Features

The ARCAD-Datachanger suite covers the entire critical data management process, including the following:

• Allocation by a user into a given version (checkout),
• Automatic transport of “support” file(s) into a development environment,
• Automatic storage of all changes made,
• Maintenance Report referencing,
• Transfer to test and production,
• Rollback if required.

Deployment on one or more production servers:

• Automatic transfer and installation of modified data in the production and pre-production databases,
• resolution of potential conflicts with local data.

Furthermore ARCAD-Datachanger has immense potential to automate and secure data changes. Here are some real-world examples. 

Configuring data for software packages:

Users often customize and tailor application software by entering parameters that affect its behavior, e.g., rates, discount percentages, terms, etc.  Without DCM, these changes might be made in the test environment and then re-keyed in production, introducing the risk of human error.  DCM enables end users to make data changes via their familiar interface in a test environment, and then automatically transfer just the changed data to production. This process minimizes update time, eliminates human error, and creates an audit trail for data changes. 

Interfacing with software tools:

A number of technical tools have emerged around the application change process. At present, the two most common categories are:

• CASE tools at the heart of the development process, such as Oracle^® JD Edwards World or LANSA that must be placed under control of a change management tool.
• Schedulers that need to be changed at the same time application configuration changes are made.

In both cases, DCM configuration can be complex since it requires a solid knowledge of the database for the product involved. To resolve this issue, we provide default solutions, notably for the following:

• CA 2E (SYNON), JDE World, and LANSA ― for which we implement version control on all of the entities contained in the product and provide excellent support, and
• Help/Systems’ ROBOT/SCHEDULE job scheduling software.

Managing menu options:

Application menus are often configured using an internal menu manager. Menu options and the commands or programs they run are defined in database files. This is an excellent opportunity to use DCM, which allows you to collect all these options in the ARCAD core, and organize the cross-references: 

• Links between menus
• Links between Menus and Menu Options
• Links between Menu Options and Programs or Commands

All these links are accessible in “Call” type links. This means you can use the calling chain function to detect − from any sub-program − which menu option could have launched the program. This type of grouping is highly effective because it creates links between functional and technical aspects of the system. For example, when you transfer a new version to test, you can develop a list of new or changed menu options for your users. By using their normal menus to test the new version, you avoid overloading them with the technical aspects of the process.

Deploying a framework: 

One of our ISV customers developed a Java framework, and then entirely redeveloped its ERP system using that framework. All of the screen descriptions were stored as DB2 tables. Deploying new releases or patches to their clients involved isolating certain data in the database and installing it in the customer's database.

This complicated process would have been a consistent source of error if it had not been automated. Thanks to DCM, the company’s application changes are carefully tracked, and then automatically deployed to clients.