Glossary

Glossary entries exist beginning with the following letters:


A

Adabas Vista ISN

For an Adabas Vista partitioned file, all Adabas ISNs are modified with a partition identifier before returning the ISN to the application. Such a modified ISN is referred to as an Adabas Vista ISN. Correspondingly, any ISN received from the application program for such a file is interpreted as an Adabas Vista ISN.

C

collating sequence

Adabas Vista processes the sequence of data in a file once it is partitioned to ensure that the user always receives the data in the correct sequence across partitions.

D

distributed access

Adabas Vista provides access using data that is not related to a partitioning field. Access by field value cannot be focused onto one particular partition. Adabas Vista automatically distributes the access to all partitions before collating the results in the desired and expected order.

distributed lock mode

The distributed lock mode facility provides greater control of record hold logic in a partitioned environment. It applies when a hold-based READ (L6) or FIND (S4) is issued against a partitioned file.

E

Extreme partitioned file

An Extreme partitioned file allows a file to go beyond the Adabas limit of 4,294,967,294 records. Applications can access logical files consisting of up to 255 times 4,294,967,294 records.

F

file partition

A partitioned file comprises one or more physical partitions. Each partition is an Adabas file in its own right identified by a database and file number that tell Adabas Vista where to direct a command in order to satisfy a request for data. A partition is uniquely identified by a Partition ID.

Even while using the single partitioned file image, you may choose to have certain programs access a partition directly by its real file number. See Mixed-mode Access.

file translation

File numbers in Adabas applications can be changed dynamically at runtime based on translation information supplied to Adabas Vista.

focused access

Aapplications generally access the file using search data that is based, in whole or in part, on the primary key field. If such a key field has been used to partition data, Adabas Vista is able to focus on the specific partition(s) needed to satisfy the access.

M

mixed mode access

You may choose the applications for which Adabas Vista provides a single file image for all the partitions. Additionally, you may choose to have certain programs access a partition directly by its real file number, even while using the single file image. This is referred to as mixed mode access.

multipart (partition sharing)

The partition sharing feature (also referred to as multipart) allows multiple partitions of the same Adabas Vista file to share the same Adabas file while preserving the collating sequence of the single file image. In this way, specific portions of a file can be split from the main file with minimal data manipulation.

N

navigation

Generally, the main overhead for partitioning is monitoring database requests to determine whether the target is a partitioned file and if so, which partition(s) needs to be used. Overall, this is referred to as navigation.

normal placement

Normal placement occurs when the value for the partitioning field is extracted from the Adabas record buffer and used to direct a new record to the correct partition for storage.

P

Partition ID

The Partition ID (PartID) uniquely identifies a partition and, together with the Adabas ISN, forms the Adabas Vista ISN.

partition outage

Partition outage makes it possible to take a partition offline. Processing continues as required for the other partitions, but data in the offline partition is unavailable until returned online. This allows you to manage and mostly eliminate the various planned outages your operation requires.

Tolerance levels for partition availability are provided. Application access to the partitioned file can be maintained transparently even though all the partitions of the file may not be available.

partition restriction

Partition restriction provides access control for each partition of a partitioned file. It allows you to 'hide' partitions even though the data is available. You can implement this feature unilaterally or you can allow applications to override it for each user at runtime.

partition sharing (multipart)

The partition sharing feature (also referred to as multipart) allows multiple partitions of the same Adabas Vista file to share the same Adabas file while preserving the collating sequence of the single file image. In this way, specific portions of a file can be split from the main file with minimal data manipulation.

partitioned file

The data in a single file image is partitioned into one or more physical files based on a partitioning field. A partitioned file is uniquely identified by a source database and file number. In Natural systems, this is the database and file number defined to the DDM.

partitioning field

The Adabas field used to partition the data.

partitioning field high value

The highest value of the partitioning field that can exist in the appropriate partition. The value must be specified in accordance with the defined partitioning field's format and length.

S

store control

When storing a record, the value for the partitioning field is extracted from the Adabas record buffer and used to direct the new record to the correct partition: this is termed normal placement.

For store operations that do not specify a partitioning field, or do and have null value for it, the Store Control Option may be used to direct the record to a relevant partition. It defines the placement of new records according to the presence, absence, or value of the partitioning field within the Adabas format/record buffer.

T

target category

Target categories enable you to define multiple translation targets for the same application file. Because the Target Category is runtime configurable, you can have the same application being run from any number of jobs, each targetted at a different set of data.

translation rule

A translation rule is used to re-direct a command issued against a source file to a target file. The source file is identified by a source database and file number. In Natural systems, this is the database and file number defined to the DDM.

U

user partition concurrency

The number of concurrent Adabas Command ID sequences that a user may have outstanding on each partition.