Check if record already exists when doing a buffer-copy

I have a piece of code which does a Buffer-Copy method, but is there any way to check before doing the buffer copy of the record already exists? I do not want to check 'unique keys' in my data dictionary.

This is the code I have at this moment:

    CREATE QUERY hQuery.
    hQuery:SET-BUFFERS(hBuffer).
    hQuery:QUERY-PREPARE("FOR EACH " + hBuffer:NAME + " NO-LOCK ").  
    hQuery:QUERY-OPEN().


    hQuery:GET-FIRST().
    DO WHILE NOT hQuery:QUERY-OFF-END:
        DO TRANSACTION ON ERROR UNDO:

            hDBBuffer:BUFFER-CREATE().
            hDBBuffer:BUFFER-COPY(hBuffer) NO-ERROR.

Solution

It is unclear what you are trying to accomplish and why you don't want to check unique keys "in my data dictionary" or even what you mean by that.

Your example code is very sketchy and incomplete, maybe someone else can figure out what you are trying to do and why, but I am at a loss to divine the purpose behind it. The use of handles and dynamic queries is especially puzzling. There doesn't seem to be a reason for that or any need to do that.

None the less, if I were coding a routine to copy a buffer, couldn't look up unique indexes in the dictionary, and wanted to pro-actively avoid potential collisions I might write something like this:

define temp-table oLine like orderLine.

for each orderline no-lock:
  find oLine of orderLine no-error.
  if not available( oLine ) then create oLine.
  buffer-copy orderLine to oline.
end.

(Using static coding to keep the example simple.)

(I wouldn't really use OF - it is on my personal forbidden list, I think it is terrible from a documentation and maintenance perspective.)