README for HP Neoview Release 2.4

Delay is the delay in seconds before each retry. The default is 1.
CONVERTOHEX Function
The CONVERTTOHEX function is new for Release 2.4 and allows the display of a column's
contents (or the value of an arbitrary expression) in hexadecimal. The function works for all
Neoview SQL data types. CONVERTOHEX is particularly useful when a column contains foreign
characters that your PC or terminal is not configured to display.
For more information about the CONVERTOHEX function, see the Neoview SQL Reference Manual.
Enhancements to MERGE INTO
The MERGE INTO statement has been extended to allow the use of a non-unique ON clause for
both UPDATE and DELETE if the statement does not contain the INSERT clause. For example:
MERGE INTO T1 USING (SELECT a, b FROM T2) X ON T1.a = X.a
WHEN MATCHED THEN UPDATE SET T1.b = X.b
For complete syntax and semantics, see the Neoview SQL Reference Manual.
Extensions to MAINTAIN REORG
MAINTAIN REORG has been extended to allow overlapping the REORG of multiple tables. For
example, if the REORG of partition 1 of table 1 on processor 1 finishes before other partitions of
table 1 have completed, the REORG of partition 1 of table 2 starts on processor 1. This allows
faster completion of the REORG of multiple tables.
For the complete syntax and semantics, see the Neoview SQL Reference Manual.
FORMAT Option
With the new FORMAT option, dates can be displayed in any of eight different formats by using
SELECT statements. The first n characters of a string or the first n digits of an integer can be
displayed without invoking a substring function, and an integer can be displayed as if it were a
compressed time value. For example:
SELECT ship_date (FORMAT 'YYYY/MM/DD') from ORDERS_TABLE; /* display easily sortable dates */
SELECT telephone_number (FORMAT 'XXX' ) from CUSTOMER_TABLE; /* display area codes */
For more information about the formatting function, see the Neoview SQL Reference Manual.
New UPDATE STATISTICS Automation CHG_AUTO_LIST Command
When the NEO.HP_USTAT.CHG_AUTO_LIST SPJ is specified with EXCLUDE as the operation,
the table given is added to a list of tables for which UPDATE STATISTICS automation is not
performed. EXCLUDE takes effect only when the automation list is dynamic (that is, when
CHG_AUTO_LIST('INSERT', '*', '*') is used). When the list is static, the user is allowed to have
excluded tables as well as specific inserted tables. In this case, the excluded tables have no effect.
To remove an excluded table, you must specify DELETE with the table name. This is similar to
removing a table that has been inserted. Specifying ‘DELETE’, ‘*’, ‘*’ removes all excluded tables.
Specifying ‘INSERT’, ‘*’, ‘*’ does not affect tables that have already been excluded. In this case,
'EXCLUDE’, ‘*’, ‘*’ is not allowed, and no tables are excluded.
For more information, see the Neoview Database Administrator's Guide.
Parser-Syntax Error Enhancement
Release 2.4 expands parser-syntax error messages to include the actual number of the character
where the error was detected. This enhancement makes it easier to find errors in long (more than
945 characters) commands with large blocks of code that might look similar. The enhancement
also helps locate problems with non-ISO8859-1 characters, such as SJIS or GBK. For example:
>>create table simple(a int,);
*** ERROR[15001] A syntax error occurred at or before:
create table simpl(a int,);
New Features for Release 2.4 9