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I administer Sybase ASE(15.0.7) database thats run on Solaris(11). I am pretty new specifically to Sybase ASE , but I have pretty well overall knowledge with working on databases such as SQL Server. Lately, while I was doing tasks such as uploading programmers scripts and etc, I was told to do not use it with ASE ISQL utility and go straight from command line utility (isql) because it would lose part of the data otherwise . I was pretty confused how could it possibly lose anything while handing script to the DB.I tried to discuss this with the folks at work saying that it sounds pretty wierd.

None of us are the real Sybase heavily experienced admins and generally they could not give me any argued answers on the case. So they just claim thats ASE isql is a no-no.

Could that really be true?

Kirill Pashkov
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1 Answers1

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This is absolutely not true. The Sybase command-line utility 'isql' is used very intensely by Sybase customers. I think the confusion may come from the fact that isql does not perform 'autocommit', as is common in client tools for many other databases. As a result, when you start an explicit transaction (BEGIN TRANSACTION) in the default unchained transaction mode , or when you run in chained transaction mode, and when you exit 'isql', then the transaction was not committed, so the ASE server will roll it back. This may be interpreted as 'data being lost' but that's not what really happens. So, in ASE you should explicitly COMMIT a transaction, or it will eventually be rolled back.

(just for completeness, in the default unchained transaction mode, if you don't use BEGIN TRANSACTION then each DML command will commit immediately when it's ready. That's not the same as autocommit, although it is sometimes called that way.)

mmmmmm
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RobV
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  • I think there is confusion.. He is referring to the ASEisql open source project that was created after Sybase switched GUI's when they redid a bunch of management pieces in Java. Check the link in the question, and you'll see what he is referring to. – Michael Gardner Sep 30 '14 at 17:18