Database Field Expansion

One need that often arises during software development on iSeries platforms is having to expand the size of the fields that manage an entity used a large number of times, in dozens, hundreds or even thousands of source code lines.

THE SOLUTION

ARCAD-Transformer makes it possible to take an overall, coherent approach to this major modification. The method is as follows:

Prior to the modification: A repository of all of the components is loaded, along with detailed cross-references (at the level of the fields and lines of source code).

1. ARCAD’s product helps you to develop a “source list” of the database fields (PF-TABLE SQL) that contain the entity concerned (for example: article code).

2. Starting from this list of database fields, the ARCAD-Transformer engine performs a complete propagation batch processing , via the logical files, programs, procedures and commands, up to the DSPF or PRTF.

This propagation studies all of the types of instructions (RPG, RPGLE, CBL, CLP, CLLE, SQL, OPNQRYF, CMD) in order to propagate the entity from field to field (or from field section to field section). It also detects job fields, parameters, parts of the structure and fillers. You can also manage internal file descriptions (I/O specifications).
At the end of this propagation, warning or error reports are issued. After a guided analysis of these errors, we will correct the list of initial fields and/or set some limiters. We then relaunch the batch processing of the propagation. After a few iterations, we obtain a detailed, very high quality impact study (at the level of partial lines of source code)

3. The only step left is to request the desired modification. This modification will be made for:

• all database files
• all programs, for example:
  • length of declared fields
  • positions shifted in the DSs
  • modification of the values in %SUBST instructions
• all the DSPF/PRTFs. In the PRTFs, adjoining fields are « pushed »if necessary in order to provide the available space (or else the literals are cropped).

4. The new source code generated is placed in a dedicated version; the compilation tasks can then proceed in an orderly manner.

5. Where needed, we can also request the generation of recovery programs, file by file, by providing just a framework model of the recovery processing.

THE ADVANTAGES

ARCAD-Transformer helps in achieving completeness during the impact analysis, then in automating the modification of lines of source code. This allows time savings of 60 to 80%.