F

factotum task

A task started by the DC/UCF system to perform a system service for a user task. Examples are tasks that handle map paging sessions and tasks that handle line I/O sessions.

FAST mode

An optional mode of execution in ADSC, ADSA, MAPC, and user-written applications in which control is passed directly to the next sequential screen when a transaction is successful. See also STEP mode.

fast mode threshold

The point at which the CA ADS runtime system writes record buffer blocks (RBBs) and statistics control blocks to the scratch (DDLDCSCR) area across a pseudo-converse. The runtime system invokes this feature only when the number of bytes used by these control blocks exceeds the specified threshold. See also relocatable storage, and relocatable threshold.

fastload

A service performed by the FASTLOAD utility statement. FASTLOAD loads user records into the database according to specifications of a user-written program.

FASTLOAD utility statement

In a non-SQL defined database, the utility that loads data.

FDB

See fixed dialog block (FDB).

FETCH statement

An SQL database access statement that retrieves values from the result table associated with a cursor and places them in host variables or a bulk buffer.

field

See attribute, element.

field level help

Help text associated with a data field by means of the online or batch map compilers, and which is displayed when the help key defined for the map is pressed either with the cursor positioned in a data field. See also help facility, map level help.

field mark

The default special character used on 3270-type terminals to define the beginning of a map field.

file

1) In CA IDMS/DB, a logical unit of database storage that has a one-to-one relationship with a direct-access storage device. The relationship is established with the ASSIGN TO clause of the schema DDL definition. 2) In IDD, an entity type that represents card, tape, and other nondatabase files.

file organization

A method of ordering records within a file. CA Culprit handles input from physical-sequential, indexed-sequential, card, and virtual storage file types.

FIND

The navigational database access function that locates a record occurrence in the database. Once the record occurrence is found, the application program can initiate a GET function to copy the contents of the record occurrence from the database to variable storage. See also GET.

FINISH

A navigational DML commit statement that causes affected database sessions to terminate. See also commit statement.

first functional call

The first database access request passed by a database session to CA IDMS/DB at program execution time.

FIX ARCHIVE utility statement

The utility that rewrites a tape journal file; for example, to make the tape journal file in use at the time of an abnormal system shutdown usable by the ROLLBACK utility.

FIX PAGE utility statement

The utility that verifies, and optionally modifies, the contents of a database page.

fixed dialog block (FDB)

In CA ADS, the dialog load module generated in the dialog compiler for use by the runtime system when a dialog is executed.

fixed-length compressed record

A record of fixed length that is compressed through a specified compression routine. Although the length of the record is fixed from the point of view of user programs, compression makes it internally variable.

flow of control

In CA ADS, the way control is passed from one application function or dialog to another at runtime. Runtime flow of control is determined by user requests or runtime events, based on specifications made at definition time.

folder

In CA ICMS, a catalog entity used to represent a collection of related information. Folders can include objects and other folders.

footer

The final entry on each page of the database. The footer is 16 bytes long and contains the page number and other information about a given page.

footer area

The portion of a pageable map that is located across the bottom of the screen. Fields in the footer area are displayed whenever the map is displayed.

foreign key

In logical database design, an attribute of an entity or relationship that is also used as the primary key of another entity. A foreign key is used to relate two data entities. For example, to relate the DEPARTMENT and EMPLOYEE entities, you might define the DEPT ID attribute, which is the primary key of the DEPARTMENT entity, as the foreign key of the EMPLOYEE entity. See also primary key, secondary key.

forked set

See multiple-member set.

format

The textual content and textual organization of record block, set, and index information in the Cross-Reference Report or in the CA IDMS Schema Mapper data structure diagram. Also, the graphic components of the diagram, such as the characters used to draw record blocks, set connections, and arrows. You can control the format with the optional OPTIONS, CHARDEF, DRECLINE, XRECLINE, DSETLINE, and XSETLINE statements; or CA IDMS Schema Mapper default format specifications can determine all or part of the format.

FORMAT utility statement

The utility that prepares a database file, area, segment, or a disk journal file for use by CA IDMS/DB.

formatting

The action of initializing database or disk journal files into database pages or blocks according to information provided by the DMCL. Use the FORMAT utility to format database and disk journal files.

fragment

The portion of a variable-length record that is stored on a separate page from the root segment.

fragment chain

In CA IDMS/DB, the fragments of a variable-length record. Each fragment is stored on a separate page. Each fragment contains a pointer to the next fragment and a 4-byte variable-length indicator that contains the length of the data portion of the entire record.

fragment interval

The frequency with which the DC/UCF system writes dummy segment (DSEG) records to the journal file. If the system crashes, DC/UCF uses these dummy records to determine the appropriate place for warmstart processing.

free-form data

In CA ICMS, data (in an object) that is not formatted as a data table. Free-form data is produced through the use of personal computers and includes text, graphs, and procedures.

free-form object

In CA ICMS, an object that contains free-form data (as opposed to a data table). A free-form object is also known as an unstructured object.

front end

1) Under CA IDMS UCF, the host TP monitor. The CA IDMS UCF front end establishes the connection to the CA IDMS UCF back end; passes data to the back end as necessary; and transfers control to the back-end system. When back-end processing is finished, it returns control and any necessary data to the CA IDMS UCF front end. 2) The environment from which a remote database request is issued.

function

In the context of SQL, an SQL function.

function code

See major code.