relative instability of .dbf tables and index files, especially as this problem relates to unprotected power supplies.>
In my 13 years of xBASE experience, I have found 99% of corrupted data files ("Not A Database File" message returned upon USE) to be a mismatch between the header record count and actual records saved. Typically what happens is that the header will be updated and written to disk when a new record is added. The data however gets cached. If the power goes off on the machine where the data resides (be it a server or stand-alone), you lose the data giving the mismatch.
All it generally takes to fix the problem is a simple utility (I personally use one that I've had for about 8 years) that re-syncs the header record count back to the actual file length.
As a general rule, if the data server (be it stand-alone or a server) has a UPS so that power is not lost to it, your files will not corrupt.
Indexes are another matter. For the most part, I have no problems unless I've had power outages. I usually rebuild them periodically JIC.<s>
As for DBC's: I had a *bad* experience with one. All I can say is get Stonefield Database Toolkit.<g>
