How do I use 2 DB at once?

I'm using Online 7.x with 6.x tools. Database AAA exists on machine alpha. Database BBB exists on machine beta. My application runs on machine alpha and has database AAA open. It needs to get data from database BBB on machine beta, without closing the database. The DBPATH lets me open either database from alpha. But, when I try to do a statement in the form "SELECT * FROM bbb:anytable", I get the following errors: 329: Database not found or no system permission. 111: ISAM error: no record found. If I change it to the form " SELECT * FROM bbb@beta_engine_name:anytable", it works just fine. I really dont want to have to use the form database@enginename:tablename. enginename varies from site to site. I could store it someplace, but that's one more thing (besides changine the global DBPATH variable) that needs to be changed if the BBB database's location changes. So, is this a bug? Shouldn't Informix be able to locate my BBB database from my DBPATH when I use the form database:tablename? I'm trying to look at statements like CONNECT, SET CONNECTION, DISCONNECT, etc. Has anybody looked at these? Can you give me some tips on how to use them? __________________________________________________________________________ Joel Schumacher JCPenney Co. - UNIX Network Systems jschumac@uns-dv1.jcpenney.com 12700 Park Central Pl (214) 591-7543 Dallas TX 75251