If your direct calls use the ACB direct call interface, you can define five different types of buffers: format, record, search, value, and ISN buffers. These buffers are specified elsewhere in your application and are indirectly referenced in the ACB direct call (via pointer references).
With Adabas 8, if your direct calls use the ACBX direct call interface, you can define eight different types of buffer segments using Adabas buffer descriptions (ABD) and their associated buffer definitions: format, record, multifetch, performance, search, value, ISN, and user buffers. Each Adabas buffer segment is represented by a single ABD, although you can define multiple ABDs of some types in the same program. (For example, you can define multiple format ABDs for use by the same program.) A single buffer definition is associated with each ABD -- either indirectly by pointer reference or directly in the ABD itself. For detailed information about ABDs, including their structure, read Adabas Buffer Descriptions (ABDs).
This document covers the following topics:
| Understanding the Different Buffer Types | Describes the different buffer types and the relationships between them, and correspondingly, the relationships between their associated ABDs (if you are making ACBX interface direct calls). |
| Format Buffers | Describes format buffers and their syntax. |
| Record Buffers | Describes record buffers and their syntax. |
| Format and Record Buffer Examples | Provides examples of format and record buffer pairs. |
| Multifetch Buffers | Describes multifetch buffers and their syntax. |
| Search Buffers | Describes search buffers and their syntax. |
| Value Buffers | Describes value buffers and their syntax. |
| Search and Value Buffer Examples | Provides examples of search and value buffer pairs. |
| Date-Time Edit Mask Processing in Format and Search Buffers | Describes how Adabas handles date-time edit masks in format and search buffers. |
| ISN Buffers | Describes ISN buffers and their syntax. |
| User Buffers | Describes user buffers and their syntax. |
| Performance Buffers | Describes performance buffers. |