Defining Work Records Using IDD

In previous chapters, you used the IDD menu facility to define and modify process modules for use in dialog XXXDADD. You also can use IDD to define work records for use by dialogs.

Instructions for defining work records are provided in this chapter. The sample work record defined in this chapter will be used by process modules that you will define for dialog XXXDUPD in Chapter 16, "Completing the Department Application". This chapter includes:

An overview of defining work records for CA ADS applications
Instructions for defining work records
A summary of what you've accomplished in this chapter

Note: At some sites, all records and elements are defined by database administrators (DBAs). Even if this is the case at your site, go ahead and read this chapter to find out more about records in the CA ADS environment.

Each item of data used and stored by your application must be defined as an element in the data dictionary. Most elements describe database values. For example, DEPT-ID-0410, DEPT-NAME-0410, and DEPT-HEAD-ID-0410 are elements that store information about a department in the database.

Elements are grouped together in records. For example, elements DEPT-ID-0410, DEPT-NAME-0410, and DEPT-HEAD-ID-0410 are grouped together in the DEPARTMENT record because they all store information about a department. The DEPARTMENT record is called a database record because it describes information in the database. Database records are defined by using the schema compiler. (Alternatively, in an SQL environment, tables are defined by using SQL.) DBAs usually are responsible for defining and maintaining database records.

You also can define work records for an application. Work records describe temporary storage for a dialog. Elements in a work record describe data that is not stored in the application database. You define work records by using the IDD menu facility.

Note: Work records are sometimes referred to as IDD records to differentiate them from schema-defined database records.

Database and work records must be associated with each dialog that uses them.

Associating Database Records with a Dialog

You associate database records with a dialog when you add a subschema containing the records to the dialog.

For example, subschema EMPSS01 contains the DEPARTMENT record. When you added subschema EMPSS01 to dialog XXXDADD in Step 3: Add a Subschema, you made the DEPARTMENT record available to that dialog.

Associating Work Records with a Dialog

You associate work records with a dialog either by naming the record when you define the dialog's map or when you define the dialog itself, depending on how the work record is to be used:

If the work record is to be displayed on the dialog's map (and optionally used in the dialog's process logic), you add the record with the map.
Work records named on a map are automatically available to dialogs that use the map.
If the work record is to be used only by process module commands (and not displayed on the dialog's map), you add the work record directly to the dialog.

Note that both database and work records that define data to be displayed on a map must be directly associated with the map. Because of this, records on a map are often referred to collectively as map records.

Note: Work records associated with a map are automatically available to dialogs that use the map. For database records associated with a map, you still must give the dialog a subschema to make the records available to the dialog. This is because information about the database itself is defined in the subschema, and is required by dialogs that access database records.

In this chapter, you will define a work record for dialog XXXDUPD. Data for the record will be used internally by process modules but will not be displayed to the end user. Therefore, you will associate this record directly with dialog XXXDUPD (rather than with map XXXMAP) when you add process logic to the dialog in Chapter 16, "Completing the Department Application".

This section contains the following topics:

Instructions

Summary