The Generated Descriptions

AUTOADBS creates complete Master and Access Files for your selected files. The following sections describe the attributes and values assigned to them by AUTOADBS.

Master File and Segment Attributes

File and segment declarations include:

FILENAME=

Is the Master Filename specified on the Main Menu.

SUFFIX=

Is always ADBSINX.

SEGNAME=

Indicates the segment names in the Master File generated by AUTOADBS that follow a logical format to provide uniqueness within the file. For the root segment of the ADABAS file (ACCESS=ADBS), the segment name is Snn, where nn is a two-digit number that indicates the order in which the file was selected. The first file (selected as the root from the file selection menu) has SEGNAME=S01. Subsequent files used in the same description (selected as children from the file selection menu) will have SEGNAME=S02, SEGNAME=S03, and so on.

The segment names for PE groups and MU fields have the format aammnn, where aa is the ADABAS name of the field, mm is a two-digit number that indicates the order in which the PE group or MU field appears in the Predict dictionary description of the file, and nn is the order number used for the root segment. For example, SEGNAME=BE0201 describes the segment for the field BE, which is the second (02) PE group or MU field described in the first segment (01).

SEGTYPE=

Is the root segment and cross-reference segment type. The SEGTYPE is S for the root file and children with a non-unique IXFLD. The SEGTYPE is U for a child with a unique IXFLD. The SEGTYPE for all PE and MU fields is S.

PARENT=

Is the value of SEGNAME of the parent record.

OCCURS=

Indicates the number of occurrences of a PE group or MU field. This attribute will contain the ADABAS fieldname of the PE group or MU field with the suffix C, which is the ALIAS of the counter field in the parent segment.

MAX=

Indicates the maximum number of occurrences of the PE group or MU field as described in the Predict dictionary. This attribute is a comment only and is not used by the ADABAS Interface.

Access File Attributes

Access File declarations include:

RELEASE=

Indicates the ADABAS release number (for documentation only).

OPEN=

Determines if the ADABAS Interface issues ADABAS OPEN and CLOSE calls for each report request. Yes (Y) is the default.

SEGNAM=

Is the segment name as described in the Master File.

ACCESS=

Specifies the access method for the segment. ADBS indicates segments that contain non-repeating data. PE indicates segments that describe periodic groups. MU indicates segments that describe multi-value fields.

DBNO=

Is the ADABAS database number. This attribute will not be included in the Access File if a value was not provided during the AUTOADBS execution.

FILENO=

Is the ADABAS file number.

PASS=

Is the ADABAS password for the file. This attribute is only included if a value was provided during the AUTOADBS execution.

CALLTYPE=

Determines whether FIND or RL calls are made to retrieve the data.

SEQFIELD=

Is the SEQFIELD that you selected. This attribute will not be included if a SEQFIELD was not selected.

KEYFLD=

Is the common field in the parent segment used to relate two files.

IXFLD=

Is the common field in the child segment used to relate two files.

FIELD=

Describes a descriptor, superdescriptor, subdescriptor, or a component of a superdescriptor.

TYPE=

Indicates the type of descriptor for FIELD. Values are superdescriptors (SPR), subdescriptors or superdescriptors composed of partial fields (NOP), or a simple descriptor (DSC).

NU=

Indicates if the field uses null suppression. Values are Yes (Y) or No (N).

Master File Field Attributes

Field declarations include:

FIELD=

Is the fieldname from the Predict dictionary.

ALIAS=

Is the actual ADABAS name.

USAGE=

Is the FOCUS USAGE format of the field. This attribute determines how the value is displayed in reports.

ACTUAL=

Is the field format as stored in the ADABAS file.

INDEX=I

Indicates that the field is a superdescriptor, subdescriptor, or simple descriptor.

TITLE=

Is the column heading used in reports. This attribute is included only if the field has a column heading value in the Predict dictionary and the menu option "Include NATURAL Column Headings" was selected.

GROUP=

Identifies fields described as simple groups or PE groups.

$GROUP=

Is a group field that is itself part of another group. Imbedded groups are not supported by the ADABAS Interface.

$GRMU=

Is a group that contains a PE group or an MU field.

$2LONG=

Is a group field whose total length exceeds the maximum of 256 characters supported by FOCUS.

$PEMU=

Is a PE group that contains an MU field or is a group field that contains a PE group or an MU field. In both cases, the field cannot be used to retrieve data using the ADABAS Interface.

$PEDIF=

Is a PE group described in a view in which all of the component elements that are described in the Master File are not included in the view. As a result, the length of the PE group cannot be determined accurately.

$NOMAS=

Is a field described in a Predict dictionary view that does not exist in the Master File. Typically, this group field combines several real fields from the Master File in the view. The ADABAS name associated with this field does not exist in the physical ADABAS file's FDT.

$REDEF=

Is a redefinition of an actual ADABAS field. The field itself does not exist in the ADABAS file and does not have an ADABAS name in the Predict dictionary.

$PH=

Is a phonetic descriptor. Phonetic descriptors are not supported by the ADABAS Interface.

$HY=

Is a hyper descriptor. Hyper descriptors are not supported by the ADABAS Interface.

$HM=

Is a hyper descriptor used as an MU field. Hyper descriptors are not supported by the ADABAS Interface.

$HP=

Is a hyper descriptor used as a PE group. Hyper descriptors are not supported by the ADABAS Interface.

$fieldname

Is found at the end of the Master File and identifies duplicate fields. It lists the fieldname as found in the Master File, the number of duplicate occurrences, the segments in which the duplicate fields are located, and the full Predict dictionary fieldname.

Fieldnames

Fieldnames are derived from the Predict dictionary and may be truncated based on your selections on the Main Menu. Hyphens in the Predict dictionary fieldname are converted to underscores. AUTOADBS also creates several fields in the generated description, both for ease of use and Interface requirements. These fields include counter fields, order fields, superdescriptor elements, DEFINEd fields, and cross-reference fields.

• A counter field is generated for each PE group and MU field in the ADABAS file. This field is used to determine the number of occurrences of the PE group or MU field.

A counter field is located in the repeating group's parent segment and is referenced in the OCCURS attribute of the repeating group's segment. This process is accomplished by appending the letter C to the ADABAS name in the ALIAS attribute of the file description.

You refer to this field in report requests when you want to print the number of occurrences of the repeating group.

The FIELDNAME of the counter field has the format aammnn_CNT, where aammnn is the same as the name of the segment in which the field is described.

• An order field is generated for each repeating group and is added at the end of the repeating group's segment.

This field has an ALIAS of ORDER and is used to determine the sequence of a particular repeating field.

The FIELDNAME of the order field has the format aammnn_OCC, where aammnn is the same as the name of the segment in which the field is described.

• For superdescriptors, AUTOADBS generates unique fieldnames for the element fields. A suffix in the format _Snn is appended to the element fieldname, where nn is incremented by 1 for each superdescriptor in the ADABAS file.

This suffix allows AUTOADBS to list the element fields with minimal risk of creating duplicate fieldnames, particularly in cases where the element fields are used in several superdescriptors.

Note that the element fields are also described in the Master File. If the element field appears in only one superdescriptor, you may edit the Master File to remove the original occurrence of the field and rename the superdescriptor entry.

Perform any selection tests on the element field (with the _Snn suffix) rather than the original field to take advantage of implicit use of the superdescriptor inverted list.

• AUTOADBS generates a Master File-based DEFINE for NATURAL fields described as dates. FOCUS converts the internal ADABAS date value to a FOCUS date. This DEFINEd fieldname has the format fieldname_DAT, where fieldname is the name from the Predict dictionary.

Note: To better understand the allowable FOCUS date formats, refer to the FOCUS for IBM Mainframe User's Manual.

• AUTOADBS also generates a field with the format aa_NOP, where aa is the ADABAS name of the field. This field is generated only when an embedded group field is selected as a SEQFIELD, KEYFLD, or IXFLD. This field is also included in the Access File for the appropriate attribute. Normally, you do not refer to this field in your report requests.

Aliases

The ALIAS generated by AUTOADBS is typically the ADABAS fieldname. In certain situations, however, the ALIAS is altered. These situations include:

• Fields generated as counters.
• Superdescriptor elements that are PE groups or MU fields.
• Fields with ADABAS formats not directly supported in FOCUS.
• Fields that have different formats in several views.

In the simplest case, counter fields for PE groups and MU fields are generated where the alias is the ADABAS name with the letter C appended.

For superdescriptor elements that are PE groups or MU fields, the alias consists of the ADABAS name appended with the digit 1. This ADABAS syntax indicates that the first field of the repeating group will be retrieved, rather than all values in the group. Normally, you do not reference these fields in a report request. Instead, use the original field. This syntax is provided only to allow record selection against a superdescriptor that has both alphanumeric and numeric elements.

The syntax for selecting against these fields is

WHERE super EQ 'aaa/nnnF/aaa'

where:

super

Represents the superdescriptor that has both alphanumeric and numeric elements.

aaa

Represents the alphanumeric portion of the group.

nnnF

Represents the numeric portion of the group. The sign value of F is required.

Fields with ADABAS formats not directly supported in FOCUS and fields that have different formats in several views are reformatted by ADABAS before being presented to FOCUS. This reformatting is accomplished by adding ADABAS formatting options to the alias in the format aa,l,t, where aa is the ADABAS name of the field, l is the length to be used, and t is the ADABAS format.

USAGE and ACTUAL Formats

The following table illustrates how the ADABAS format and length are converted to the FOCUS USAGE and ACTUAL formats by AUTOADBS. In cases where the ADABAS field must be reformatted to a supported FOCUS format, the ALIAS is provided to show how this reformatting is accomplished.

Predict  Predict  FOCUS    FOCUS   FOCUS
Format   Length   USAGE    ACTUAL  ALIAS     Comments
-------  -------  -------  ------  --------  ----------------------------

  A        n       An        An     aa
  B        n       An        An     aa       (Super and subdescriptors)
  B        1       I4        I1     aa
  B        2       I6        I2     aa
  B        3       I8        I4     aa,4,B
  B        4       I9        I4     aa
  B        5       P12       P7     aa,7,P
  B        6       P15       P8     aa,8,P
  B       >6       An        An     aa,n,A   where n=(length * 2) + 2
  D                P7        P4     aa       defined date field created
  L                I1        I1     aa
  T                P13       P7     aa
  F        4       F9.2E     F4     aa
  F        8       D15.2E    D8     aa
  I        1       I4        I1     aa
  I        2       I6        I2     aa
  I        4       I9        I4     aa
  I        8       A18       A18    aa,20,A
  N        n       Pn        Zn     aa
  U        n       Pn        Zn     aa
  P        n       Pn        Pk     aa       k=(n+2)/2
  N        n.m     Pj.m      Zk     aa       j=n+m+1, k=n+m
  U        n.m     Pj.m      Zk     aa       j=n+m+1, k=n+m
  P        n.m     Pj.m      Pk     aa       j=n+m+1, k=(n+m+2)/2
  NS       n       Pj        Zk     aa       j=n+m+1, k=n+m
  US       n       Pj        Zk     aa       j=n+m+1, k=n+m
  PS       n       Pj        Pk     aa       j=n+m+1, k=(n+m+2)/2
  NS       n.m     Pj.m      Zk     aa       j=n+m+2, k=n+m
  US       n.m     Pj.m      Zk     aa       j=n+m+2, k=n+m
  PS       n.m     Pj.m      Pk     aa       j=n+m+2, k=(n+m+2)/2

Changes to the Generated Descriptions

In general, you do not need to change the descriptions generated by AUTOADBS. However, you do need to edit the generated Master File and/or its corresponding Access File if:

• Duplicate fieldnames exist.
• The DBNO or FILENO included in the Predict dictionary is different from the actual ADABAS file.
• You use different fieldnames from those in the Predict dictionary.
• You add edit display options to fields.
• You increase the display length of numeric fields.
• You change OPEN=YES to OPEN=NO in the Access File.
• You replace AUTOADBS generated superdescriptor elements that occur only once in the file with the original field.
• You add Master File-based DEFINEs to describe redefined fields included in the Predict dictionary.
• You remove segments because the 64-segment FOCUS limitation has been exceeded. This step is necessary when AUTOADBS generates the following completion message: DESCRIPTION GENERATED - nnn SEGMENTS DESCRIBED. Typically, you remove PE groups or MU field segments that are not required. Alternatively, you may remove the segment and add the repeating field to the non-repeating segment, once for each anticipated occurrence of the field.

For example, if you anticipate three occurrences, you add three fields to the Master File (with unique fieldnames). The ALIAS has the format aan, where aa is the ADABAS name of the field and n is the relative entry number from 1 to 3. MU fields that are part of a PE group are described in the non-repeating segment with an ALIAS in the format aan(m), where aa is the ADABAS name of the field, n is the relative entry number of the PE group, and m is the relative entry number of the MU field within the PE group.

Creating a Record of Generated Master and Access Files

AUTOADBS maintains a temporary list of the Master and Access Files generated during any one session. This list is refreshed at the beginning of each session and is normally erased at the end of the session. You retain this list by executing AUTOADBS with the following syntax:

EX AUTOADBS MFDLIST=Y 

In MVS, the list resides in a temporary dataset allocated to ddname AUTOADBL, with a disposition of MOD and record length of 114.

In CMS, the list resides in the file AUTOADBL FOCTEMP with a record length of 26.

It is your responsibility to free or erase this temporary file when it is no longer required. The file layout is:

Length	Columns	Description
8	1-8	Master Filename
8	9-16	Number of duplicate fieldnames
5	17-21	Number of segments described
5	22-26	Blank
44	27-70	Master target PDS name (MVS only)
44	71-114	Access target PDS name (MVS only)

Search Order for Parameter Log File in MVS

The AUTOADBS parameter log file is stored in a PDS with member name ADBS$PRM. If the member does not exist, it is created for you. For MVS, the PDS is located using one of three methods, in the following order:

1. DDNAME ADBS$PRM

If this ddname is allocated to a PDS prior to execution of AUTOADBS, it is used. The member ADBS$PRM is used or created for you.

If this ddname is allocated to a sequential dataset, it is freed, a message is generated, and parameter logging is disabled.

If DDNAME ADBS$PRM is not allocated, AUTOADBS continues searching and attempts to allocate it in the steps that follow. AUTOADBS does not free this ddname upon exiting, assuming that it may be used again, even if it was allocated by AUTOADBS with one of the following two methods.

2. Dataset name userid.FOCADBS.DATA

This name is the default provided in the AUTOADBS FOCEXEC as &DSNP0. If that default was changed during the ADABAS Interface installation, the dataset name you supply is used.

This dataset must be a PDS. If it is not, a message is displayed and parameter logging is disabled.

3. DDNAME FOCADBS

The first dataset allocated to ddname FOCADBS is used as the parameter file if the first two methods fail.

If ddname FOCADBS is not allocated, a message is displayed and AUTOADBS exits. AUTOADBS cannot be executed if there is no FOCADBS that describes the Predict dictionary files.

Method number two assumes standard IBI naming conventions. Method number three assumes that your dataset is allocated first in the concatenation of datasets to ddname FOCADBS. The first method allows you to identify the profile dataset prior to execution of AUTOADBS. This option is recommended for sites that have nonstandard dataset naming conventions.