Introduction to the Mapping Facility › Automatic Editing and Error Handling

Automatic Editing and Error Handling

Purpose

The CA IDMS mapping facility provides automatic editing and error-handling capabilities for use by CA IDMS maps. Automatic editing and error-handling simplify data validation, I/O data conversions, and redisplay of input errors when a map is displayed by a dialog or program.

Automatic editing and error-handling for maps and fields can be enabled using either the batch or online compiler as described:

• Automatic editing simplifies data validation and I/O data conversions:
  • Data validation is performed on input. For example, automatic editing could be used to validate that a terminal operator has supplied a valid state name (such as Alabama) in the STATE field on a map that displays employee address data.
  • Data conversions are performed on input and output. For example, automatic editing could be used to display the value Alabama when 01 is stored for the STATE field.
• Error handling simplifies the redisplay of input errors. Error handling, when enabled for a map, prepares a map to be redisplayed when an input error is detected. Input errors can be highlighted for the operator's attention, and error messages can be displayed.

Example

The following figure illustrates operations performed by automatic editing and error-handling at map runtime. The following occurs when the operator keys data in fields on the sample HILT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. screen and presses a control key:

• Automatic editing evaluates the data supplied by the operator, using automatic editing criteria specified for each field.

  The STATE-E edit table that is defined for the sample STATE field in the following figure lists valid two-character state abbreviations for the STATE field. The values in the STATE-E table are used to determine that WU is not a valid value for the STATE field.

• The CA ADS dialog or application program redisplays the map using error-handling attributes. Error handling redisplays the sample map with the following changes:
  • The incorrect data in the STATE data field is highlighted in BRIGHT.
  • The error message NOT A VALID STATE CODE is displayed in the message field for the map.

Note: For more information about automatic editing and error-handling, see the chapter "Automatic Editing and Error Handling".