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The Inquiry dialog box is designed for
people who want to query the database, but who are not familiar with SQL. You
search for records that are of the same type as those appearing in the dialog box where
you choose the Inquiry button. For example, if you choose Inquiry in the Work with Common Problem dialog
box, a Common Problem Inquiry dialog box appears where you can search for Common
Problem records.
How Inquiring Works
Use any or all of the boxes on an Inquiry dialog box to describe the records
you want to find. When you send your inquiry to the database, Tivoli Problem Management
links all your search criteria together to describe the record(s) you want.
For example, if you specify "Dallas" as the location and "hard
drive" as the component for which to search, Tivoli Problem Management searches for
records where the location is "Dallas" and the component is "hard
drive." Only records that match both of these criteria are included in your results.
The more boxes you complete, the more restrictive your query is, and the more precise your
results.
Tip: The more information you specify in an Inquiry dialog
box, the fewer records Tivoli Problem Management must search and the faster you get a
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To create a
simple inquiry:
- Open any dialog box where an Inquiry button appears.
For example, open the Work with Hot News
dialog box.
- Choose Inquiry.
Result: An Inquiry dialog box appears. Its title and appearance
vary depending on the dialog box from which you open it.
- To narrow the search, specify identifying information in the available boxes.
Wildcards: You can use any combination of characters and wildcards
in your entries. You can use the following wildcard characters:
- A question mark (?) substitutes for a single character. For example, S?ASH matches SMASH
but not SPLASH.
- An asterisk (*) substitutes for a single character or a string of consecutive
characters. For example, M*E matches MIKE and MOOSE
- Type an equal sign (=) in the first position in any text box to make the search
non-case-sensitive.
Tip: If you leave all the boxes empty, then your search will find all
records of the type covered by this Inquiry dialog box: all Hot News records or
all Common Problem records, for example. Depending on the size of your database, it can
take a long time to complete such an inquiry and results might not be helpful in solving a
specific problem.
- Choose OK.
Result: The dialog box from which you chose Inquiry appears and displays
any matching records. If no matching records are found, then the dialog box is empty.
Note: Typically, only the first 200 matching records are displayed. Your
system administrator determines the number of records to be displayed.
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Occasionally, you may
want to search for a word or phrase that occurs in a problem description or solution. You
can search for matching solutions and problems by typing the text in the Solution or
Description box in the Inquiry dialog box. In addition, you can use IBM
Intelligent Miner for Text to find better results, faster. Using IBM
Intelligent Miner for Text
If IBM Intelligent Miner for Text is used at your site, you can use it from the
following locations:
- Common Problem Inquiry dialog box
- Error Message Inquiry dialog box
- Hot News Inquiry dialog box
- Solutions Inquiry dialog box
If the Use Text Index check boxes are available, you can use IBM Intelligent Miner for
Text to search for text in a problem description or solution.
If the Use Text Index check boxes are not available, check with your system
administrator. IBM Intelligent Miner for Text may be in the process of being updated, in
which case it will be available shortly.
Note: If you do not have IBM Intelligent Miner for Text available at
your site, follow the procedure for Creating
a simple inquiry. In this case, there are no special guidelines for searching for text
in a problem description or solution.
Building a Text Inquiry using IBM Intelligent Miner for Text
IBM Intelligent Miner for Text requires a special syntax to find text. Depending on
your familiarity with this syntax, you can use either of the following methods to build a
text search in an Inquiry dialog box:
- If you are familiar with IBM Intelligent Miner for Text syntax, you can use it to type
your search text directly in the Description or Solution boxes. For a reference of the
syntax, see IBM Intelligent
Miner for Text Syntax.
- If you are not familiar with IBM Intelligent Miner for Text syntax, you can use the Text
Inquiry buttons. A dialog box appears that helps you formulate your text inquiry. The
correct syntax is automatically applied for you. The following instructions guide you
through the process of building a text inquiry.
To search for text using IBM Intelligent Miner for Text:
The Work with Solution dialog box
is used as an example in these steps.
- In the Solutions Inquiry dialog box next to the Description box or the Solution box,
choose Text Inquiry.
Note: You can repeat Step 1 through Step 4, performing the instructions
once for the Description box and once for the Solution box, if you want to search for text
in both boxes.
- In the Text Inquiry dialog box in the
Search Terms box, type the text for which you want to search.
Note: Separate terms with spaces or commas. Do not use the words AND
or OR as separators. For example, if you want to search for problem descriptions
containing the words computer and graphics, type computer,graphics
as your search terms.
- From the Search Options list, do one of the following:
- Select Match All Terms (AND) to match all terms specified in the Search Terms
box.
- Select Match Any Term (OR) to match only some of the terms in the Search Terms
box.
- Choose OK.
Result: The Solutions Inquiry dialog box appears. The search parameters
from the Text Inquiry dialog box appear in
either the Description or Solution box, depending on the button you chose in step 1.
- Complete any other search information in the Solutions Inquiry dialog box, then choose
OK.
Result: The Work with
Solution dialog box appears and displays all matching records. If no matching records
are found, the dialog box is empty.
IBM Intelligent Miner for Text
Syntax
If you prefer, you can type your search text directly in the Description or Solution
boxes using IBM Intelligent Miner for Text syntax. The following table lists the key
elements of IBM Intelligent Miner for Text syntax.
Term |
Description |
CONTAINS |
Use CONTAINS to search for text that contains a certain word or words. For
example, to search for the word window, type: CONTAINS 'WINDOW'
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Multiple words |
Use these operators (only the symbols, not the text) to separate multiple
words in a CONTAINS sub-clause or WHERE clause. For example, to search for a description
containing the word banana or the words apple and fruit flies,
type: CONTAINS 'BANANA'| 'APPLE' &
'FRUIT FLIES'
Operator |
Meaning |
& |
and |
| |
or |
~ |
not |
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Multiple sub-clauses |
Use these operators to separate multiple sub-clauses within a WHERE
sub-clause. For example, to search for a description containing the words window
or view that also contains the word close, but not the word open,
type:CONTAINS 'WINDOW' | 'VIEW' AND
'CLOSE' & ~ 'OPEN'
Operator |
Meaning |
AND |
and |
OR |
or |
NOT |
not |
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Proximity |
To search for words while considering their proximity, you can specify the
maximum number of characters separating them. For example, to find descriptions that
mention closing a window, you might type:CONTAINS 'WINDOW' WITHIN 20
CHARACTERS OF 'CLOSE'
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Wildcards |
Use the % wildcard
to search for occurrences of text that may vary slightly in the way it was typed. For
example, the following search would retrieve the words window, windows,
and windowing:CONTAINS 'WINDOW%'
Or you can use underscore (_) to substitute for any single character. For example, the
following search would retrieve the words window, and winnow:
CONTAINS 'WIN_OW'
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Tivoli Problem
Management provides the Search
dialog box for users who are familiar with SQL.
This dialog box is used to perform sophisticated queries and to change the sort order of
the items that appear in the dialog box from which it is opened. The Search dialog box
enables you to search for records that are of the same type as those appearing in the
dialog box from which you open the Search dialog box. For example, if you choose SQL in
the Work with Hot News dialog box, a
Search dialog box appears and displays only the database fields for the tables used to
store Hot News records.
To define an SQL query:
- Open any dialog box where an SQL button appears.
For example, open the Work
with Common Problem dialog box.
- Choose SQL.
Note: The field names in the Select Rows Where and Order By lists in the Search dialog box vary with the
kind of records for which you are searching. Otherwise, all Search dialog boxes are
similar.
SQL Clauses: An SQL query can contain several clauses. Each
clause represents a criteria for matching records. For example, a clause might be all
records created after June, 1997. You add clauses one at a time, using the buttons and
boxes in the Select Rows Where section. Repeat Step 3 through Step 7 to add the necessary
clauses.
- From the Column list in the Select Rows Where section, select a column (field) name.
- From the Operator list, select an operator.
- In the Value box, type a value.
Follow these rules when completing the Value box.
- You can use these wildcards:
- A question mark (?) substitutes for a single character. For example, S?ASH matches SMASH
but not SPLASH.
- An asterisk (*) substitutes for a single character or a string of consecutive
characters. For example, M*E matches MIKE and MOOSE
- If you use the % or the * wildcards, you must use either the LIKE or the NOT LIKE
operator.
- Type = in the first position to make the search non-case-sensitive.
- Specify dates in the proper date format for your system, such as MM/DD/YYYY.
- Specify times in HH:MM:SS format. Use military time.
The value completes the query clause. For example:
EVENT_BEGIN_TIME > 04/04/1998
Where EVENT_BEGIN_TIME is the column name, > is the operator, and 04/04/1998 is the
value.
- Choose Apply.
Result: The search criteria is added to the list.
Tip: You can type your search criteria, if you prefer. Be careful if you
do this. There is no error-checking and an incorrect query yields incorrect results.
Warning: If you type the search criteria directly into the list, do not
include the SELECT statement. Tivoli Problem Management automatically inserts this for you
when it sends the query to the database.
- If you want to add another clause to your query, choose either the And or Or button, as
appropriate. Repeat Step 3 through Step 7, as necessary, until you specify all the clauses
in the query.
Otherwise, continue with step 8.
- If you want to remove a search clause, select the search clause and choose Remove above
the list of clauses.
Otherwise, continue with step 9.
- If you want to set the order in which the records are sorted, from the Order By Column
list, select a field name and choose either Ascending or Descending.
Otherwise, continue with step 11.
- If you want to remove a sort order selection, select the sort order selection and choose
Remove under the list of sort order selections.
Otherwise, continue with step 11.
- Choose OK.
Result: The dialog box from which you chose SQL appears and displays the
matching records. If no matching records are found, then the dialog box is empty.
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