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CA ADS Batch Concepts › Overview

Overview

Developing an CA ADS Batch application is, in many ways, similar to developing an online application with CA ADS. The major difference is that in CA ADS Batch you describe data transfer between variable storage and files, while in CA ADS, you describe data transfer between variable storage and online terminals.

Steps

To develop and execute an CA ADS Batch application, you perform the following steps:

  1. Create external file descriptions. You describe your input and output files in the data dictionary with file, record, and element entities. You can define files by using DDDL.
  2. Define file maps. You describe how data is to be transferred at runtime between the input and output files and variable storage. You can define file maps by using the online mapping facility.
  3. Create process modules. You define in the data dictionary the process logic required by the application. The process command language includes new commands for batch processing. You can define process modules by using DDDL.
  4. Define dialogs. You define dialogs that bring file maps and process modules together into an executable load module. You can define dialogs by using the online dialog compiler.
  5. Define the application structure. As an optional step performed at any time before executing the application, you define an application structure that describes the application in terms of functions and responses. In the batch environment, application structures have a special use in creating applications that access input files with multiple record formats. You can define the application structure by using the online application compiler.
  6. Execute the application. You execute the batch application by using the runtime system in batch mode. The application can access an CA IDMS/DB database, read from input files, and write to output files. In addition, the runtime system can write input records in error to a suspense file, and can write informational and error messages to a log file. A trace facility is available to help you debug an CA ADS Batch application.

While CA ADS Batch is based on concepts familiar to developers of CA ADS applications, it also includes concepts unique to batch application development. This chapter discusses the following CA ADS Batch concepts:

For more information about the new process commands, see Process Command Language. The runtime system and the CA ADS Batch trace facility are described in Runtime Considerations.