3.3.2 Testing File Integrity

The "check" option of vutil tests a file for internal consistency. The command is:

vutil  -check  [ -afkq ]  [ files ]

With no options, it reads a list of files from the standard input and tests each one for a non-zero user count and other quickly tested errors. Files with errors or a non-zero user count are listed. You may place the list of files to check on the command line instead of using the standard input.

-a (for "automatic") This option causes vutil to do a thorough test of each file that has a non-zero user count. It will read every record in an attempt to see if the file is broken. Any problems that are detected are printed. You can use this option to test a large number of files for errors without exhaustively reading every record from every file. Only those files that appear to have potential problems (because of the non-zero count) are tested.

-f (full) This option acts the same as the "-a" option except that every file is thoroughly checked, even those with a user count of zero. This can be done to force a suspect file to be checked.

-k (key number) This option can be used in conjunction with the
"-f" option to cause the file to be checked sequentially in the order of the key specified. The "-k" must be followed (as the next separate argument) by the number of the key you want to use. Zero (0) indicates the primary key, 1 indicates the first alternate, and so forth. The "-k" option affects the processing only when the "-f" option is used. In this case, the entire file is read sequentially in the order of the key specified.

-q This option causes vutil to exit (with status 99) if user interaction is required.

Note that although the "check" option is a good test of a file, it is possible for a file to be corrupt and still pass the test. If you're processing an indexed file outside of vutil and you receive a file error "98," that file is corrupt even if it passed the "vutil -check" test.

For convenience in building scripts, the "check" option will not complain if given a non-Vision file. This allows "check" to be run on an entire directory without generating spurious errors from relative and sequential files.

When you perform "vutil -check", one of the following status values will be returned to the host operating system when vutil quits:

0 file checked out fine

1 check not fully performed because the file is in use

2 non-zero user count found

3 file is corrupt

99 user interaction was required, and the "-q" switch was set

255 vutil fatal error or incorrect command line

If more than one file is checked, the highest status value that applies is returned.