Performing Actions on Elements › Generate an Element › How Generate Element In Place or Generate Element NoSource Works

How Generate Element In Place or Generate Element NoSource Works

The Generate Element NoSource option and the Generate Element In Place option are mutually exclusive. They cannot both be set to Y. An error message is generated if both fields are set to Y.

If Generate Element In Place is set to Y on the Action Options panel:

• Elements at any location can be generated at their current Stage and will remain in their original state as either sourced or sourceless.

If Generate Element NoSource is set to Y in the Action Options panel:

• The element is generated at the entry Stage of the Environment using the first found sourced element from up the map. The source is not copied back to the location.
• Only the lowest element in the map from the starting location specified on the Quick Edit Entry panel is allowed to be generated.
• If either a sourced or sourceless element exists at the entry Stage, the element is generated in place and remains in its original state (sourced or sourceless).
• If the element does not exist at the entry Stage, the first sourced element found up the map is used as input to the generate process. Processor outputs are targeted to the entry Stage. Element source is not copied back to the entry Stage before generation.

If both options are set to N:

• This is a Generate Copyback.
• Only the lowest element in the map from the starting location specified on the Quick Edit Entry panel is allowed to be generated.
• If a sourced element exists at the entry Stage, it will be generated in place.
• If a sourceless element exists at the entry Stage or if the element does not exist at the entry Stage, the first sourced element from up the map will be copied back to the entry Stage then generated.

After the successful completion of the GENERATE action, one of these messages is displayed: *Gen/Cpybk (generated with Copyback) or *Gen/Inplc (generated in place).

Be aware of the following before you request the GENERATE ELEMENT option:

• If you generate an element that is not at the entry Stage and the BUILD USING MAP field is set to Y, CA Endevor Quick Edit copies the element back to the entry Stage before invoking the Generate Processor. However, you can bypass the Copyback operation by setting the GENERATE IN PLACE field to Y.

  Note: For more information about the COPYBACK option in the GENERATE action, see the User Guide.

  If the element does not exist at the entry Stage and the BUILD USING MAP field is set to N, the Processor is not executed and the following message is returned:

      Element not found
  

  Note: If you try to generate an element from a Stage up the map and the element exists at the entry Stage, an error is generated, unless you are using the Generate Element In Place option.

• Signout processing validation for the CA Endevor Quick Edit GENERATE ELEMENT option is the same as for the standard CA Endevor SCM GENERATE action. That is, you must have proper signout authority. If you do not have the authority to sign the element out or to override a signout, you will not be able to continue.

  Note: For more information about signout processing for the GENERATE action, see Signout Processing and the User Guide.

• The Last Action CCID and Last Action Comment are updated, as appropriate, when the Generate Processor is executed.

How Generating Elements with Autogen Works

Autogen is available in batch only for the Add, Update, and Generate actions and cannot be used in packages. When an element is generated, either by the Generate statement or through an Add or Update request, and the Autogen option is specified, CA Endevor SCM processes the request as follows:

1. An ACMQ search is performed for all elements that use the component element being generated.
2. For each using element, a Generate action is created and added to the list of actions to be performed. However, duplicate Generate actions are eliminated, so that each using element will only be generated once, even if multiple components are being generated that are used by use the same element.

   The Generate action created for each using element will perform as follows:

   • Generate the using element in the same inventory location as the component.
   • Use the same CCID and COMMENT specified in the original statement.
   • Override signout, if specified in the original statement.
   • Use the NoSource option.

     Note: An administrator can change the behavior of the Autogen feature, by activating AUTOGEN_SOURCE in the Optional Features Table (ENCOPTBL). When this option is activated, the Generate actions for the using elements are built with the Copyback, instead of the NoSource, option.

   Accordingly, the using elements are generated as if the following Generate statement had been specified:

   GENERATE ELEMENT name 
   FROM <inventory location in the original command> 
   TYPE type 
   OPTION CCID <same ccid> 
   COMMENT <same comment> 
   <override signout, if specified on original command> 
   NOSOURCE.
   

   If the Copyback option is specified on the original action, then the Copyback only applies to the component element that is specified on the original request. The NoSource option is always used on all the Generate statements built for the using elements, unless the administrator has activated the AUTOGEN_SOURCE option in ENCOPTBL.

3. Autogen only acts on components whose Types are listed in the Global Type Sequencing table. If the component's Type is not listed in the Global Type Sequencing table, the Autogen request is ignored.
4. Global type sequencing is used to determine the order in which the elements are generated. However, with the Autogen option, SCL requests are fully resolved based on current inventory contents prior to any action being processed. When multiple actions are specified and the Autogen option is specified on at least one of the actions, all the actions are expanded before any of the actions are processed. All name masking is resolved and individual actions are built and then the expanded actions are executed according to the Global type sequence order.

   Consequently, if the Generate Autogen option is specified and several Move actions are included in the same request, the Move actions do not include any of the additional elements that are copied back as a result of the Generate action.

Example: Autogen Processing when Move actions are included on the same request

In this example, Macro MD1 exists at the DEV stage 1 location. This macro is used in program PD1 located at the DEV stage 1 location and in programs PQ2 and PQ3 located at the QA stage 2 location. The following two actions are included in the same batch job:

SET FROM ENV DEV SYS SYS1 SUBS SUB1 STAGE NUM 1.
GENERATE ELE MD1 OPTION AUTOGEN.
MOVE ELE *.

The Generate action results in elements MD1, PD1, PQ2, and PQ3 being generated at the DEV stage 1 location. However, the Move action results in only the MD1 and PD1 elements being moved to the next location in the logical map. This is because PQ2 and PQ3 were originally not at the STG1 location, so they remain at the DEV stage 1 environment.