title: UniVerse RetrieVe how do I query a file for all of its columns' values?
body: <p>Kind of a follow up to <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2052734/how-do-i-find-the-column-listing-in-universe-with-retrieve-or-sql">my self-answered question about finding the column names.</a></p>
  
  <p>In UniVerse you can't query a file for all of its columns unless the <code>@</code> phrase in your file's dictionary is set to all of the tables columns. If it isn't, how do you query a table for all of its columns' values?</p>
  
  <p>So I can get the total column listing (column name &amp; display name) using:</p>
  
  <pre><code>LIST DICT file NAME
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This will return a listing of all columns and their display names. How do I then query the table for all of the columns it has?</p>
  
  <pre><code>LIST file
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Will only query it for <code>LIST file @id</code> (@id is the only thing in @). </p>
  
  <p><strong>UPDATE</strong>
  I found <a href="http://gigamegatech.com/2008/12/18/ibm-universe-and-net-bff/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a blog -- a living breathing person who id using a version of UniVerse older than mine!!</a> where he complains about the same thing, but says there is no solution shy of updating <code>@</code> with all of the columns, please god someone prove him (Dan Watts) wrong.</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>What if you have a 200 column table
    and you want SELECT * to return all
    200 columns?  Sorry, but you’ll have
    to enter all 200 column names in that
    "@" record.  And if you add, delete or
    rename a column, you’ll have to
    remember to edit that "@" record. I
    feel your pain!  This cumbersome
    approach dates back to UniVerse’s ODBC
    driver, and I suppose they can’t
    change it now without breaking a lot
    of applications.  You can find the
    details described in inscrutable
    IBM-ese in the UniVerse ODBC Guide.</p>
  </blockquote>