In this view, you can see and modify the design of your
applications. You can work on the instances that constitute these
applications.
If you select
Folders (entities)
as the
top-level elements in the tree, the
content of the
Design Explorer view is similar
to this picture:
Figure 1. Design Explorer view
of the Pacbase facet
with the entities as the top-level elements
Figure 2. Design
Explorer view of the COBOL facet with the entities as
the top-level elements
The
Design Explorer view
contains trees.
- The first level of each tree is constituted of a location. A location
can be compared to a database. If the location is open, its name is
preceded by the
icon. If the location is closed, its name
is preceded by the
icon.
- If the location is open (to open it, right-click it and select Open),
you can expand it and see the entity level. The number of the instances
present in the location is displayed next to the location (total number)
and also next to each entity.
Note: If you select projects or packages as
the top-level elements, they constitute an additional level, higher
than the entity level. If you are maintaining a Pacbase application, the
notion of packages is irrelevant. When you import a file that is produced
by the Pacbase extraction
and migration procedures, the package is set to blank.
- The third level is constituted of the instances, if any. There
are various ways of loading instances into the view.
For explanations,
see Loading the local workspace.
The Rational® Programming
Patterns icons of the Design Explorer view
are listed in the link that is included at the end of this page.
Note: In the Pacbase facet, symbols are associated
with the instance icons when instances have the same name in projects
that belong to the same branch of the design build path. The instance
that is defined in the higher project in the hierarchy is considered
as the master instance. Its icon is decorated with

. The instance that is defined in a lower and dependent project
is considered as the subordinate instance. Its icon is decorated with

. If an instance is subordinate in a project
but master in a lower project, its icon is decorated with

. For more information on the
master and subordinate instances, see
Master and subordinate
instances.
Creating locations or instances
If you right-click
an open location, any entity or instance, you can complete the following
actions:
- Create a location (),
- Create instances ( for example).
Viewing and modifying the design build path of the
location
This path is the hierarchy of the projects that
is explored in an upward direction to resolve the dynamic links and
references between the instances that are contained in the various
projects of the current location.
To view and modify this path,
right-click an open location and select Properties.
Importing and exporting, copying, and pasting instances
If
you right-click an open location, any entity, or instance, you can
complete the following actions:
- Import and export a
set of instances that are grouped in a file,
- Copy and paste instances,
or delete instances.
Duplicating Programs, Screens, or Servers
In the Pacbase facet, if you right-click
a Program, Screen, or Server instance and select Duplicate,
you duplicate the design and the generated files of this instance.
Sharing selected elements
You can populate
the Design Explorer view with the content of
a Rational Team Concert™ server. To limit the number of the loaded artifacts,
you can load only the artifacts that are required by one or more artifacts
that you select.
However, the folder structure that is loaded
in this way does not have a "shared" status. If you create or
generate instances in projects that are loaded in this way, you must
share them explicitly here.
To do so, select the instances or
the COBOL files to be shared, right-click, and select . The newly created files are ready to be uploaded to
the Rational Team
Concert server.
For explanations,
see Loading the local workspace.
Rebuilding your workspace
If you right-click
an open location, any entity, or instance, you can complete the following
actions:
- Rebuild your workspace to make sure that
it is consistent. All the files and projects of your workspace are
analyzed. The local metadata that manages the decorations (error on
input fields or on unresolved call links, desynchronization warning
for example) or the impact analyses (search or references for example)
is computed again and updated. If the workspace contains generated
files, you must then select Rebuild the mapping between
the designs and the generated files.
- Rebuild the mapping between the designs and the generated
files. This choice rebuilds the indexes of the generated
files and of the Macros.
Opening, renaming, moving, comparing an instance
If
you right-click an instance (whatever the entity), you can do the
following actions:
- Open it. The instance is then displayed
in its dedicated PDP editor.
- Open it with various
editors.
- The first editor is the design editor that is dedicated to the
entity. It is the default editor.
- Other editors are also available by default. You can also add
editors from your preferences. You access the preferences from the Window menu, .
- Refactor the instance. You can select one
of the following choices:
- Rename the instance. The new name is automatically
propagated to all the design where the instance is used. Renaming
an instance in this way avoids consistency errors.
When you select
Rename,
a wizard opens. Enter the new name. If you click
Next,
the following information is displayed:
- All the design files that will be renamed, in the Renames tab.
For example, in the Pacbase facet,
all the Segments that will be renamed after the renaming of a Data
Structure are listed.
- All the files that will be impacted by the renaming, in the Changes tab.
All the design files where the instance is called are listed.
- Move one or more selected instances to
another existing project while keeping all their links (references,
keywords, and instance calls for example).
You can also compare instances by selecting
Compare in
the contextual menu. You can compare the design of all the instances,
or the source code of Macros. You can start a comparison from the
following elements:
- Two or three instances with each other
- Two or three versions of the same instance. These versions can
be selected from the local history or from a version that is stored
on the server.
The comparison result is displayed in the compare editor. You
can browse through the differences or copy them.
Starting a search
You can search for the
following elements:
Possible generation types
In the Pacbase facet, you can generate
the following elements:
- A Program, Screen, or Server. To do so, right-click an instance
and select .
The preference Structure
checking before generation management, which is available
from , checks that the nesting of subfunctions
in the COBOL code is correct before the generation. By default, it
blocks the generation if structuring errors are detected.
The generation
produces a .cbl file under the instance in the Design
Explorer view. Right-click it and select to access the COBOL editor and views. You can then
work on the code and the design of the instance.
Note: You
are warned of any desynchronization between the generated code and
the design when you expand the link that leads to the generated file.
If a desynchronization is detected when the link is expanded, the
icon of the generated file changes (

) and a special character is displayed. The default special
character is
> but you can change it by selecting .
You can regenerate all the desynchronized files in the
Generation
Manager view.
- An OCX proxy if you are connected to the Rational Team Concert server.
To do so, right-click a Business Component-type Server and select Proxy
generation. This proxy is a set of classes that can be
used to process, in an OCX environment, the services of a Logical
View and its associated Business Component. This generation produces
a .txt file under the Business Component in the Design
Explorer view.
- A Database Block. To do so, right-click a Database Block and select . This generation produces a .txt file
under the instance in the Design Explorer view.
- The error messages that are associated with a Data Structure or
some of its Segments (for a Program), or with a Dialog (standard,
client, or server) or some of its Screens or Servers. To do so, right-click
an Error Message instance and select . The
generation produces a .txt file that you must
integrate into the error message file of your applications
- The COBOL descriptions of Data Structures in a file (Copybook).
To do so, right-click a Copybook and select . This generation
produces a .cpy file under the instance in the Design
Explorer view. You can integrate its content into programs
by using the COPY statement.
- A Pactables Table. To do so, right-click a Table-type Segment
that is related to a Table-type Data Structure and select . This generation produces a .txt file
under the instance in the Design Explorer view.
You must then transfer this file to the Pactables execution environment
and run the GRTD procedure with this file as input.
Note: Each generation always produces the corresponding metadata
file. This file, whose extension contains the three letters of the
generated file followed by pdp, can be viewed
in the Package Explorer view. It must not be
edited but must be assigned the same version number as the other generated
files.
Note: You can also start these generations from the
rpp
–generate command line.
You can also generate
a Volume, which groups instance descriptions to be published. To do
so, right-click a Volume and select . This generation
produces an XML or HTML file
in a directory you specify.
In the COBOL facet, you can generate
the following entities:
- A selected COBOL Program or COBOL Copybook. To do so, right-click
an instance and select . This generation
produces a .cbl file for a COBOL Program or a .cpy file
for a COBOL Copybook, under the instance in the Design
Explorer view.
- A selected Source Code. To do so, right-click an instance and
select . This generation produces a
file whose extension is indicated in the called Skeleton.
Note: You
are warned of any desynchronization between the generated code and
the design when you expand the link that leads to the generated file.
If a desynchronization is detected when the link is expanded, the
icon of the generated file changes (

) and a special character is displayed. The default special
character is
> but you can change it by selecting .
You can regenerate all the desynchronized files in the
Generation
Manager view.
Dispatching Macros
In the Pacbase facet, the dispatch
Macro choice is accessed by right-clicking anywhere in
a location.
You must use it to migrate Pacbase data if the file
that is produced by the Macro migration batch procedure contains the
source of more than one Macro.
When you activate this function,
the Macro sources are dispatched among the corresponding Macros of
the projects in your local workspace.
If errors occurred during
the dispatch, you can consult the .pacdispatchmacro.log error
file in the .metadata folder of your workspace.
Note: This
task can also be run from a command line. For more explanations, refer
to the
Macro dispatching page.
Using the migration help
In the Pacbase facet, the migration
help choice is available from the Program, Screen, or
Server instance level.
You must run the migration help function
to migrate the code that is generated in Pacbase. This function copies
the Pacbase COBOL
into your workspace and generates it again locally. The COBOL that
is obtained after the local generation is then compared with the initial
COBOL. The migration help function sets warnings on the lines where
it detects differences. It excludes the differences in the formatting
or comments. You must manage the warnings.
Locking an instance
The Lock choice
is accessed by right-clicking a generated COBOL instance (.cbl file),
and selecting . This choice is available only if the instance is on
the connected server.
The toolbar
The
Design Explorer view
has its own toolbar, from which you can complete the following actions:
- Collapse All (
icon). This command collapses all the tree nodes
in the Design Explorer view
- Refresh (
icon). This command
refreshes the workspace after updates.
- Link with Editor (
icon). This command links the active editor to
its corresponding design instance or COBOL file in the tree of the Design
Explorer view. If this option is selected, changing the
active editor updates the selection in the tree to the design instance
or to the COBOL file being edited. Changing the selection in the tree
also automatically selects the corresponding design or COBOL editor,
if it is active.
- Change the sort and display of instances in the Design
Explorer view. Click the triangle icon (View
menu) and select:
- Top-level elements to indicate which element
type is to constitute the top of the hierarchy in each location tree:
folders (default value, represented by the entity types), projects,
or packages (irrelevant for the maintenance of a Pacbase application).
- Sort to specify a sort criterion: instance
name (default value), project, package, or level. The level refers
to the level of the projects in the design
build path. If you select this criterion, the display order
will reflect the position of the projects in the hierarchy. The instances
of the highest-level project will be displayed first and the display
will follow the hierarchy down to the lowest level.
- Display to display additional information
for each instance line in the tree: To remove some of the selected
information from the line, select it again in the menu.
- Filters to reduce the amount of data that
is displayed in the view. This choice opens the Design
Filters wizard where you can specify your parameters.
This new setting is then automatically saved and associated with
the Design Explorer view, until you change
it again.