PRB: Connectivity Error: Not a Recognized Built-in Function

• Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0

SYMPTOMS

When trying to run or browse a remote view, you may receive a Connectivity error similar to this one:

   Connectivity error: [Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL
   Server]'CTOD' is not a recognized built-in function name

CAUSE

The CTOD function is added by the user as one of the Output fields, Order By, or Group By fields, or it is added by the View Designer as part of the Selection Criteria. CTOD is a FoxPro-specific function that is not recognized by the SQL Server.

When browsing the Remote View, FoxPro passes the SQL command (listed in the Remote View SQL window) to the back-end server for execution. A connectivity error message is generated when any of the FoxPro-specific functions are passed to the back-end server.

RESOLUTION

The View Designer problem in Microsoft Visual FoxPro version 3.0 for Windows is fixed in Microsoft Visual FoxPro version 3.0b for Windows. In version 3.0, the view designer added the CTOD to the WHERE clause whenever a Selection Criteria on a Datetime field is added to the view. Version 3.0b does not add the CTOD automatically. Currently, 3.0b requires that the date in the example be surrounded by single quotation marks.

Steps to Work Around Problem

1. Create an updatable View using SQL Passthrough. Use one of the SQL Server built-in functions or remove whatever the View Designer added.

   For information about creating an updatable View, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

         ARTICLE-ID: Q138094
         TITLE     : How to Create Updatable Views by Using SQL Passthrough
   
      Following is an example of an SQLEXEC command that queries the Employee
      table for a range of dates in the Hire_date field and then returns only
      the date portion of the datetime field:
   
         =SQLEXEC(Handle, "SELECT emp_id, ;
            STR(datepart(month,hire_date),2) + '/';
            + STR(datepart(day,hire_date),2) + '/' ;
            + STR(datepart(year,hire_date),4) AS 'The_hire_date' ;
            FROM employee ;
            WHERE hire_date >= '01/01/93' AND hire_date <= '12/31/93'")
   
      Note: STR() and datepart() are Microsoft SQL Servers built-in functions.
   
   

2. Remove all FoxPro-specific functions from the Remote View.

3. Create a Local view based on the Remote View.

4. Add the necessary functions or selection criteria to the Local View.

STATUS

Microsoft is researching this behavior and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. Create a Remote View to a Microsoft SQL Server.

2. Add some fields to the Selected Output using the Functions/Expressions window, and use a FoxPro function such as ALLTRIM or DTOC.

3. Add Selection Criteria using a Datetime type field.

4. Browse the view.