Record Builder Journal Files

Contents

Introduction
Document Conventions
Location of Journal Files
Journal File Names
Contents of Journal Files
Role of Journal Files in Database Recovery

Introduction

The Record Builder application included with OCLC Database Builder creates a journal file every time a Record Builder user successfully submits a transaction to a local database. Transactions include adding a new record, modifying an existing record, or deleting a record.

This document provides information about the location, contents, and naming conventions of journal files, and their role in database recovery.

Document Conventions

• <WebZ_root> is the location of the SiteSearch environment that contains the Record Builder application.
• database_dir is a database's top-level directory.
  

Location of Journal Files

For databases that you build and maintain with Record Builder, you specify the location of the database's journal files with the JournalUpdateDir variable in the [ExtendedServicesDbUpdate] section of the database's configuration file. By default this is the directory <WebZ_root>/dbbuilder/dbs/database_dir/journal, where database_dir is the database's top-level directory.

Journal File Names

Within a database's directory for storing journal files, Record Builder assigns a unique file name to each journal file using the following naming conventions:

recordDyyyymmdd_Thhmmss.ber

where:

yyyymmdd is the date (year, month and day) and hhmmss is the time (hour, minutes, and seconds in military time) that Record Builder applied this transaction to the database.

For example:

recordD20000104_T163504.ber

contains the transaction applied to the database on January 4, 2000 at 4:35:04 pm.

Contents of Journal Files

After Record Builder successfully completes a transaction, it creates a journal file containing the transaction. Each journal file contains a record in BER format, including the BER tag that indicates whether the record is to be added to the database, replace an existing record, or be deleted.

You can use the SiteSearch ber2txt utility to view the contents of a journal file.

Role of Journal Files in Database Recovery

Since each journal file contains a transaction applied to the database, you can use journal files and a database backup to recover a corrupted database by restoring the backup and then using the SiteSearch Database Operations Tool (SSDOT) to apply journal files to the database backup.

See Recovering a Corrupted Record Builder Database for recovery procedures.

See Also

Database Configuration Files - Sections and Variables
Cloning a Record Builder Database
Record Builder Process Model and System Overview