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Learning to Use CA Disk

The CA Disk User Guide contains information necessary to run CA Disk after it has been installed. It is organized into sections according to the functions of the system. Each section describes the purpose of the function, how to use it, and considerations for implementing it. Because this book is organized like a reference manual, it is not easy to learn how to use the system by reading it from beginning to end. If you are new to CA Disk, use the following list of items as a guide for getting to know the system.

1. Review the Table of Contents of the manual to get an idea of the functions the system provides and what information is supplied about them.
2. Continue reading this entire section of the manual. This helps you learn how the system operates, what its restrictions are, and how to code CA Disk command statements.
3. For more information, see the chapter "Basic System \-– DMS PROC". This helps you learn how to write the CA Disk command set used by most CA Disk functions.
4. See the section CA Disk Libraries in the Systems Guide. It describes the CA Disk PARMLIB, which is used by all CA Disk functions. It is very important to understand its purpose and how it is used.
5. At this point you are prepared to learn about specific functions of the system. To do this, select a function that you are interested in and review the section for it. We suggest that you select the REPORT function as the first to learn because it is the easiest to use and provides a base of knowledge on how CA Disk generally operates.
6. After you have reviewed the section and feel you generally understand what it does and how to use it, see the chapter "Examples" and find the examples pertaining to the function. Review each example.
7. Select one of the examples and tailor it for your installation. Key it into your system and execute it. Verify that it does what you expected. If not, consult the section on the function again.
8. Be sure that when running these test cases you specify the SET MODE=SIMULATE command or the SIMULATE command parameter for all functions that provide it. After you have achieved the desired results with SIMULATE, remove the parameter (or comment it out), and run the function again and CA Disk actually performs the requested task.

Using these techniques, review each function. Begin with simple cases, and then add to them. They help you to better understand the different options of each function and what they do. Keep track of your test output for future reference.