Under normal circumstances, the task would have been rather simple. One approach that would normally work would be to simply select all the records via the ListView and then delete the records. A second -- and faster --- approach would be to simply truncate the table via a MySQL database administration tool such as SQLyog or phpMyAdmin.
Notice I stated "normal circumstances."
My scenario was such that the environment hosting the SugarCRM instance in question did not allow me to select all the records and then delete them. Due to number of records that needed to be processed (over 70K), the system tended to time out and fail. Smaller batches was simply not going to work as it was taking a minute or more to process 200 contacts. At that pace, it would have taken me hours to delete the entire batch of records just in one module.
You may be wondering why I even bothered with the ListView when the SQLyog/phpMyAdmin option would have been far easier and faster. The answer is actually equally simple. Much like many other hosting providers, this one in particular does not provide a means for connecting directly to the database via external tools. It is further complicated by the fact that similar tools could not be installed -- nor were available -- on the server, nor was I able to access the file system.
I am stuck, right?
Well, not quite. After giving it some thought for a few minutes, I realized I could manipulate the SugarCRM framework to get it to do what I needed, although it is not really designed for the task I had in mind.
Let us take a look at how I solved this particular problem.
Notice I stated "normal circumstances."
My scenario was such that the environment hosting the SugarCRM instance in question did not allow me to select all the records and then delete them. Due to number of records that needed to be processed (over 70K), the system tended to time out and fail. Smaller batches was simply not going to work as it was taking a minute or more to process 200 contacts. At that pace, it would have taken me hours to delete the entire batch of records just in one module.
You may be wondering why I even bothered with the ListView when the SQLyog/phpMyAdmin option would have been far easier and faster. The answer is actually equally simple. Much like many other hosting providers, this one in particular does not provide a means for connecting directly to the database via external tools. It is further complicated by the fact that similar tools could not be installed -- nor were available -- on the server, nor was I able to access the file system.
I am stuck, right?
Well, not quite. After giving it some thought for a few minutes, I realized I could manipulate the SugarCRM framework to get it to do what I needed, although it is not really designed for the task I had in mind.
Let us take a look at how I solved this particular problem.
