CA ADS Batch Concepts › Suspense Files

Suspense Files

Suspense files store input file records found to contain edit errors at runtime. An input record field can be set in error either at mapin by automatic editing and error handling, or during premap or response process execution by a map modification command.

Associating a Suspense File with a Dialog

One suspense file can be associated with each dialog that has an input file. You associate a suspense file with a dialog simply by requesting one, either during dialog definition or at runtime.

Writing to a Suspense File

An input record in error is written to a suspense file at runtime by the dialog that performed the mapin operation on the record. The record can be written either immediately after the mapin operation or on the next mapout operation, as follows:

• Immediately after the mapin operation, if the selected response process has an EXECUTE ON EDIT ERRORS specification of NO. The runtime system writes the record to the suspense file, then reads the next input record.
• On a mapout operation. The mapout operation is initiated by a WRITE TRANSACTION command. If the dialog's input record is not in error, WRITE TRANSACTION performs a mapout to the dialog's output file. If the input record is in error, WRITE TRANSACTION instead writes the input record to the suspense file.

  Note: You can write the input record to the suspense file even if the record has no fields in error by including the keyword SUSPENSE in the WRITE TRANSACTION command.

Note: If a suspense record is to be written by a dialog that is not associated with a suspense file, the record is not written. However, error messages are still sent to the log file, which is described later in this chapter. The suspense file identifier in the messages is '********'.

Maximum Number of Error Records

The maximum number of error records that can be written to a suspense file at runtime is a system-generation option (ADSOBSYS). By default, an unlimited number of error records can be written. The ADSOBSYS default can be overridden at runtime with control statements for each dialog.