Defining File Search Paths - Novell

Incorporated into the Data Server and client config.bbx files, PREFIX statements define the directories to be searched and identify the search order. The following defines the basic PREFIX syntax for config.bbx files:

PREFIX /first_search_directory/ /second_search_directory/...

Each defined directory must be contained within forward slash characters and separated from the following directory with a blank space. Config.bbx file PREFIX statements, unlike those in the BBx language, are not specified within quotation marks.

To define the search paths, do the following:

  • In the client config.bbx file, create a PREFIX statement that specifies the name of the host server. For example, the following statement would specify the accounts host server:

    PREFIX /<accounts>

  • In the Data Server config.bbx file, create a PREFIX statement to specify the directories that contain the data files. For example, the following statement would cause the current directory to be searched first, followed by the data1, data2, and data3 directories.

    PREFIX /data1/ /data2/ /data3/

When a PREFIX statement is in place, the following search order applies:

  1. The current directory of the current drive.

  2. PREFIX entries that apply the Data Server and the current working drive, according to the order of appearance in the PREFIX statement.

  3. Local or mapped drives that have not been excluded via DSKSYN, according to the order of appearance in the PREFIX statement. The following is performed on each drive before moving onto the next drive:

    • Root of local or mapped drives.

    • PREFIX entries that apply to the drive and entries without a drive designation.

    The default current directory for the Novell Data Server is sys;\. The Data Server NLM is loaded into this directory. Regardless of the Data Server's config.bbx file PREFIX setting, it will search this directory first. This can be avoided by putting the exact path in the client config.bbx file, as seen in the example below:

    Proper Method

    Improper Method

    Client configuration file: prefix /<server>sys:data

     

    Client configuration file: prefix /<server>

    Server configuration file: prefix sys:data\