Command lines

When components are generated from the VisualAge Pacbase repository, they are in the form of source files for such things as programs and database definition language (DDL). After generation, it is necessary to process this source with a compiler or other utility in order to complete the transition to a test or production environment. VisualAge Pacbase assists you in the transition by allowing the administrator to define additional control data to be positioned relative to the source.

Figure 4-71 shows where command lines can be positioned for entities generated from VisualAge Pacbase.

Figure 4-71 Command line processing

In the figure, command lines can be inserted before and after each generated entity (there are two in this example) and before and after the job stream associated with the generated entities.

We did not require the use of any command lines for the components we generated for the VisualAge Cruise Lines sample application.

Command lines at beginning of jobstream Command lines before entity 1 Source for entity 1 Command lines after

entity 1

Command lines before entity 2

Source for entity 2

Command lines after entity 2

Command lines at end of jobstream

4.4.5 Profiles

VisualAge Pacbase allows the administrator to establish profiles to control the access to the VisualAge Pacbase repository content and authorizations to execute other administrative procedures. Selecting the Profiles tab presents the information shown in Figure 4-72.

Figure 4-72 Using the Profiles tab

We used the following profiles:

򐂰 Admin (added by default during the installation)

򐂰 Developer

The Admin profile contains users that have the authority to administer our sample application repository. The steps to add a profile are:

1. Select Create new Profile VisualAge Pacbase from the menu bar. 2. Complete the information presented by the SmartGuide as shown Figure

4-73. Most of this information only applies to users that will be VisualAge Pacbase administrators.

Figure 4-73 SmartGuide for adding a profile

3. Click the Finish button.

Profiles (just like users) and their authorizations are common to all databases. Using the base administration feature of VisualAge Pacbase, they can be refined for each user on each database and library.

Libraries authorization refers to the level of access that users with this profile will have to the libraries within VisualAge Pacbase. A library in VisualAge Pacbase refers to a logical collection of managed entities in the repository. For more discussion regarding libraries, refer to chapter 6 of this redbook. There are four options associated with Libraries authorization:

򐂰 None: The user would have no direct access to the components in this library.

򐂰 Read only: The user can view the components but cannot change them.

򐂰 Update: The user can modify components in the library.

򐂰 Administrator: The user can change options associated with the library. Procedures authorization refers to whether users with this profile can execute batch procedures. Batch procedures are various utilities that can be used to manage the VisualAge Pacbase repository and its content. In general, only the VisualAge Pacbase administrator should have this ability. There are two options:

򐂰 Not authorized

򐂰 Authorized

Parameters authorization refers to the ability to administer users. Only the VisualAge Pacbase administrator should have this ability. There are two options:

򐂰 Not authorized

򐂰 Authorized

PEI authorization refers to the use of the optional VisualAge Pacbase component for managing application components generated from the repository and placed in the production environment. PEI is not within the scope of this redbook. When you set the Parameters authorization to Authorized, VisualAge Pacbase sets related options automatically. After the Profile is added, you can see these related options by clicking the Show Parameters Details button in the pane.

These related options were set automatically for the Admin profile because we set the Parameters authorization to Authorized. Normally, you would not need to change the Parameters details. Figure 4-73 shows the defaults that were added.

Figure 4-74 Parameters added by default

Refer to the VisualAge Pacbase product documentation for additional detail regarding these related options.

4.4.6 Pac/Transfer

The content of a VisualAge Pacbase database is managed as a set of sessions. A session is identified by a number and represents the content of the repository as of a specific point in time. A low session number indicates that the content is in the distant past. A high number indicates that the content is of more recent origin. A session number of 9999 is used to designate the current session.

In addition, all of the update activity in VisualAge Pacbase is recorded in a file referred to as the Journal. The journal is a chronological record of every update that occurs. The Journal file is periodically archived by a utility (ARCH) so that its content can be managed more efficiently.

Sessions are independent of one another, and a common situation involves taking the activity associated with one session and applying it to another session in order to synchronize certain entities. The archived Journal is the source for the transaction information used to accomplish this. The Pac/Transfers tab provides the ability for the VisualAge Pacbase administrator to manage the activity between sessions. The basic process involves:

1. Defining a transfer set using the VisualAge Pacbase administrator Workbench 2. Using the Pac/Transfer tab in the VisualAge Pacbase administrator

Workbench to define the journal extraction criteria, which is the input to the transfer parameter update procedure (TRUP)

3. Extracting the activity from the archived journal using a utility (utilities in VisualAge Pacbase are called batch procedures), which is the transfer file creation batch procedure (TRPF) and the generation of transfer transactions batch procedure (TRRP)

4. Updating another session or sessions with the results of the extraction using the batch procedure update (UPDT)

This discussion focuses on the use of the VisualAge Pacbase administrator Workbench to define the transfer set and the transfer criteria.

Important: If your organization is using DSMS, consult the VisualAge

Pacbase documentation for information regarding batch procedures that must be run when using Pac/Transfer.

Defining a transfer set

Defining a transfer set begins with selecting Pac/Transfer -> Create new

Transfer Set (Pac/transfer). This starts the SmartGuide shown in Figure 4-74.

A transfer set is associated with a VisualAge Pacbase database. Clicking the button labeled ... next to the database code displays a list of databases, shown in Figure 4-76, that can be used to select a database to begin defining the transfer set.

Figure 4-76 Pac/Transfer database selection

To complete the definition of the transfer set, enter a four-character transaction set code and a label, which can be up to thirty-six characters.

Defining transfer criteria

To define the transfer criteria, double-click the transfer set you created. This displays the Pac/Transfer selection criteria tabs as shown in Figure 4-77.

Figure 4-77 Pac/Transfer selection criteria tabs

The VisualAge Pacbase administrator uses these tabs to establish the following types of Pac/Transfer criteria:

򐂰 Definition: Corresponds to the earlier definition of the transfer set and can be used to change the label for this transfer set

򐂰 Sessions: Used to specify the source session and one or more target sessions

򐂰 Libraries: Used to restrict the extraction from the archived journal based on a specific library and to designate target libraries

򐂰 Change Numbers: Used if you have DSMS, to restrict the archived journal transaction based on the DSMS controls

򐂰 User Codes: Used to restrict the extraction from the archived journal based on a specific user code and to designate a user code for the target.

Specifying session criteria

To specify the source and target sessions for Pac/Transfer, select the Sessions tab, and then from the menu bar select Sessions -> Create new Sessions. This starts the SmartGuide shown in Figure 4-78.

Figure 4-78 Specifying sessions for Pac/Transfer

You can use the buttons labeled ... to display a list of available sessions to use as the source and target. The sequence number is used to control the sequence of the update activity to the target session. For example, when multiple sessions are specified, you must indicate which session is to be applied first.

Specifying library criteria

To specify the source and target libraries for Pac/Transfer, select the Libraries tab, and then from the menu bar, select Libraries -> Create new Libraries. This starts the SmartGuide shown in the Figure 4-79.

Figure 4-79 Specifying source and target libraries

You can use the buttons labeled ... to display a list of available libraries to use as the source and target.

Specifying user criteria

To specify a user code for source and target for Pac/Transfer, select the User

Codes tab, and then from the menu bar, select User Codes -> Create new User Codes. This starts the SmartGuide shown in Figure 4-80.

Figure 4-80 Specifying user codes for Pac/Transfer

You can use the buttons labeled ... to display a list of available user codes to use as the source and target.

Specifying change numbers criteria

This tab only applies if your organization is using DSMS (development support management system, an optional part of VisualAge Pacbase). To specify the change numbers for the source and target for Pac/Transfer, select the Change

Numbers tab, and then from the menu bar, select Change Numbers -> Create new Change Numbers. This starts the SmartGuide shown in Figure 4-81.

Figure 4-81 Specifying Pac/Transfer change numbers (DSMS only)

When using change numbers, it is possible to associate the transactions to a specific user code. You can use the button labeled ... to display a list of available user codes.

4.4.7 Users

The Users tab is used to set up users that will have access to the VisualAge Pacbase repository. We added a User for each redbook author.

To add a User, select Create New User from the menu-bar. A SmartGuide appears that allows you to add the information for a new User.

The SmartGuide fields are:

򐂰 Name: A short code to identify the user. This is the code that the User is required to enter to logon to VisualAge Pacbase.

򐂰 Label: A more descriptive reference, usually the person’s name.

򐂰 Profile: Used to assign an existing Profile to this User. To do this, click the button with the ..., then select the Profile to assign by clicking it.

򐂰 Change pass...: Depending on the security options, the administrator can assign an initial password for the User. To do this, click the button with the .... You will be asked to enter the new password and to confirm the password by entering it a second time.

򐂰 Check boxes allow you to assign this User a role as Administrator, Designer, or Workbench user.

򐂰 Other fields for the User are documentary and optional. These include: – E-Mail

– Manager, which you can select from a list of managers by clicking the button labeled Managers list

– Phone Number – Cellular Phone – Service – Personal fields: • Second Name • Pers Phone • Address – Comments

After the User is added, it will appear in the list of Users.

Clicking a User displays that User’s information and makes it available for change.

Figure 4-82 shows the User information we set up for one of the redbook authors.

Figure 4-82 User REDBOOK

4.4.8 Tool bar

The VisualAge Pacbase administrator Workbench includes a tool bar that pertains to the entity selected when using the tabs. Figure 4-83 shows the toolbar icons.

Referring to the preceding figure, the toolbar icons from left to right are:

򐂰 Create: To create a new entity occurrence which corresponds to the active tab

򐂰 Show Details: To display more information with the list of entities in the selection pane

򐂰 Refresh: To rebuild the display from the repository

򐂰 Discard Changes: To eliminate any changes associated with the selected entity from your workspace

򐂰 Save: To commit changes to your local workspace for later resynchronization with the server repository

These options are also accessible by right-clicking an entry in the displayed list.

4.5 External controls

VisualAge Pacbase allows the administrator to specify validations and

initialization for entities created in the repository. JavaScript is used to write these rules. These scripts are read and interpreted dynamically through FESI, a free external tool that allows access to Java objects and methods. The Workbench interface to these scripts is specified as a path file or URL set using File ->

Preferences and navigating to External controls in the display. Here too, you can

indicate whether the Workbench activity will be subject to validity controls, initialization functions, or both. Figure 4-84 shows the specification of the external controls.

4.5.1 Validity controls

Validity controls are evaluated each time the entity is modified. The results of the validation can be set to indicate that the modified entity is valid, or to give a warning, or to indicate an error. Warnings and errors are accompanied by an error message to the Workbench user.

For example, VisualAge Pacbase allows entities to be associated with keywords so that entities can be grouped and located conveniently within the VisualAge Pacbase repository. Your organization may recommend that all entities should have an explicit keyword assigned. As the VisualAge Pacbase administrator, you can check for conformance to this recommendation through the external controls. To do this you would create a file namedAllEntities.js, which is the mandatory file name for the JavaScript external controls that pertain to all entities. In this file, you would place the following JavaScript code:

//Controls if keywords are present if (this.getKeywords().isEmpty()) {

this.setWarningMessage("In our company, keywords are strongly recommended."); return false;

} else { return true;

}

4.5.2 Initialization controls

Initialization scripts are called each time the user clicks on the Finish button of an entity creation SmartGuide. These scripts allow default characteristics of an entity to be established as the entity is created. For example, initialization scripts can be used to add a macro to a batch program as it is created.

For additional information on External controls, consult the VisualAge Pacbase documentation.