The DDM editor screen (Edit DDM screen) is organized in a table where the field definitions data is contained in rows and columns. All attributes that belong to a field defined for a DDM are contained in one row (that is, source-code line), separated by tabs.
This section describes the columns contained on the DDM Editor screen and the commands provided to create or modify a DDM field, navigate in the screen, or catalog a DDM source, for example.
This section describes the fields contained in the header at the top of the Edit DDM screen.
| Header Field | Description | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edit DDM
(DDM-type)
|
|
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| DBID |
The database ID (DBID) as described for DBID in the section DDM Specification. |
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| FNR | The number of the file being referenced in the database as described for FNR in the section DDM Specification. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| DDM Name | The name of the DDM currently contained in the work area of the DDM editor. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Def.Seq. |
The default sequence by which the file is read when it is accessed
with a The default sequence is specified with the two-character field short name. The system validates the short name based on the selected file number. If the database is accessible, the short name is checked against the corresponding field in the database file. If such a field does not exist in the database, a selection list of valid short names is displayed. If the database cannot be accessed, no selection list is generated. The contents of this field are modifiable. |
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This section describes the field attributes that can be defined in the rows and columns of the Edit DDM screen.
| Column Heading | Field Attribute | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I |
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| T |
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| L | The level number assigned to the field.
Levels are used to indicate the structure and grouping of the field definitions. This is relevant with view definitions, redefinitions and field groups (see the relevant sections in the Programming Guide). Valid level numbers are Level numbers must be specified in consecutive ascending order. |
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| DB |
For Adabas files, the DB column displays the two-character short name of the corresponding field in the database file. For DL/I segment types, the DB column displays the two-character code which is used in DL/I. For VSAM files, see the Natural for VSAM documentation. For fields of the type |
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| Name | The name of the field.
It can be 3 - 32 characters long for Adabas fields and SQL columns, and 1 -19 characters for DL/I names. The rules to create a name comply with the
naming
conventions for user-defined variables (see the
Using Natural documentation),
except that the first character of the name must always be a Latin capital
letter (A - Z). In addition, the name must not start with The field name is the name used in other Natural objects (for example, in a program) to reference the field. The field name is unique across the whole DDM. For fields of the type |
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| F | The Natural data format of an elementary field, such as
A (alphanumeric), P (packed numeric) or
L (logical).
For valid Natural data formats, refer to Format and Length of User-Defined Variables in the Programming Guide. |
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| Leng |
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| S |
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| D |
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| Remark | A comment which applies to a field and/or the DDM. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An indicator field is used to retrieve the length of a variable length
field or information about the data significance (NULL value
indicator) of a database field. An indicator field does not provide
the contents of a database field.
A database field name starting with L@,
N@ or O@ (where @ is the character with
hexadecimal value H'7C') is interpreted as an indicator field. Therefore, a database
field name must not start with any of these character strings unless it
represents an indicator field.
The following happens when a DDM is initially generated.
An L@xxxxx field is
automatically added for every variable length field, where
xxxxx is the name of the related field.
This applies to long alpha (LA) and large object (LB) fields in an Adabas file, and VARCHAR and LOB fields in a DB2 table.
If the length indicator relates to an LA, LB or LOB field, the Natural data format/length must be I4. For a VARCHAR field, the format/length must be I2.
An N@xxxxx field is
automatically added for a field that may contain a NULL value,
where xxxxx is the name of the related
field.
This applies to Adabas fields defined with the SQL Null Value
Option and DB2 fields which may have a NULL value
by definition. The Natural data format/length of a NULL
indicator field must be I2.
An O@xxxxx is currently not
assigned a particular retrieval function but is reserved for future
extension.
An O@xxxxx is automatically
added for a locator field of a DB2 LOB field. The Natural data format/length of
a locator field must be I4.
This section provides information on the commands provided on the Edit DDM screen.
Line commands are used to copy, delete, insert or move single or multiple source-code lines. Additionally, they are used for invoking the extended field editing function (see Specifying Extended Field Attributes).
Editor or system commands, for example, are used to execute particular line commands, navigate in the DDM source or execute a SYSDDM function directly from the Edit DDM screen.
This section covers the following topics:
This section provides instructions for obtaining help information on the commands provided on the Edit DDM screen.
To display help information on commands
In the Command line of the Edit DDM screen,
enter HELP.
Or:
In the Command line of the Edit DDM screen,
enter a question mark (?).
The Editor Help Info screen appears.
Press ENTER to scroll down the help text and to exit the Editor Help Info screen.
The Edit DDM screen appears.
This section describes all line commands available on the Edit DDM screen and provides instructions for executing a line command.
To execute a line command
On the Edit DDM screen, next to the source line(s) to which the command applies, position the cursor in the column T and type in a line command by overriding any existing values in the column T, L, DB or Name.
Press ENTER.
| Line Command | Explanation |
|---|---|
.C(nn) |
Copies a line once or nn times below the line in which the command was entered. |
.CX(nn) |
Copies the line marked with
.X once
or nn times below the line in which the command was
entered.
|
.CY(nn) |
Copies the line marked with
.Y once
or nn times below the line in which the command was
entered.
|
.CX-Y(nn) |
Copies a block of lines once or nn times as described in To copy or move a block of lines. |
.D(nnnn) |
Deletes the line in which the command was entered or deletes
nnnn lines starting with the line in which the
command was entered.
If nnnn is not specified, one line is deleted by default. |
.Enn |
Invokes the extended field attribute editing function as described in Specifying Extended Field Attributes. |
.I(nn) |
Inserts nn blank lines below the
line in which the command was entered, where nn can
be in the range from 1 to 10. (With the next ENTER, lines that are
left blank are eliminated again.)
If nn is not (or not correctly) specified, 10 lines are inserted by default. To append lines to the source code, use the editor command
|
.MX |
Moves the line marked with
.X
below the line in which the command was entered.
|
.MY |
Moves the line marked with
.Y
below the line in which the command was entered.
|
.MX-Y |
Moves a block of lines as described in To copy or move a block of lines. |
.X |
Marks a single line or the first line of a block of lines to
be copied or moved.
A marked line is indicated by an See also To copy or move a block of lines. |
.Y |
Marks the last line of a block of lines to be copied or moved.
A marked line is indicated by a See also To copy or move a block of lines. |
To copy or move a block of
lines
In the first line of the block of lines to be copied or moved, enter the following line command:
.X
In the last line of the block of lines to be copied or moved, enter the following line command:
.Y
Press ENTER.
The block of lines is delimited as indicated by an X
and a Y in the column I.
In the line below which you want to copy or move the marked block, enter one of the following line commands:
.CX-Y (nn)
or
.MX-Y
where C denotes copy and M denotes move.
nn indicates the number of times the marked block is
to be copied (if nn is not specified, the block is
copied once by default).
Press ENTER.
The marked block is copied (once or nn times) or moved below the line in which the command was entered.
This section describes the editor commands and Natural system commands available on the Edit DDM screen and lists equivalent PF keys (if relevant).
To execute an editor or a system command
At the top of the Edit DDM screen, in the Command line, enter an editor or a system command.
Or:
On the Edit DDM screen, press a PF key if
assigned to an editor or system command.
For example, to catalog a DDM you can either enter the command
CATALOG or press PF11.
For an explanation of the symbols used in the syntax diagrams in the following tables, refer to System Command Syntax in the System Commands documentation. An underlined portion of a command denotes a valid abbreviation. Note that the editor commands used to navigate in the DDM source are described in a separate table under Editor Commands for Positioning.
| Command | Explanation | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ADD |
Appends 10 blank lines to the source code.
(With the next ENTER, lines that are left blank are eliminated again.) To insert lines, see the line command
|
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CATALOG |
|
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CHECK |
Validates the DDM source in the source area against the Adabas
FDT referenced by the DDM.
Should any inconsistency occur, the source line of the field
definition that caused the error is marked for correction as indicated by an
Equivalent PF key: PF10
|
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CLEAR |
Clears the source area as described for the corresponding
Natural system command CLEAR in the
System Commands documentation.
|
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DX |
Deletes the line marked with the line command
.X.
|
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DY |
Deletes the line marked with the line command
.Y.
|
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DX-Y |
Deletes a block of lines delimited with the line commands
.X and
.Y.
|
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EX |
Deletes all lines above the line marked with the line command
.X.
|
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EY |
Deletes all lines below the line marked with the line command
.Y.
|
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EX-Y |
Deletes all lines except for the block of lines delimited with
the line commands .X and
.Y.
|
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HELP
or ? |
Invokes the Editor Help Info screen with help information on editor commands. | ||||||||
LENGTH
or SIZE |
|
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LIST
DDM
or LIST
VIEW |
|
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QUIT
or . |
Terminates the DDM editor and displays the SYSDDM utility menu.
The DDM source is retained in the source area until another source is read into
the source area (by any Natural editor) or until the Natural session is
terminated.
The DDM editor uses the editor profile option Leave Editor with Unlock to unlock source code when leaving the DDM editor. This option is described in General Defaults in Editor Profile in the section General Information. Equivalent PF key: PF3
|
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READ |
|
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RESET |
Removes all marks from lines marked with an X
(see the line command .X), a
Y (see the line command
.Y) or
an E (error during CHECK)
indicated in the column I.
|
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SCAN |
|
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UNCATALOG |
|
| Editor Command | PF Key | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
+
or +P |
PF8
or ENTER |
Scrolls down one page (20 lines). |
-
or -P |
PF7 | Scrolls up one page (20 lines). |
+H |
PF5 | Scrolls down half a page (10 lines). |
-H |
PF4 | Scrolls up half a page (10 lines). |
X
or Y |
Positions in the line marked with the line command
.X or
.Y.
|
|
B
or ++ |
PF9 | Scrolls down to the last page. |
T
or -- |
PF6 | Scrolls up to the first page. |
+nn |
Scrolls down nn lines. | |
-nn |
Scrolls up nn lines. |
The extended field editing function can be used to specify default field attributes for headers and edit masks, a field comment (remark) and a format option to be applied when the field is used in another Natural object (for example, in a program). In addition, for a DDM generated from a VSAM file you can display and edit VSAM-specific field attributes.
The header attribute specifies the default column header to be displayed
above the field when it is output, for example, with a
DISPLAY statement.
The header corresponds to the text specified with the
HD
parameter within single quotation marks
(HD='text') as described in the
Parameter Reference documentation. If no header
is specified, the field name is used as column header.
The edit mask attribute specifies the default edit mask to be used when
the field is output, for example, with a DISPLAY statement. The edit
mask must conform with Natural syntax rules and be valid for the Natural data
format and length of the field.
The remark attribute specifies a comment about the field.
The format option can be used to define variable length fields:
when set to LA, the field is defined as Long Alpha (LA), when set
to LB, the field is defined as Large Object (LOB). A Long Alpha
field can be of format A or U, a Large Object field
can be of format A, U or B.
DISPLAY and
INPUT -
Statements documentation
EM - Edit Mask - Parameter Reference documentation
The section below covers the following topic:
This section provides instructions for invoking and terminating extended field attribute editing for a single field or a range of consecutive fields.
To invoke extended field editing
For a single field:
Next to the field required, position the cursor in the column
T column and type in the line command
.E over the values in the columns
T and L.
The Extended Field Editing screen for the field marked with the command is displayed as shown in the example of a DDM from Adabas below:
12:07:49 ***** Edit DDM (ADA) ***** 2006-02-08
- Extended Field Editing -
DDM Name DDM-TEST Def.Seq. DBID 0 FNR 316
I T L DB Name F Leng S D
- - - -- -------------- top ------------- - ---------- - -
1 AF LA-FIELD A 16381 F
----------------------------------------------------------
Remark ........... LA_____________________
Field Header ..... __________________________________________________
Field Edit Mask .. __________________________________________________
Format Option .... LA Long Alpha (LA = LA field, LB = LOB field)
|
On the Extended Field Editing screen, as described earlier, you can specify a remark (comment), a field header, an edit mask and a format option.
For extended field editing in DDMs from VSAM, see Extended Editing at Field Level in the Natural for VSAM documentation).
For a range of fields:
Next to the first field to be selected, position the cursor in the column T and type in the following line command over the values in the columns T and L:
.Enn
where nn is the number of
fields to be selected including the current one.
The Extended Field Editing screen appears for the first field selected.
Enter or modify the field attributes required and press ENTER or PF3.
The Extended Field Editing screen for the next field in sequence appears.
To terminate extended field editing
Press ENTER or PF3.
Any field modifications are saved and the Edit DDM screen appears.
