UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I am having a problem. There is one ISAM file available in SCO UNIX environment. I want to convert it to simple comma delimited text file. Actual problem is with the size of the file. For the time being, size is 1.3 GB and I have to grab the subset of the data after every five minutes e.g. in between the two dates. The file is also in USE.

Can anybody help me and give me a clue on how I can solve the problem.

Please describe the format of the ISAM file you are describing. What is the format of this file. Can you post an example of the text? Is is a binary file?

YES THE FILE IS BINARY. I EXACTLY DONT KNOW THAT WHICH S/WARE WAS USED TO CREATE THAT FILE. I ALSO CONVERTED THAT FILE TO DOS FORMAT USING "DOSCP" OF UNIX AND TRIED ALSO TO OPEN IT USING NOTE PAD BUT AGAIN NO DATA RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE.

I AM POSTING ONE OF THE SMALLEST FILE ON THE NET. I COPIED THIS FILE FROM UNIX TO DOS USING "DOSCP" .

Hmmmm. Doing a DOS copy does not 'convert the file to DOS' it just copies the file to a DOS formatted disk. The file is not converted or changed to DOS, BTW.

You could try opening the file with a text editor that can open a binary file; i.e. VI, EMACS, or one of the myriad bin-hex editors.

What is the utility to read the binary file?

If it is a binary file, you need to understand the format. That means you need to have the source code of the utility that either writes or reads the file. OR, you must open the file with a binary editor and reverse engineer; which is time consuming.