I have a problem accessing a database at work which provides numerous codes for different applications, this used for creating supply catalogs and such.

The program I am talking about has just been taken over by a new contractor. The new company has moved everything to an Oracle 10g database.

The prog was designed for operation in the field, using, for the most part, laptop computers. So the design was to store all the data files in compressed files, utilizing a compression format that is not Microsoft.

The company did, however, supply a .exe file to run batch files against the database. Each month, I run approximately 220K part numbers against it to pull price, turn-in credits, etc for each line and post this to an internal VFP table that I use for daily processing.

This utility has to be run from the Windows Command window, in a batch file. It does not allow for joins, or many other SQL commands I am used to.

I guess I actually have two quesions:

1. When I run the batch, the black command window echo's 'FAMM SQL'. Does this ring a bell in someone's memory? Might give me some idea what type of compression algorithm they are using.

2. We are still running under Windows XP. Are the command prompt commands still supported under Windows Vista(which we will be moving to shortly)?

Any input would be appreciated.

Pat