DBU GUI USER GUIDE
DBU GUI USER GUIDE
This software system is also an unpublished work protected under the copyright laws of the United States of
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Welcome to ProData Computer Service's Data Base Utility GUI documentation. DBU is a file access utility
that can be used to locate and update records from a single file or as many as four different files via logical
paths or relative record numbers. It can be used to access journal receivers, data areas and user spaces. You can
create DBU applications to act as programs to access your data. There are thousands of ways to use DBU, and
you will find new uses for DBU as you go.
This release operates on Microsoft Windows 95 and later or IBM'S Network Station with TCP/IP connectivity.
The interface was developed using JAVA and the JAVA virtual machine is distributed with the software.
Minimum requirement is a Pentium III with 256M RAM.
We recommend a Pentium IV with 512M RAM for optimum performance.
DBU requires 60M of disk space.
Access to the files and features follows the standards used in the standard windows GUI interface.
When DBU/GUI is opened for the first time, the "New System" dialog will appear.
Connection Name: The name that will be displayed in DBU/GUI to reference this connection.
Password: The password used to connect to the System i. If the password is not entered, you will be
prompted upon connection to the System i. The storage of the password is encrypted.
Expanding the system tree will display the libraries, object types, and available objects.
The icons along the top of the Navigation View preform the following functions:
system.
Right clicking on a system will produce the system menu. This menu provides the same functions as the
icons above.
Show the members for the selected file. The member information will display in the "Members
-
View".
- Show the fields for the selected file. The field information will display in the "Fieldss View".
Show the record formats for the selected file. The formats information will display in the "Formats
-
View".
Show the database relations for the selected file. The relations information will display in the -
"Relations View".
- Refresh the selected object.
The fields view displays the field name and their attributes for the currently selected file.
The members view will display the member information for the currently selected file. Left double clicking
on the file name will bring up that file member, replacing the file in session.
The formats view will display the record format information for the currently selected file.
The database relations view will display the database relations information for the currently selected file. All
of the access paths built over the physical file are listed. Left double clicking on the file name will bring up
that file , replacing the file in session.
The DBU Editor widow is used to edit the data for the requested object. The toolbar at the top of the editor
controls the actions within the editor.
This field displays the relative record number of the record on the screen. It also can be used to position the
file to a certain record number. This is valid only if the file is in arrival sequence, and not
a keyed physical or logical file. Enter the RRN of the record to search for, and press
Enter.
This is valid for logical files only. Shows all keys on the logical file and sets DBU to
point at the beginning of a specific key. Fill in the key(s) press OK. The file will be positioned at that
key, or the next higher key if that key does not exist.
RDR is a toggle switch to set 'on' or 'off' the displaying of deleted records as they are
encountered in the file. The records that have been deleted are highlighted in yellow as they are
encountered. There will be a 'reactivate button' on the bottom of the screen, click on it and the record will be
reactivated, and the next record in the file will be displayed. RDR is only valid if the file is a physical that is
not keyed.
Refresh is used in Edit Mode to restore the screen to its previous content. e.g. A field is
keyed into, but Enter has not been pressed. Refresh will return the screen to its original
content.
This puts the file in Display mode. No updates or deletes can be performed.
This puts the file in Edit mode. If a field is marked for display only it cannot be edited. Click on the field to
be changed and key over the data. Note that the Update button at the bottom of the screen is now active. If
any other fields are to be changed, do so now. Click on the Refresh button to return all the changed
fields back to their original values. Click on the Update button to save the changes. Update also
positions to the next record in the file.
This puts the file in Add mode. The field names are shown but the data fields are empty. Key in the data for
the first record and press Enter. Note that the Add button at the bottom of the screen is now active.
Enter data into the remaining fields. Click on the Add button to add the record to the file.
This puts the file in Delete mode. A “Delete current record?” warning window will be
displayed. No other DBU functions will work until a “Yes” or “No” answer is selected or the window
is closed.
This controls the layout of the screen fields, and the reading of the formats (see DBU Preferences).
This option allows the user to Toggle between single record mode and multiple record mode.
The records displayed may be toggled between Character or Hexadecimal format. This sets
This continues the Search function which has already been initiated in the 'Define Search'. This will not
be active (see right icon, above) until a search has been defined.
Click on Print and the following dialog box appears. PC printer selections will be printed on the user’s
default printer. For iSeries/AS400 selections the print out of the record goes to the OUTQ defined by the
user job, or can be overridden to the OUTQ defined in DBU authority. When printing to a PC while in
multiple record format mode, the number of records printed will be equal to the Records to display
value selected in DBU Configuration. See Printing.
The Export to PC will output the data currently displayed on the screen to a file on the PC. See
Export to PC.
This field displays the relative record number of the record on the screen. It also can be used to position the
file to a certain record number. This is valid only if the file is in arrival sequence, and not
a keyed physical or logical file. Enter the RRN of the record to search for, and press
Enter.
This is valid for logical files only. Shows all keys on the logical file and sets DBU to
point at the beginning of a specific key. Fill in the key(s) press OK. The file will be positioned at that
key, or the next higher key if that key does not exist.
RDR is a toggle switch to set 'on' or 'off' the displaying of deleted records as they are
encountered in the file. The records that have been deleted are highlighted in yellow as they are
encountered. There will be a 'reactivate button' on the bottom of the screen, click on it and the record will be
reactivated, and the next record in the file will be displayed. RDR is only valid if the file is a physical that is
not keyed.
Refresh is used in Edit Mode to restore the screen to its previous content. e.g. A field is
keyed into, but Enter has not been pressed. Refresh will return the screen to its original
content.
This puts the file in Display mode. No updates or deletes can be performed.
This puts the file in Edit mode. If a field is marked for display only it cannot be edited. Click on the field to
be changed and key over the data. Note that the Update button at the bottom of the screen is now active. If
any other fields are to be changed, do so now. Click on the Refresh button to return all the changed
fields back to their original values. Click on the Update button to save the changes. Update also
positions to the next record in the file.
This puts the file in Add mode. The field names are shown but the data fields are empty. Key in the data for
the first record and press Enter. Note that the Add button at the bottom of the screen is now active.
Enter data into the remaining fields. Click on the Add button to add the record to the file.
This puts the file in Delete mode. A “Delete current record?” warning window will be
displayed. No other DBU functions will work until a “Yes” or “No” answer is selected or the window
is closed.
This controls the layout of the screen fields, and the reading of the formats (see DBU Preferences).
This option allows the user to Toggle between single record mode and multiple record mode.
The records displayed may be toggled between Character or Hexadecimal format. This sets
This continues the Search function which has already been initiated in the 'Define Search'. This will not
be active (see right icon, above) until a search has been defined.
Click on Print and the following dialog box appears. PC printer selections will be printed on the user’s
default printer. For iSeries/AS400 selections the print out of the record goes to the OUTQ defined by the
user job, or can be overridden to the OUTQ defined in DBU authority. When printing to a PC while in
multiple record format mode, the number of records printed will be equal to the Records to display
value selected in DBU Configuration. See Printing.
The Export to PC will output the data currently displayed on the screen to a file on the PC. See
Export to PC.
The Position to Field box will position the screen to the first or last field in the record .
The Description box selects the source for the field description.
• The Format box is for logical files only, and selects the fields that are in one particular logical
format
The next portion of the window is used to make changes to the ways fields are presented and handled on the
screen. All the fields in the file are initially shown.
Field Name - name of the field as described in DDS. To move a field from its current position on the screen,
click on the field and use the Up/Down keys to position the field on the screen.
Key Sequence - shows the keys in the file, numbered from 1 (highest key) to nth (lowest key).
Select - is a toggle to either select a field for the screen, or to not show the field on the screen.
Auto Dup - is a toggle to select whether this field may be duped using the dup key.
Upper Case - is a toggle to select whether only upper case characters may be keyed, or whether mixed case
characters are allowed.
When all the desired changes have been made, click OK to apply the changes.
Arranging fields
To arrange the fields on the screen in a different order, select the field by clicking on it and then use the up
and down buttons to move the field to another position.
Import
Use the Import button to define a DBU application which will allow the user to work with a file that is not
externally described as though it is externally described. Select Source File to pull the field descriptions
from an RPG source file. An RPG program must exist which has “I” specs defining the file. Select Physical
File to pull the field descriptions from an existing physical file.
• Source File – the name of the source file that contains the RPG program which has “I” specs defining the
field layout
• Library – the library where the source file resides
• Source Member – the member of the source file
• RPG File Name – the name of the RPG program with internal “I” specs defining the field names
• Replace Existing File –
Checked – DBU will present the file on the screen as though it was externally defined by the “I” specs. The
original layout will not be presented. All applicable DBU operations can be performed.
Not Checked – DBU will present the fields defined in the "I" specs after the file defined fields. This works
as a data structure but the data will be presented twice. Updating either the original data field or the imported
fields will update the file. All applicable DBU operations can be performed.
With this function a physical file description can be used to separate data in a data area into fields.
Export
Use the Export button to create/change the physical file member in a source file from the fields selected on
the field selection screen. The fields will be ordered by the sequence number on the field selection screen. If
no fields are selected, all fields will be copied. This may be used two ways:
Caution: The default source member name is the file name of the externally described file. If using this
method, change the source member name and/or the source and library name or the original physical file
specification will be replaced
• Source File – the name of the source file which will contain the physical file specifications to be created or
changed.
• Library – the library where source file resides.
• Source Member – the physical file member to be created or changed. • Replace Existing Member –
• Checked - replace existing file specifications with fields selected on screen.
• Not checked – the selected field will be added to the end of the existing physical file specification in the
source member.
• Member Text –
*SAME - do not change the text on an existing member.
Text - either change text on an existing member or define text for a new member. Text will not carry to
new member if it is being created from an existing member.
• Record Format Name – the name to be used for the record format if it is different from the physical file
name.
Create Field
The Create Field button can be used two ways:
• 1 Breakup fields into smaller fields if they are not packed.
• 2 Combine contiguous fields into larger fields.
Click on the Create Field button and the following screen appears.
• Field Name - the name of the new field, must be unique in the file
• Type- pull down box for field type
• Length- total length of new field
• Dec- number of decimals, if created field is numeric
• Loc- is the starting position of the first contiguous field to be combined
• Field Text- New text for the created field
• Select- Toggle switch to select fields, if the toggle is off, the field will disappear when Preferences screen
is exited
• Display Only- Toggle switch to make a field display only, or to allow updates to that field
• Auto Dup- is valid in add mode, when the Auto Dup toggle is checked on a field, the last value of that
field will appear on the screen when a new record is to be added
• Upper Case- Toggle switch between upper case and mixed case entry into a field. If the toggle is checked,
then only upper case may be keyed into these fields
When all the boxes are filled in, press OK, and the new field will appear at the top of the Preferences screen.
Create as many fields as desired. New fields will appear in order as they are created and will have a * in the
field type to identify which are the created fields. The new fields can then be selected for a DBU application
and all applicable DBU operations will apply. Fields are created for applications only. The source member
of the physical file will not change.
Remove Field
The Remove Field button will work only for fields that have been created using the Create Field button. If
no fields have been created the Remove Field button will be inactive. To remove a field, click on the field to
be removed to highlight it and make the Remove Field button active, then click on Remove Field.
Sort Keys
The Sort Keys button is used with keyed physical and logical files. Pressing Sort Keys will reorder the
displayed fields, placing the keyed fields at the top in key sequence order.
Define Search
The parameters used to execute a search or a search/replace are defined on the following screen.
There are three parts to this screen.
Search - The top section of this screen is used to define the parameters to find the data
Search
Press Add, and the Search Entry dialog box appears.
Fill out the parameters and press OK. The Search/Replace screen will now contain this information. Continue
adding selections, as wanted. Then press Search to find the record. The search will begin using the current
record displayed on the screen. If the current record is one that has already been found using the search
criteria, the search begins with the next record in the file.
Operator - The user may have a multiple argument search to group or string the search criteria together.
Field Name - A Relative Record Number, a Range, Entire Record or a Field Name can be searched on.
Combinations of the four may also be used.
• *RRN = Relative Record Number - Select Relative Record Number to search using RRN as a base.
• *STRPOS = Starting Position - Click on *STRPOS if a search is to be made from one position in the
record to another.
• *RCD = Entire Record - Click on Entire Record to search for decimal data errors or a specific data
string within the record.
• Field Name - Enter field name to be searched. If the field names are not known, position the cursor on
the Field Name drop down arrow and right click. A list of fields in the file will be displayed, just click
on the field wanted and continue filling out the Dialog Box.
From - Enter numerical starting position in the record. This is only if *STRPOS is requested.
To - Enter numerical ending position in the record. This is only if *STRPOS is requested.
• Contains - Find record(s) that contain user-defined character string any where inside the defined
search range.
• Equal - Find record(s) equal to search parameters.
• Greater Than - Find record(s) greater than search parameters.
• Greater Than or Equal - Find records(s) greater than or equal to search parameters.
• Less Than - Find records(s) less than search parameter.
• Less Than or Equal - Find record(s) less than or equal to search parameters.
• Not Equal - Find records(s) not equal to search parameters.
• Not Greater Than - Find records(s) not greater than search parameters.
• Not Less Than - Find record(s) not less than search parameters.
Value - The use of the Values parameter, gives the user almost unlimited ways of searching/replacing.
Values are as below:
• field name - Enter the name of the field that contains the data to be used as search parameter. If the
field names are not known, position the cursor on the Field Name drop down arrow and right click. A
list of fields in the file will be displayed, just click on the field wanted.
• a number - Enter a number that is to be used as the search parameter.
• characters - Enter the character string that is to be used as the search parameter. If using 'from and to'
positions instead of field names, put single quotes around the value (even if numeric).
• hex string - Enter a valid 'X' String (i.e. Zoned Decimal 09 = X'F0F9' and Packed Decimal 09 =
X'09F').
• decimal data error - Select Decimal Data Error from the drop down, when searching for data decimal
errors.
• When all parameters are filled in, click on Search to initiate the search function.
Replace
The middle part of the Search/Replace screen prompts the user to define the parameters used to make a
replace to any records satisfying the search parameters defined in the top (search) half of the Search/Replace
screen.
Field Name - From the drop down box choose one of the following.
• *STRPOS
• *RCD
• *RRN
• field name - click on a field name
From - Enter numerical starting position of desired character string in the record, if range is requested.
To - Enter numerical ending position of desired character string in the record, if range is requested.
Value - User has option of what type of data is to be placed into field or character string to be changed.
• FIELD - Enter the name of the field that contains the data to be copied into the field or character string
to be changed.
• NUMBER - Enter a number that is to be copied into the field or character string to be changed.
• CHARACTERS - Enter the character string that is to be copied into the field or character string to be
changed. If using start positions instead of field names, put single quotes around the value (even if
numeric).
• HEX - Enter a valid 'X' String (i.e. Zoned Decimal 09 = X'F0F9 and Packed Decimal 09 = X'09f').
• DELETE - Click Delete to perform a global delete of information in the Search area of the screen.
After all the Search and/or Replace parameters are filled out, the search is performed by clicking on the
Search button. The search can be further controlled by using the additional parameters on the bottom of the
search screen.
Settings
The search is controlled by the bottom parameters of the Search/Replace screen.
• Submit to batch - is a toggle. If checked, then the DBU search is submitted to the JOBQ defined on
DBU authority. The search will start at the currently displayed record location, just like an interactive
search. DBU allows a user to create a search and then submit the search to batch. When performing a
straight search in batch with no replace and Print Results is checked, the report will contain the record
numbers that fulfilled the defined search parameters. When performing a search/replace in batch and
Print Results is checked, the search/replace will take place and a full audit log of all changes made
will be created. If performing a search/replace with Print Results not checked, a short report will be
created showing which records were changed, but there will be no full audit log.
• Occurrences to process - prompts the user to define the type of search that is to occur. The user has
three options:
• Next causes the search to search forward through the file. The next record to satisfy the search criteria
is displayed. If a replace is defined, a Dialog Box to initiate the replace function is displayed. Replace
will change only the displayed record and then the search automatically continues from that record.
Skip will continue the search without updating the record. Cancel returns the user to the primary DBU
screen.
• All causes the search to search forward through the file. If used in conjunction with the replace
function, all records which satisfy the search criteria will have the replace function performed without
presenting any of the records back to the screen. USE WITH CAUTION.
• Previous causes the search to search backward through the file. The next previous record to satisfy the
search criteria is displayed. If a replace is defined, a Dialog Box to initiate the replace function is
displayed. Replace will change only the displayed record and then the search automatically continues
backward from that record. Skip will continue the search without updating the record. Cancel returns
the user to the primary DBU screen.
• Output results to iSeries file – allows the user to create a new subset of the data or add/replace the
data to an existing file. A dialog box prompts the user for the parameters for the file.
• Output results to PC file – Output to a PC requires that Create subset of records be selected. A
dialog box prompts the user for the parameters for the file.
• Match Case - is a toggle. It prompts user to specify whether the search and replace function is to
accept only those records that match with the same case of the defined search parameters or whether
the case is to be ignored.
• Print Results - is a toggle. It prints an audit log of all records updated with the replace function. The
printout goes to the OUTQ defined by the user’s job, or can be overridden to the OUTQ defined in
DBU authority.
• Records to search - defines the number of records to process in a search. If a search is satisfied
before this number is reached, the record will be presented on the screen. If the search is continued,
the file will be searched until the total number of records read matches this number. If the search is not
satisfied, this number of records will be read and a message "Maximum records read, scan condition
not found" will be returned to the screen. The last record read will be presented. Continuing the search
at this point, will start the search using the next record in the file and the same number of records will
be searched.
• Create subset of records - Replaces the record(s) currently displayed with a subset of the records
meeting the search criteria. The display format of the subset will be the same as the format of the
initial display. A subset of the data, with the word Subset in the lower left hand corner, will be
displayed. Any changes to this subset will update the file. To create a subset of the data in a separate
file, choose Output results to iSeries file or Output results to PC file before searching. To go back to
the original search screen, click on Search on the Menu Bar, and then Define Search. De-select the
Create subset of records, and click on Search again. The original screen will be returned.
• Include deleted records – Deleted records will be included in the search and highlighted in yellow.
Deleted records cannot be included in a subset.
• Progress Messages - works in conjunction with 'Records to Search'. e.g. A user may want to search
10,000 records and have a message indicate when 500 records have been searched. This is effective
when searching a very large set of records and there may be very few hits on the search criteria.
Export to PC
This option will export data to a PC file. The data exported is the data that is currently displayed.
Print Record
Click on Print Record and the following dialog box appears. PC printer selections will be printed on the
user’s default printer. For iSeries/AS400 selections the print out of the record goes to the OUTQ defined by
the user job, or can be overridden to the OUTQ defined in DBU authority. When printing to a PC while in
multiple record format mode, the number of records printed will be equal to the Records to display value
selected in DBU Configuration.
Preferences
Selecting Window->Preferences will bring up the Eclipse preferences window. Select DBU to set the DBU
relative preferences.
Format:
Mode:
Record to Display - The number of records to display when in multiple record mode. The maximum is 50.
The next screen will display the available updates. Select the files to update and click next.
You must accept the license agreement to install the update. Click Next.
Use the default install location. Press Finish.
The feature in unsigned. This is OK. Select Install to complete the installation.