> I have:
> - server MS SQL MSDE (2000)
> - database 'COLLBASE'
> - table 'MAIN'
> - row: column 'NAME' value 'version' and column 'VALUE' value '003'
>
> I make backup files by SQL query.
> I have more backups for different versions of this database (different
> value in field 'VALUE' in table 'MAIN').
>
> I would like to read this value from backup file without server assist,
> to get backup as ordinary file.
> How to do it?
> How to move in this file?
> What is physical structure of backup file?
>
> I can't to read this file from begin by compare strings, because these
> files are very large, few 100MB.

> of course, but I need to know this value before restore, without server
> assist.

> Zenek (zingiel@op.pl) writes:
>> I have:
>> - server MS SQL MSDE (2000)
>> - database 'COLLBASE'
>> - table 'MAIN'
>> - row: column 'NAME' value 'version' and column 'VALUE' value '003'
>>
>> I make backup files by SQL query.
>> I have more backups for different versions of this database (different
>> value in field 'VALUE' in table 'MAIN').
>>
>> I would like to read this value from backup file without server assist,
>> to get backup as ordinary file.
>> How to do it?
>> How to move in this file?
>> What is physical structure of backup file?
>>
>> I can't to read this file from begin by compare strings, because these
>> files are very large, few 100MB.
>
> What are you really trying to achieve? The normal way to read data from
> a backup is to restore it into a database. And if the database is just a
> mere couple of 100 MB, that's a fairly snap operation.
>
>

> Zenek (zingiel@op.pl) writes:
>> of course, but I need to know this value before restore, without server
>> assist.
>
> Please give a more detailed account of your actual problem. Particularly,
> why is it not feasible to restore the backup and read the data?
>
>

> because I have my small program for several database's operations and I
> want fast to view, fast to know versions of backups (to read value of
> one field), I want not to use server or some libraries, I want to use
> f.e. in C fopen function and by fseek to get to needed information.