Re: How do I recognize a system catalog table?

I'm afraid I'll only deal with Q3 :-): create a stored procedure that takes your smallint, fills a char string with its hex rappresentation, and returns the 10th digit, and use that in your where clause. Won't be exactly fast, but it'll work. HTH, Marco _______________________________________________________________________________ Marco Greco, Catania, Italy marcog@linux.ctonline.it rem radioterapia +39 95 447828 fax 446558 Informix faq http://www.iiug.org/techinfo/faq/informix.htm 4glworks http://www.ctonline.it/~marcog Informix on Linux http://www.ctonline.it/~marcog/ifmxlinux.htm Jacob Salomon wrote: } } Hi Family. } } If I run a query against systables in any database, I can exclude system } catalogs from my result simply by adding the clause: WHERE TABID < 99. } However, I am putting together a utility that will run against the } sysmaster database - tables systabinfo, systabnames. From this } perspective, there seems to be no distinction between database tables } and the system catalog tables in those databases. } } The only possibility seems to be in the ti_flags column of systabinfo. } without really rigorous checking, it seems that the ti_flags column for } a system catalog has the 0x2 bit turned on; non-catalogs seem to have } the 0x1 bit and temp tables in the bogus SORTTEMP database seem to have } these bits turned off. } } Q1: } Can anyone confirm - with true knowledge - that I have come to a correct } conclusion regarding these flags? } } Q2: } Carrying this to an unsurprising follow-up: Does anyone have genuine } information (read: Documentation) on what in *&^%! these flags all stand } for? It's not in the FM. (That's the fine manual - get your mind out of } the gutter! ;-) } } Q3: } Assuming my empirical conclusion to be correct regarding that low two } bits of ti_flags, what kind of expression can I use to isolate this } digit? } } I don't know of any bitwise AND operator that works in SQL. I'd like to } specify ordinary tables with "and ti_flags = 1" but I just noticed a } table whose ti_flags is 0X00000901, so this shortcut fails. Also, the } trick of multiplying the ti_flags by 0x10000000 (268435456) to shift the } low digit up, followed by dividing it back down will aslo fail, because } it will quickly incur an arithemtic error: } 1215: Value exceeds limit of INTEGER precision } } I have already found out that I cannot use bracketed substrings on } hex(ti_flags). e.g. hex(ti_flags)[10,10]. I have also noticed that } although ti_flags is a 16-bit column, the hex() function displays it as } a 32-bit value. } } So how do I isolate bits in the ti_flags column? } } Thanks. } -- } -- Jake (Never yelled "CROWDED THEATER!" during a fire) } +------------------------------------------------------------+ } | The expedient performance of a task with excessive concern | } | regarding its duration-to-completion engenders a virtual | } | certainty of diminished benefit therefrom. | } | -- Benjamin Franklin (but he said it in 3 words) | } +------------------------------------------------------------+