-CD Lines tab

The purpose of this tab is to identify the external resources of a Program. These resources are represented by Data Structures.

For each external resource, you must specify the following information:
  • The physical characteristics, which, along with the type of COBOL code, generate the SELECT clauses and ensure adequate physical access types.
  • The file matching criteria, which are controlled by three different fields (for input Data Structures):
    • The sort key, which identifies the keys to match on. They are arranged in hierarchical order.
    • The number of control breaks.
    • The synchronization level, which specifies the number of levels to match.
  • The generated description type. The following description variants can be defined from the Data Structure descriptions:
    • The format type that is used.
    • The selection of certain Segments from various Data Structure descriptions.
    • The selection of certain reserved Data Elements or groups of Data Elements.
    • The record description mode (such as redefined or repeated), and the COBOL level number.
    • The location of the generated description in the DATA DIVISION. This location can vary from one record to another
  • The use characteristics, which generate input/output processing, and other standard processing such as check, update, or print.

Data Structure calls are used to describe the following basic types of elements: standard files, database blocks, and work areas or linkage areas. They are specified in the Organization field.

At the Program level, you can build a composite Data Structure. It means that you can call various Data Structures on the same -CD line.

Limitations:

The number of Data Structure calls per Program is not limited. However, principal Data Structures, or Data Structures with control breaks or file matching must be among the first 23. If not, file matching might not be completed correctly and these principal Data Structures are not updated.

For the files whose organization is I: Indexed, V: VSAM, UFAS or S: Sequential, the number of call lines must not exceed 100.

The maximum number of times a single Data Structure can be called is limited to 500, for all the Programs that are generated in one run.

A called Segment can call another Segment. Four nesting levels maximum are possible.

Recommendation

In this tab, you can specify internal resources, which are work or linkage areas, represented by Data Structures or Data Elements. However, it is advised to declare them directly in the COBOL code by using micropatterns.

Description of the tab

It is constituted of three different parts:
  • An editable table. You can click some of the columns to display the list of the possible values. When you move your cursor on a value in the list, the label that is associated with the value is displayed in a tooltip. For other columns, you can enter the values directly in the table.

    Finally, in the Dl column, which displays the name of the called instances in the repository, you can replace the call of a Data Structure, Segment, or Report instance with the call of another instance of the same entity.

    You can export the table content to a .CSV file and exploit the results in a spreadsheet program. To do so, right-click a Program in the Design Explorer view and select Export the descriptions. The export wizard displays the descriptions that can be exported: -CD Lines and -CP Lines. Select a description or both descriptions. Browse to select an output folder that will contain a file for each exported description. The file is named P_program_CD_project.csv, where program is the Program name, CD is the description (CD or CP), and project is the project name.

    The table contains three embedded levels:
    • On the first level, the CD line that represents the called resource: the Data Structure.
    • On the second level, the Data Structure that constitutes the -CD line.
    • On the third level, the selected Segments for each Data Structure. If no Segment has been specified, all the Segments of the Data Structure are selected by default and their names are not shown.
    The table columns represent the Data Structure call characteristics:
    • Category:
      • Input file (Input file icon)
      • Output file (Output file icon)
      • Input/output file (Input/Output file icon)
      • Working file (Working file icon)
      • Report line (Report line icon)
    • Definition:
      • Name in the Program (Program column).
      • Name in the repository (Data Structure name), which is entered upon creation in the creation wizard. If the Data Structure is composite, you can see the names of all the Data Structures that constitute this -CD line. The first Data Structure displayed is the principal Data Structure.
      • External name (External column).
      • All the characteristics of the OARFU column: organization (O column), access mode (A column), recording mode (R column), input/output mode (F column), unit type (U column).
      • Usage, which triggers the generation of certain specific functions (such as table loading, validation, or updating) (U column).
    • Physical characteristics:
      • Block factor (spaces and zeros are equivalent) (column Block) and Block type (records or characters) (T column), accessed by clicking More in the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure).
      • Physical unit type (Unit column) and its complementary column (C column), accessed by clicking More in the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure).
      • Format type (F column) for the Data Structures that are not to be printed.
      • File status (Stat File column), which is accessed by clicking More in the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure). This field is optional.
    • File matching criteria, which are controlled by three different columns (for input Data Structures):
      • Number of control breaks (B column).
      • Synchronization level (M column).
      • Transaction control break level (first L column in the table). The corresponding field is accessed by clicking More in the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure).
    • Information for the correct generation of this Data Structure call:
      • Result Data Structure (RE column) and source Data Structure code (SE column), which are accessed by clicking More in the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure).
      • Selection (Selection column), which contains the sort key composition. It is the sorting order of the Data Elements that constitute the sort key. The sort key is specified on the -CE Lines tab of Segments.
      • Generated description type (R column) where you select the type of record description to be used in the COBOL program. The Segment description that is stored in the Library can then have different uses.
      • Reserved error codes in transaction files (column E), in which you indicate if optional Data Elements (ENPR, GRPR, and ERUT) that are used as error vectors are to be generated.
      • COBOL record level (second L column in the table), which is used with the Generated description type. This level defines the COBOL level number for the descriptions of Data Structures, Segments, and Data Elements.
      • COBOL position (Pl column), which is used to obtain a Data Structure description in a particular area.
    • The Data Structure access key (Access key column), which is required for indexed Data Structures and the record-type Data Element (RecType El column). The values of this Data Element identify the various record types of a Data Structure. The corresponding fields are accessed by clicking More in the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure).
  • Buttons that you can click to add Data Structures to your Programs, remove existing calls, or reorder them. You can also expand or reduce the call lines in the table.
    Note: The possible actions with the buttons are also available in the contextual menu of the table.
  • Sections that open depending on your selection in the table or on the line that you want to create. These sections contain only the relevant fields for the inserted element. You can select or enter values in these fields. When you save, the values are then displayed in the table.
    Important: For explanations and the list of all the possible values for each input field, see the detailed help of the appropriate definition section. For example, to see the detailed explanations on OARFU, see the help of the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure).
    Depending on the line that you select or create, different sections open:
    • If you select or create a -CD line, two cases are possible:
      • If the -CD line calls Data Structures (such as input file or output file), the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure) opens. You enter all the characteristics of the external resource in the Program in it.
        Note: Some of the values are entered in fields that can be accessed only by clicking More in the -CD Line Definition (Data Structure).
      • If the -CD line calls Reports, the -CD Line Definition (Report) opens.
    • If you select or create a Data Structure call, the Data Structure call opens. It contains its composition (where you select all or some of the Data Structure Segments). From there, you can access the Data Structure editor tabs.
    • If you select or create a Segment call, the Segment call opens. You must indicate the Segment code in the Program and from where you can access the Segment editor tabs.
    • If you select or create a Report call, the Report call opens. From there, you can call another Report, indicate its suffix in the Program, or access the Report editor tabs.

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