I have 8 character file name, no extension files being created in my dbaseIII+ folder
 

OK, I have a Mandrake 9.1 running SAMBA 2.2. I've transferred a DBase/Clipper app over to this server and it runs great. Well for a 14 year old dbase. Anyway, I've noticed that there are new files showing up in this directory. The files are randomly generated 8 character named files with no extensions. The files vary in size quite a bit from 20-30 K to 500 to 800K. The readable data in these files are related to various parts of the dbase app. Trying to track down the time they were created to some incident in the use of the dbase has so far proved fruitless for a consistent pattern.

I'm sort of miffed where or why these files are being created. I'm not sure if it is a dbase issue (which we didn't have the files piling up on the netware network we previously had) or a SAMBA/Linux thing.

Any ideas? Even pointers on where to look, watch or test would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.... bonzo

I'm pretty sure they aren't samba related, as samba is a protocol, not a file manipulator (it's basically a stand-in for MS's own SMB stuff). The fact that the names are vaguely related to DBIII helps confirm that.

That said, there may be problems with your samba setup, and perhaps those files are a form of DBIII's error correcting/logging system. Or, DBIII might simply be too old to be comfortably compatible with any fairly new networking protocols. On the other hand, you might be facing some sort of virus or system problem, and DBIII is trying to correct for those problems as well.

My suggestion is to look for another solution. I know, it's a hassle, but chances are that you're going to make up for any problems, in the long run. Mysql is probably a fairly natural choice for a migration like this, as you obviously don't need the ultimate DB solution. It's GPL'd, and there are migration tools up the kazoo. It might be a breeze for you to migrate, much easier than someone with something like MS Access, simply because the dbaseII/III/IV stuff is so well understood by so many people.

I know it's a crap answer, but 14 years is 1990, and that means 386-486 days for most systems. Now that Open Source solutions are available, why not take advantage of them? There are other solutions aside from mysql that are just as open, but for simplicity, I think mysql might be the easiest move, and I think the results will surprise you.

Oh, and you probably don't want to try a 486 Linux install, if you're considering that. It's possible, but you have to be a real dedicated Linux user to pull that off with any decent results... :)

Are you sure that these arent just temporary files that are getting created and never deleted? You may not have noticed them before because they were in a tmp or temp directory....

Is there something else that you are doing different? I.e. Ending your session rather then exiting the app?