OS 2200 Open DTP COBOL Data Source Wizard

This topic describes the OS 2200 Open DTP COBOL Data Source Wizard screens and the procedures required to complete the wizard.

Welcome

  1. Ensure that you have completed the tasks listed in Preparing to Use the OS 2200 Open DTP Data Source Wizards.

  2. Know the data descriptions that you want to capture.

  3. Select the Don't show this welcome screen again check box to skip this screen in the future.

  4. Click Next to display the next screen.

Select the COBOL Source File

  1. In the Source File box, browse to or type the location of the complete COBOL source file or the data description. The browse option can be used if a Windows share has previously been created. Refer to Procedure 1 (Optional) - Mapping a Drive to the OS 2200 Server.

  2. Select Source File Encoding from the dropdown menu.

    This specifies the character encoding that is used by the file containing the COBOL source.

  3. Click Next to display the next screen.

Select the COBOL Data Description

  1. Select a data description that needs to be included in the modernization effort.

  2. Click View Source File... to view the source.

  3. Click Next to display the next screen.

The following table contains descriptions of the display fields. 

Field

Description

Record Name

The name of the data description that was found by the parser.

FD Name

The file description file name.

Specific Definition

The selected record contains a REDEFINES statement.

  1. Select the specific redefined definition of the record to be modernized in the Select definitions to use tree.

  2. Click View Source File… to view the source.

  3. Click Next to display the next screen.

Select COBOL Data Identifier

Each COBOL data description that is received from the OS 2200 application (an output or input/output description) can, optionally, have a unique text string. This unique string is used at runtime to identify the data being received from the OS 2200 server. Refer to Planning the Data Identification Strategy.

For instance, if the COBOL data description has a field with the value DEPOSIT and the text string is unique among all the COBOL data descriptions of the project, selecting just this field is acceptable. However, if other data descriptions of the project also have a field with the value DEPOSIT and such a field is selected as a data identifier, then a second or even a third field of the data description needs to be selected to differentiate this data description from the other data descriptions.

  1. Indicate whether the data is sent to or received from the OS 2200 server by selecting one of the following from the Server Message Direction list:

    • If you always use this message to send data from the client to the OS 2200 server, select Input.

    • If you always use this message to receive data from the OS 2200 server, select Output.

    • If the message might be used to both send and receive data, then select Both.

  2. If you select Input or Both for the message direction, you can optionally supply the name of the Open DTP service on the OS 2200 server that you will invoke with this message.  If you supply a value, ePortal initializes the metadata field tpservicename__ using the value you supply.

    Alternatively, you can leave the service name blank.  Later, you can supply a value for the metadata field tpservicename__ with Orchestration or by using the code in your presentation projects.  For example, you may decide to leave the service name blank if you plan to use this message to call more than one service on the OS 2200 server.  Also, refer to Handling Updates to the OS 2200 Open DTP Service Name.

If you selected Output or Both for the message direction, you can either manually define the unique identifier, or use orchestration. Perform one of the following procedures to identify the server message:

Manually Defining a Unique Identifier

Define a unique identifier for a server message as follows:

  1. Check the box next to Select a Field or Fields to Uniquely Identify this Data Description (optional).

  2. Select a field containing text that is unique to the entire project or that combined with another field of the data description creates a unique set of data values for the data being received from the OS 2200 server. Click Select. The field and its value appear in the Selected Fields box. 

  3. If you need more than one text string for this data description in order to create a unique text string for the data being received from the OS 2200 server, repeat the step above.

  4. To modify a data identifier, select the field in the Selected Fields box, click Modify, and make the modification.

  5. To remove a field, select the field in the Selected Fields box and click Remove.

Using Orchestration

If an output data description does not contain a unique identifier, and it is impractical to add one as described above, then you can elect not to provide an identifier when you import the data description. If you do not provide a unique identifier, you must use orchestration to identify the server message that you expect ePortal to receive. Refer to Using Orchestration to Identify an Output Server Message for more information.

To skip defining a unique identifier, uncheck the Select a Field or Fields to Uniquely Define this Data Description (optional) check box, and click Next.

After you identify the server output data, perform the following steps:

  1. If more data descriptions need to be added during this session, select Select another COBOL data description to add to the project? check box.

  2. Click Finish.

Note: You can add data identification fields later or change the data identification fields. Refer to Changing the COBOL Data Identifier.