many situations where * PC users need to interact with various forms of ASCII data.

* The following example creates a cursor in FoxPro containing the * drivers in the SYSTEM.INI file:

lnDbRes = ; DBExec(hDBHdle, "use c:\wfw31.466") && Select desired directory lnDbRes = ; DBExec(hDBHdle, ;    "select * from system.ini where field_1 like 'device=%'")