The current version of Patran no longer uses Interbase to provide access to a database. The Interbase product and tools are still supplied with Patran to support conversions of older databases to be compatible with the current version of Patran. The database query tool discussed below can be used to examine the contents of databases built with older versions of Patran. A database query can be used to determine whether an application has successfully accomplished its task, to determine how other applications operate, or to determine what already exists in a database.

The database querying program is located in the $P3_HOME/bin directory. The program is called qli, which is an acronym for Query Language Interpreter and can be used to investigate the contents of a database.

To start qli, simply execute the qli command (for example, $P3_HOME/bin/qli). The qli program supports a subset of SQL, the standard query language, along with having many program specific commands of its own. The six major qli specific commands are “ready,” “show,” “list,” “print,” “help” and “quit.” A brief description of these commands are given below. For further information about qli, see the “help” command within qli. Further information about SQL can be obtained from any SQL reference book.

list: 

id   5 

x   1.0 

y   1.5 

z   -0.5 

id   6 

x   0.5 

y   0.0 

z   -1.0 

print: 

id       x        y        z 

5      1.0      1.5     -0.5 

6      0.5      0.0     -1.0