FREE TABLE Command Removes Table from Corrupted Database (129400)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 3.0
This article was previously published under Q129400

SUMMARY

The FREE TABLE command removes a table from a database. The purpose of this command is to provide a programmatic way to remove a table from a corrupted database.

You should normally use REMOVE TABLE to remove a table from a database that is not corrupted.

MORE INFORMATION

If FREE TABLE is used to remove a table from a database that is not corrupted, the Table Designer window still displays the table. However, the table is no longer really part of the database, and issuing the VALIDATE DATABASE command causes the following error message to be displayed:
Validate Database database name
Rebuilding Structural Index.....Index Rebuilt
Object #N(Table 'table name'): table is not in database
Also, attempting to browse or modify the table causes the error message to be displayed:
Table <table name> is not marked as belonging to <database name> database.
Would you like to create the back link to mark it?
Answering Yes to this question recreates the back link of the table to the database and issuing the VALIDATE DATABASE command returns the message "Database container is valid". The table is now part of the database again.

Example Usage of the FREE TABLE Command

CAUTION: Performing this example will corrupt the TESTDATA.DBC database in the SAMPLE subdirectory.

  1. First corrupt a database by running the following: 
          SET DEFAULT TO c:\vfp\samples\data
      USE testdata.dbc
      GO TOP
      DELETE            && Delete one record of the .DBC.
      USE               && Now TESTDATA cannot be opened as a database
  2. Run the following program which has an on error routine to trap for a damaged database. If this program is run without the error routine, the message "Testdata.DBC is not a database" will be returned. 
          SET PROCEDURE TO freetabl      && FREETABL is the name of the program

      ON ERROR DO errhand WITH ERROR()
      * The next line should cause an error because the first record
      * was deleted from TESTDATA.DBC

      OPEN DATA testdata
      USE customer
      USE products IN 0
      USE orders IN 0
      USE orditems IN 0
      USE employee IN 0

      ON ERROR  && restore system error handler

      PROCEDURE errhand
        PARAMETER merror
        WAIT WINDOW STR(merror)
        IF merror=1552
          FREE TABLE customer      && Allows the tables to be opened
          FREE TABLE orders        && by freeing them from the corrupted
          FREE TABLE products      && DATABASE
          FREE TABLE orditems
          FREE TABLE employee
        ENDIF
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:8/25/1999
Keywords:kbcode kberrmsg KB129400
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