Maintaining Objects of Type File

This document covers the following topics:

File Maintenance Menu

The File Maintenance menu is displayed with function code M and object code FI in a Predict Main Menu or with the command MAINTAIN FILE. 

 17:17:15             *****  P R E D I C T  *****              2007-05-31
 Plan   0                 - (FI) File Maintenance -               Profile SYSTEM
                                                                                
  Function                              Function                                
                                                                                
  A  Add a file                         L  Link children                        
  C  Copy file                          S  Select file from a list              
  M  Modify file                        B  Push backward                        
  N  Rename/Renumber file               F  Force standard                       
  P  Purge file                         J  Physical Attributes                  
  D  Display file                       K  Modify Vista elements                
                                                                                
 Function .........                                                             
 File ID ..........                                  Attributes ........*       
 Copy ID ..........                                  File of type ......*       
 Contained in DA ..                                  File nr ............       
 External name ....                                                             
                                                                                
 Restrictions ....*   Profile Default ,used          Association .......*       
                                                                                
 Command ===>                                                                   
 Enter-PF1---PF2---PF3---PF4---PF5---PF6---PF7---PF8---PF9---PF10--PF11--PF12---
       Help  Next  Stop  Last  LnkEl Flip  Print Impl  AdmFi SelFi Prof  Main
Parameters
Function

All standard maintenance functions are described in the section Maintenance in the Predict Reference documentation.

The function Edit list of Fields does not appear on the menu but can be called with function code E.

The functions Add a File and Modify File can be called with the editor line command .E when editing a file list (no matter which type of object the file list belongs to). See the section Editors in Predict in the Predict Reference documentation for more information. The following file maintenance functions are described later in the section Rippling:

  • Purge file

  • Rename/Renumber file

  • Edit list of fields

  • Force standard

  • Push backward

  • Modify Adabas attributes

  • Modify Vista elements

  • Edit subquery of a file
File ID

For the Select function: specifies a file ID to be used as a selection criterion, either alone or in combination with parameters Files of type and Contained in DA. If this field is left blank, all files which satisfy other selection restrictions specified are listed.

See naming conventions for individual file types in the section Common File Attributes .

File of type

For the Select function: a file type can be specified as an additional selection criterion.

For the Add and Copy functions: if file type is specified here, it will be passed to the Add/Copy File screen.

Enter an asterisk to display a selection window with the file types valid for a particular function in your environment. See complete list of valid file types in the section File Type.

Copy ID Identifies the target file ID for the functions Copy and Push backward. For function Push backward: the ID of a standard file (type Z).
Contained in DA

For the Select function: a database ID can be specified as an additional selection criterion. Asterisk notation is possible.

For the Add and Copy functions: the database ID can be specified here. This ID will be passed to the Add/Copy file screen.

See list of valid database and file types in the section Contained in DA.

External name

For the Select function: name of the file in another environment. Up to 50 characters can be specified here. Up to 250 characters can be specified with the Modify file function. If External name exceeds 50 characters, enter Y in the Zoom field.

File nr

For the Select function: A file number can be specified as an additional selection criterion.

For the Add and Copy functions: The file number can be specified here. This number is passed to the Add a file or Copy file screen.

Restrictions Additional criteria can be specified to restrict the scope of files to be processed. See Restrictions in the section Predict User Interface in the Introduction to Predict documentation.
Association For function Link children: Objects of this type are to be linked to the file. Valid values: Field (default) or via user-defined association to any other object type.

Common File Attributes

The following attributes are applicable to all or most file types.

File ID

For naming conventions valid for all object types see Naming Conventions.

Special naming conventions apply to SQL file types. See overview in the section Naming Conventions for SQL Objects.

File Type

A file object has one of the following types. The file type must be compatible with the database in which it is contained. See table in the section Contained in DA.

File Type Description
A Adabas File
AT Adabas Cluster Table
B Adabas SQL view
C Conceptual File
D DB2 table
E DB2 view
F rdb file
I IMS segment
J IMS segment layout
K IMS userview
L Logical VSAM file
M ISAM file
O Other file
P Entire System Server file
Q Entire System Server userview
R Logical VSAM view
S Sequential file
T RMS file
U Adabas userview
V VSAM file (physical)
W VSAM userview
X General SQL file
Z Standard file
1 LEASY
2 ISAM BS 2000
OT Oracle table
OV Oracle view
BT Adabas D table
BV Adabas D view
JT Ingres table
JV Ingres view
YT Sybase table
YV Sybase view
XT Informix table
XV Informix view
IT Intermediate table
IV Intermediate view
MT DB2 query table

Contained in DA

The ID of the database containing the file. The database type must be compatible with the file type.

To generate a DDM for a file, the file must be linked to a compatible database (not of type C).

File Type Compatible Database Type
A Adabas File A Adabas Database
A(SQL) Adabas File with SQL usage set to Y  Q Adabas SQL Handler
AT Adabas Cluster Table
B Adabas SQL view
BT Adabas D table B Adabas D Handler
BV Adabas D view
D, MT DB2 table, DB2 query table D DB2 Database
F rdb File R RDB Handler
I IMS segment I IMS Database
JT Ingres table J Ingres Handler
JV Ingres view
L Logical VSAM File V VSAM Handler
OT Oracle table O Oracle Handler
OV Oracle view
P Entire System Server File P Entire System Server
T RMS File M RMS Handler
V Physical VSAM File V VSAM Handler
X General SQL File E General SQL Handler
XT Informix table X Informix Handler
XV Informix view
YT Sybase table Y Sybase Handler
YV Sybase view
1 LEASY H Other Handler
2 ISAM BS2000
All File Types C Conceptual

File number

The number of the file. The possible value depends on the file type:

File Type File Number
AT, J, K, Q, R, U File number is taken from the specified master file
B, D, E, I, X, BT, BV, IT, IV, JT, JV, OT, OV, XT, XV, YT, YV, MT not applicable 
A, V, L, T, P, 1, 2 1 - 32767
Other file types 1 - 99999

Note:
The file number can only be changed with the function Rename/Renumber File.

Natural Construct Parameters

The following parameters are only relevant if you are using Natural Construct. They appear in every Add, Copy or Modify file screen.

Parameter Description
Literal name String to be used by Natural Construct in messages issued to confirm (un)successful access of a file via a DDM generated from the Predict file object.
Average count The average number of records contained in the file.
Stability
Indicates how permanent the data contained in the file is.
F Fixed. The file contains information which will always be valid, for example days of the week.
S Stable. The file contains information which does not change very often, for example file EMPLOYEES.
V Volatile. The file contains information which is constantly being updated, for example an invoice file.
blank Not specified (default value).

Defining Basic File Attributes

The following screen is displayed for the Add a File and Copy File functions for all file types: 

    13:05:04             *****  P R E D I C T  *****             2007-05-31
                                    - Add a file -
    File ID ......... HNO-NEW3
   
   
   
   
                   File type .................* C  Conceptual file
                   Master file ...............*
                   File number ...............*
                   Logical distribution type .*
                   Contained in DA ...........*
General Parameters
File type The file type. Enter an asterisk for list of possible values or see list in the section File Type.
Master file
For the file types listed below, enter the ID of the related file. The type of related file is given below:
File Type Type of Master File
AT A Adabas File
J and K I IMS segment
L and W V Physical VSAM File
Q P Entire System Server File
R L Logical VSAM File
U A Adabas File
The master file can be selected using asterisk notation.
File number See the table of possible values in the section File number.
Logical distribution type
How the logical file is to be stored:
E Expanded
P Partitioned
N Propagator file. Not applicable when defining data distribution for Adabas Vista.
blank Simple file (default).

Note:
This parameter is only applicable to files of type Adabas. For files of other types, this parameter must be blank.