AS/400 - Assignment 1
Due: Monday, October 25 at 23:59:59
The purpose of this assignment is to create a database file and familiarize yourself with AS/400 systems development.
Assignments are determined as early, on time, or late by the AS/400 object description change date on all objects in your assignment library. If all objects have a date before the due date, the assignment is early; if dated no later than the due date, the assignment is on time. If any object is dated after the due date, the assignment is late. That means any object whether it has to do with that assignment or not.
Systems Thinking Note: I have many, many assignments to mark so I have taken a systems approach. I use a CL program which looks for an Assignment library for every user id. I will only mark assignments in libraries with the proscribed naming convention - my program will not find arbitrarily named or misnamed libraries. This approach also applies to object and member names that you will be creating.
This is why computer people use standards. It lets us easily work together and exchange information in a systematic manner.
How do you tell me when I should mark your assignment? Don't send me an e-mail message. Once again, follow the standards for object naming which are described below.
Activities
- Complete Labs 5 & 6 from your text book.
- Create a new library for use with all tasks related to this assignment only. Name it DC32?snnA1 (where "?snn" corresponds to your AS/400 User ID) so as not to conflict with other students' libraries. (I will refer to this as the "A-LIB", the Assignment library.)
- Create a Source Physical called WIP in A-LIB. WIP is a common acronym that means "Work in Process". While you are completing the assignment, your work is in process and I will not mark your assignment. After you have completed the whole assignment, rename this object to ANSWERS.
- Create a Source Physical File called QDDSSRC in A-LIB.
- Copy the source member for the file, STUPF from your QDDSSRC in your course library to the version in your A-LIB.
- Change the DDS for STUPF to the following layout:
|
Field |
Size |
Decimals |
Type |
|
SOCINS |
9 |
0 |
S |
|
LNAME |
20 |
|
A |
|
FNAME |
15 |
|
A |
|
ADDR1 |
25 |
|
A |
|
ADDR2 |
25 |
|
A |
|
POSTCD |
6 |
|
A |
|
BDATE |
8 |
0 |
S |
Compile STUPF in your A-LIB.
Enter the same number of records into your new STUPF as required by Lab 6. Or, try to use CPYF to migrate the data from your old file to the new one in A-LIB. Use DFU to change/add records.
In the Source Physical File called WIP (later to be renamed ANSWERS) in A-LIB, create a TXT member called QUESTIONS. Put your name, your student id, your course/section code, and your AS/400 user id at the top of this source member.
Using SEU, type the answers to the following questions into QUESTIONS.
- What is the difference between the data type P and data type S?
- How many different source types can SEU handle?
- In SEU, what is the difference between using 'I' and 'IPPF' to insert lines of DDS code.
- Must you have an OUTQ in your assignment library in order to compile the assignment version of STUPF? Why or Why not?
- What is the record length of your new STUPF?
- What is the format level identifier of your new STUPF?
- What is the buffer position of the field, BDATE?
- When was your new STUPF created? Please supply date and time.
- How many bytes does your new STUPF take up?
- What is the complete job id of the job that compiled your new STUPF? (eg. Number/User/Job)
- Create a data physical file, PRINTOUTS in your new library to hold printouts. Follow the directions in the last section of Lab 4.
- Copy the spooled file containing the compile listing for STUPF to the physical file, PRINTOUTS in your new library.
- Create the member, ADDITIONAL, in the WIP source file. Type the answer to the following question into this member (do not use more than 70 characters per line):
How will an understanding of OS/400 and the AS/400 benefit my future career?
I am looking for a response that is about 100 words long. You might want to research jobs advertised for 'AS/400 people'. Give me your own point of view based on your research, expectations, and experience. Please don't copy anything from my (or any other professors) web pages or the course outline -- I know all that stuff already. Tell me what you think.
- Using the EDTOBJAUT command, give the user, MOOGK, *ALL authority to every object in A-LIB.
- Using the EDTOBJAUT command, give the user, MOOGK, *ALL authority to A-LIB. This is different from the previous step. Why?
I will test your object naming and authority setup periodically before the due date to give you the opportunity to correct things. The process sends you an AS/400 message.
Please note that marks will be deducted if your assignment is inconsistent. I expect that your answers, your objects and saved compile listing all reflect the same jobs.
Do not work in your course library for this assignment. Changing anything in an assignment library after it has been submitted is a serious error - just as it would be in a production environment when you are dealing with production and test libraries. Frankly, paying attention to libraries and not touching your assignment library after submitting it is part of the assignment. If you do not understand what you are doing at all times and do not keep your libraries/objects straight, you run the risk of inadvertently updating something in your assignment library and causing it to appear as late. This parallels the "real world" problem of keeping test and production systems separate - something that is critical in any AS/400 shop. You do not want to accidentally bring your company to a grinding halt because you were changing something in the wrong library.
Submitting the assignment
After you are done, rename the WIP object to ANSWERS.
My program will show me your assignment for marking if:
- The correctly named library and the ANSWERS object exists and
- The MARKS object is not in the library. (I create MARKS when I complete the marking.)
This way, I will not mark your assignment before you have finished it (because WIP still exists), and I will not mark your assignment twice (because MARKS exists).
My program will examine all the objects in your library, create files documenting all you’re A-LIB objects and their dates/times. It will show me your STUPF file and the members in the ANSWERS source file. Be careful to correctly name all your objects and members otherwise my program will not find them.
Marks
- This assignment is worth 10% of your final grade.
- You will receive a zero grade if MOOGK is unable to access the required objects in your library.
- The marks will be distributed as follows:
|
Marks |
Portion of the Assignment |
|
1.5 |
Compile Listing for STUPF in Physical File format |
|
1.5 |
Data in STUPF |
|
10 |
Answers to questions |
|
2 |
Answer to the ADDITIONAL question |
|
15 |
Total Marks (later factored as 10% of grade) |
0.5% Bonus will be given to assignments handed in early.
