At 02:36 AM 28/07/2005 +0000, you wrote:

> > >
> > >Gstat reads the database file (doesn't connect to the database).
>That's
> > >also the reason, of course, that the gstat reports are "transaction-
>unaware".
> > >
> > >./hb
>
>Thanks Helen, makes perfect sense now.
>Is it "safe" to run gstat while other users are connected?

With Superserver on Windows, I'd supposed that it wouldn't even be
possible, given there's an exclusive filesystem lock on the database file
when any user is connected. But you can do it. I guess that probably
means Superserver's exclusive lock is a write lock only.

Ann is best placed to answer the "physical safety" issue - though gstat
doesn't open the file in read-write mode, so I would suppose no risk.

From the POV of "logical safety", gstat is not reflective of database
state as seen by transactions. Hence, the stats always involve uncommitted
work, as well as indexes and record versions that haven't been
garbage-collected yet, along with the committed stuff.

./heLen