What's New in Zen v16
The release of Zen v16, version 16.00, offers the following new features and changes:
This document may be updated after the release. Download the latest version from the
Actian Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) website or visit
docs.actian.com.
File Format 16.0 Supports Keys Longer than 255 Bytes
• Zen v16 introduces a new file format called 16.0.
• Format 16.0 files have a maximum key length of 1024 bytes.
New Data Synchronization Utility
The
easysync command line utility is a new Zen data synchronization tool for automating the replication of newly created or updated records from one Zen database to another. The two databases can be on different servers or on the same one. Frequency of syncing can be near real-time or on a longer schedule. It includes a logging feature to enable general monitoring, detection of errors, and troubleshooting of unexpected results. The
easysync documentation is found in
Zen User’s Guide under
Command Line Interface Tool Reference.
Improved Integration of SQL and non-SQL Data Access
• Btrieve operations now succeed for files with SQL triggers defined.
• Status code 149 is no longer returned for these operations.
SQL Improvements
• Support for LIKE with ESCAPE.
Example: SELECT c1 FROM Tbl WHERE c1 LIKE '%10-15!% off%' ESCAPE '!'
• Support for data values up to 2 GB for INSERT and UPDATE statements on bound columns. The previous maximum was 64 KB.
• Secure USER.DDF and RIGHTS.DDF files with encryption on disk.
• SQL query logging settings in the ZenCC debugging properties of a Zen database engine, with options to include or exclude FETCH statements. No engine restart is required to turn logging on or off.
Performance Improvements
• MicroKernel page read-ahead for improved performance of Step operations
ADO.NET Support
The Zen v16 ADO.NET SDK has added support for .NET 8.
Offline Rebuild
Zen v16 introduces a standalone, command-line version of the existing Rebuild tool, called Offline Rebuild. This utility is meant for use to convert Zen data files on systems where Zen is not installed. Rebuilding a large number of files, or very large files, can slow Zen database engine performance for other users. Rebuilding the files on another system avoids this problem.
In addition, Zen v16 cannot read files in the 5.x format, so they must be converted to a later version. Only rbldcli_offline can read and convert 5.x files.
The tool is not installed with Zen v16 but is a separate download, including a quick start guide.
Linux-based Systems
• Zen installation and removal have been simplified by consolidating installation scripts.
• Only TAR installation is now supported.
Zen Containerization
Kafka integration using a Docker image with Btrieve source and sink connectors.
JSON
The Step/Get Extended JSON query operator now supports nested JSON objects.
Btrieve 2
• Support for system data fields in bulk retrievals.
• Improved examples and documentation for BRestful and Document APIs.
• Python package delivery using Python Package Index (PyPI).
Supported Platforms and Deprecated Features
• Files in pre-6.x formats are no longer supported. The new
Offline Rebuild utility can be used to convert them to supported file formats.
• The Zen PDAC SDK has been discontinued as a development platform in this release. PDAC applications developed with previous releases will continue to work in Zen v16.
Known Issues and History Logs
• An updated Zen known issues log lists unresolved technical and usage issues, with workarounds when available.
• An updated Zen history log lists fixed defects and selected enhancements in Zen v16 and any released service packs.
Documentation
The documentation for this release has been updated to cover new or changed functionality. It has also been revised for clarity, grammar, spelling, and changes to internet addresses and product names.
Last modified date: 07/24/2024