Chapter 4. Environment setup, installation, and administration
4.1 Installation/setup: VisualAge Pacbase 3.0 repository
4.1.2 Running the installation
The installation software is distributed on CD-ROM. From the CD-ROM, you will execute the SETUP.EXE installation program.
Please refer to the VisualAge Pacbase Environment & Installation Guide (chapter Installation) for a complete description of the installation procedures.
As the installation begins, you will see the following information, as shown in Figure 4-1.
To begin the installation, click Next>.
As the installation begins, you will be asked to provide a user name and the name of your organization, as seen in Figure 4-2.
Figure 4-2 Providing a user and organization
The user and organization are shown only for documentation purposes. The installation proceeds in three stages:
1. Installing the system, that is, the software 2. Installing the administration database 3. Installing the development database
Installing the software
Figure 4-3 begins the installation sequence to install the software, referred to as the VisualAge Pacbase System.
Figure 4-3 Installing the VisualAge Pacbase system
Note that the default location for the system is:
C:\Program Files\IBM\VisualAge Pacbase\
The procedure gives you the option of revising your choice of location before proceeding with the install, as seen in Figure 4-4.
If you are ready to proceed with the installation, click the button labeled Install. This results in the progress panel in Figure 4-5.
Figure 4-5 Progress of the system installation
Even though the procedure says it may take several minutes, it finishes quickly. When the installation of the VisualAge Pacbase system is complete, you will see another panel that tells you that the system has been installed.
This same panel gives you the option of proceeding with the installation of the administration database, seen in the Figure 4-6.
Figure 4-6 Completing the system installation
You can defer the installation of the administration database by clicking the button labeled Later.
Installing the administration database
In the preceding figure, clicking the button labeled Now ... will begin the installation process for the administration database. This establishes the files that will be used by the VisualAge Pacbase administrator to manage the system, control access to the system, and execute various utilities called batch
procedures. Unlike earlier versions of VisualAge Pacbase, in VisualAge Pacbase 3.0 the administration database is now a single-session single-library database
Clicking the button labeled Now ... results in the panel seen in Figure 4-7.
Figure 4-7 Beginning the administration database installation
Clicking Next will begin the install process for the administration database. Note that the administration database will only be installed once. This single
administration database is used to manage the VisualAge Pacbase repository, regardless of how many development databases it contains.
The process requires you to provide:
VisualAge Pacbase key
Listener Port number
Default language
The VisualAge Pacbase key is a sequence of seventy characters that activates various options associated with the product and controls the product license and its expiration date. The VisualAge Pacbase key is supplied by IBM with the software when it is purchased.
The port number designates the port which will be used for the listener for VisualAge Pacbase. You can take the default or specify another port number. Note that the value of the listener port number must be between 6000 and 9000. In addition, it must be distinct from any other VisualAge Pacbase development database.
You must also choose the default language for the administration database, either English (the default) or French, as shown in Figure 4-8.
After you have entered the key, the listener port number, and chosen a language, click Next> to proceed. Figure 4-9 is the panel that results.
Figure 4-9 Choosing the administration database location
Note that the default location for the administration database is the same as that for the VisualAge Pacbase system,
C:\Program Files\IBM\VisualAge Pacbase\
It is not required that the system and the administration database be in the same location. To change the location, click the button labeled Change ...
To proceed with the install, click Next>. Figure 4-10 is the panel that results.
Figure 4-10 Specifying additional locations
The preceding figure shows the panel used to indicate the location of the following components of the administration database:
Journal directory
Backups directory
Temporary directory
Users directory
Note that the default locations for these are the same as the administration database,
The journal directory specifies the location of the files that are used to record the transactions against the administration database in a chronological sequence. The journal provides the capability to recover the administration database in the event of a problem and ensures that the recovered database is accurate. It is recommended that the journal directory be placed in a location that is distinct from both the administration database and the backups directory to provide better coverage in the event of a problem.
The backups directory specifies the location of the files that are used for the backup of the administration database. These backups are sequential images of the corresponding database and are used to recover the content of the database in the event of a problem. It is recommended that the backups directory be in a location distinct from the administration database and the journal directory. The temporary directory specifies the location of the files that are used for work areas, sorting, and to contain the reports that result from the use of various batch procedures (utilities). It should be located on a drive that has sufficient space to handle the sorting of large files used by the batch procedures.
The users directory specifies the location of the files that are used for the results of generation from the repository. This directory should be located so that it is accessible by the users it supports.
Any of the locations previously discussed can be changed by clicking the
Change ... button next to the directory that you would like to change. If you
decide to change a location by clicking the button, you will be presented with the panel shown in Figure 4-11.
To change the location, enter the new location in the field labeled Folder name and click OK. This will return you to the panel for all of the directory locations. On that panel, click the Next> button to continue. You will see the panel shown in Figure 4-12.
Click the Install button to continue the installation for the administration database. When the installation process is complete, Figure 4-13 will be displayed and you will have the option of installing a development database or ending the install process.
Figure 4-13 Successful installation of the administration database
If you wish to end the install procedure, click the Finish button. If you wish to install a development database, click the button labeled Yes. Note that you can create development databases anytime by using the indicated shortcut in the Start menu by selecting Programs -> VisualAge Pacbase 3.0 -> Create New
Installing a development database
Installing a development database refers to the process of establishing a set of files that will be used by developers to build and maintain entities within the VisualAge Pacbase repository. These entities become the building blocks of the applications which are generated from the VisualAge Pacbase repository. Development databases are distinct from the administration database installed earlier. The VisualAge Pacbase repository can contain multiple development databases, but will only contain one administration database.
Many projects and developers will share the same development database. Indeed, a major advantage of the VisualAge Pacbase repository is that it is a multi-user environment. As users work in the repository they are working with the authoritative source of the development components and will see the results of the work of other developers with each new download to their workspace. The installation begins with the panel shown in Figure 4-14.
To begin installing a new development database, click Next>. The following panel, in Figure 4-15, will be displayed.
Figure 4-15 Specifying a development database
The preceding panel is used to specify the characteristics of the development database. You will need to provide:
Name of the database
Listener port number
Database language
Generation language
The name of the database refers to the folder that will contain the files used for the development database. You can use a maximum of eight characters and you should use a name that has significance. In the example from the preceding figure, we named our development database REDBOOK.
The listener port number must be a value between 6000 and 9000 and must be unique from the listener port number assigned to the administration database. You can use the default value supplied or specify a different value for the listener port. In our example, we assigned 7030 as the listener port number.
The database language can be either English (the default) or French. This controls the language used for the labels and messages displayed on panels as developers work with this database. We used English for our example.
The generation language is also either English (the default) or French. This controls the language that will be used during the generation of entities from the VisualAge Pacbase repository. Again, we used English for our example.
After you have completed the specifications for this panel, click Next> to proceed with the install process. This produces the panel in Figure 4-16.
Figure 4-16 Default location for the development database
The default location for the development database is:
C:\Program Files\IBM\VisualAge Pacbase\
To proceed with the installation, click Next> to see the panel in Figure 4-17.
Figure 4-17 Additonal directory locations
The development database contains several directories for its files. These all default to the location:
C:\Program Files\IBM\VisualAge Pacbase\
The location for any of these directories can be changed by using the Change... button and entering a new location.
The directories for the development database include:
Journal directory
Backups directory
Temporary directory
Users directory
Note that the default locations for these are the same as the administration database:
The journal directory specifies the location of the files that are used to record the transactions from each user that update the development database. These are recorded in chronological sequence. The journal provides the capability to recover the development database in the event of a problem and ensures that the recovered database is accurate. It is recommended that the journal directory be placed in a location that is distinct from both the development database and the backups directory to provide better coverage in the event of a problem The backups directory specifies the location of the files that are used for the backup of the development database. These backups are sequential images of the corresponding database and are used to recovery the content of the
database in the event of a problem. It is recommended that the backups directory be in a location distinct from the development database and the journal directory. The temporary directory specifies the location of the files that are used for work areas, sorting, and to contain the reports that result during the generation of entities from the development database. It should be located on a drive that has sufficient space to handle the sorting of any large files that may be used during generation.
The users directory specifies the location of the files that are used for the results of generation from the repository. This directory should be located so that it is accessible by the users it supports.
Click Next> to continue.
This will present the panel shown in Figure 4-18, where you will confirm the installation of the development database.
Figure 4-18 Confirming the development database installation
Click Install to proceed with the installation.
Panels will display the progress of the installation and when the process completes you will see Figure 4-19.
Figure 4-19 Successful installation of development database
Click Finish to exit the installation procedure. This ends the installation of the software and the creation of the necessary databases for administration and development activities. Before using the product, you will need to complete the installation of the Workbenches for VisualAge Pacbase.
Verifying the installation
Before discussing the installation of the Workbenches for VisualAge Pacbase, it is appropriate to check the results of the installation.
In this section we describe how to check that the product installed correctly. It includes a description of the files created, where they are located, and a brief description of their use. The examples in this chapter relate to the default locations for the directories and file locations. If you specified alternate locations, then you should verify your install based on your specifications. Also, depending on the VisualAge Pacbase product options you have acquired, your hardware platform, communications, and operating system environment, your installation results may vary from the ones in our examples.
Verifying the system installation
After the install process for the system finishes you should verify that certain directories have been established. Figure 4-20 shows the directory structure that results from the system install. You must not modify these directories or the files they contain.
Figure 4-20 System directories
The preceding figure shows the system installed in the default directory:
C:\Program Files\IBM\VisualAge Pacbase\
A folder is established named Sys, which contains the following folders:
Nls
Pgm
Proc
Setbases
Skel
Nls refers to national language support, and this folder contains message files in both English and French as well as a file to handle character conversion. The files in the Nls folder are shown Figure 4-21.
Pgm refers to programs, and this folder contains all of the executables for VisualAge Pacbase.
A partial view of the Pgm folder is shown in Figure 4-22.
Figure 4-22 Content of the Pgm folder
Proc refers to batch procedures. These are utilities that accomplish routine activities such as backing up the database and extracting its content. Figure 4-23 shows a portion of the content of the Proc folder.
Figure 4-23 Content of the Proc folder
Setbases contains the installer and the .cab file used for the install, as seen in Figure 4-24.
Skel refers to skeletons. When VisualAge Pacbase generates application components the process involves merging content from two sources, the entity specifications from the VisualAge Pacbase database and a skeleton file which contains information specific to the options chosen as part of the generation request. These options relate to the hardware platform, communications, and operating system combination.
Figure 4-25 shows a sample of the content of the Skel folder.
Figure 4-25 Contents of Skel folder
The actual content of the Skel folder varies considerably based on the VisualAge Pacbase product options installed at a site.
Verifying the administration database install
Figure 4-26 shows the directory structure that results from installing the administration database.
Figure 4-26 Administration database directory structure
Note in the preceding figure that the Admin folder that contains the directories for the administration database is itself contained in a folder called Data. All of the VisualAge Pacbase databases will be placed in the Data folder. The Data folder basically contains all of the things that you will use directly. These are the files that will change and grow as information is stored in the VisualAge Pacbase repository.
Specifically, the Admin folder contains the following folders:
Base Input Journal Save Tmp Users
Base refers to the files that contain the content of the administration database. Figure 4-27 shows the content of the Base folder.
Input refers to the files that contain input transactions and parameters for specific batch procedures. Each of these files is explained in detail in the VisualAge Pacbase documentation. The content of the Input file after the administration database is shown in Figure 4-28.
Figure 4-28 Content of the Input folder
Journal refers to the chronological record of activity for the administration database. The Journal is used to recover the administration database in the event of a problem.
The content of the Journal folder is shown in Figure 4-29.
Figure 4-29 Content of the Journal folder
Save refers to the files that represent the backup of the administration database. These files are used to recover the administration database in the event of a problem. The content of the Save folder is shown in Figure 4-30.
Tmp refers to the location of the temporary files used as work areas, for sorting, and to store reports that result from executing batch procedures.
The content of the Tmp folder is shown in Figure 4-31.
Figure 4-31 Content of the Tmp folder
In the preceding figure, many of the files will not be present immediately after the installation of the administration database. As you complete the installation and begin to run batch procedures you will see files begin to appear in this folder. Users refers to the folder that will contain the results of generating entities from VisualAge Pacbase. Since no generation has been requested at this point in the installation, this folder will be empty.
Verifying the development database install
Figure 4-32 shows the directory structure that results from installing the development database.
Figure 4-32 Development database directory structure
Note that the development database resides in a folder that corresponds to the name specified during the installation process, in this example Redbook. Like all VisualAge Pacbase databases, the Redbook development database is
positioned within the Data folder. Since the administration (Admin) database was installed prior to the Redbook development database in our example, we see the Admin database in the figure.
As you can see in the preceding figure, the folders that result from the installation of the Redbook development database are similar in name and function to the ones associated with the administration database and so they will not be discussed again in this section.
Additional results
The install process adds an entry for VisualAge Pacbase to your Start menu in Windows NT.
Selecting the Admin option allows you to:
Execute Admin database utilities
Start the Admin database so that it becomes accessible from the administrator Workbench
Selecting the Redbook option allows you to:
Execute Redbook database utilities