Administrative Functions of ASF › Specifying System and User Defaults › Defaults for Models Used by ASF

Defaults for Models Used by ASF

Default models are provided with the ASF system. The models are used by ASF to generate the subschema, dialog, and map for each table. The models are stored in the data dictionary as the following modules and map:

• ASFSSMOD is the dictionary module source that contains the model subschema.
• ASFDGMOD is the dictionary module source that contains the model dialog.
• ASF@@MAP is the model map.

Options

ASF needs a model to generate an application. The following options are available for specifying the default models used by ASF:

• Use the models provided with the ASF system. These models become the default models used by the system and no other models need to be specified. When the ASF system is initialized, the model names listed above are displayed on the Administrator Control screen.
• Modify the models provided to meet the needs of an individual user site, as follows:
  • Change the names of the subschema and dialog to adhere to standard naming conventions.

    Important! The names of the model subschema and dialog can be changed to conform to the naming conventions of an individual site; the model subschema and dialog should not be modified in any way.

  • Modify the model map. When you modify the model map, it is recommended that you store the modified model map as a separate version, or under a different name, and keep the original model map intact.

  You can designate the modified model as the default model for the system by entering the appropriate name and version number on the Administrator Control screen.

• Store several models by storing the model subschema and dialog under several different names or by defining several different model maps. You can specify, on the Administrator Control screen, the models to be used as the system defaults. You can assign different models as the defaults for individual users by using the User Limits and Defaults screen.

Note: Source for the model map, dialog, and subschema must be in the data dictionary. The dialog and subschema must be stored as modules, qualified by LANGUAGE IS ASF

The Model Map(s)

Typically, you will want to modify the model map to make it site-specific. The default model map provided with ASF, ASF@@MAP, is shown below.

                                                    CA

  @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Since the source definition of the model map is stored in the data dictionary, the model map can be modified through the CA IDMS/DC and CA IDMS UCF online mapping facility to meet the standards of the user site. For example, Acme Insurance modified the model map as shown below.

                                 ACME INSURANCE

  @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Model Map Considerations

The following should be considered when modifying the model map:

• The at signs (&atsign.) are converted to the table name when the individual screen is formatted. If they are deleted, the table name is not displayed on the Data Display screen.
• ASF begins formatting the screen for the individual table on the first available blank line at the end of the model map. The heading information, message text, and table name should be defined in as few lines as possible to allow the maximum number of lines for displaying the column names and response fields for the table.