Preliminary Concepts › Using Version Clauses in Commands

Using Version Clauses in Commands

There are some rules that apply when specifying version clauses in CA Ideal commands. Following is a description on version clauses and how to use them.

For SQL Dataviews

Only one version is assigned; version 1 in production status. CA Ideal generally does not display this version number or status or require that the user specify it.

For All Entity Types Except Modeled and SQL Dataviews

Each named definition of a given type can exist in one or more forms, called versions, each of which is identified by a number assigned by CA Ideal. There can be as many as 999 versions with the same name. CA Ideal assigns numbers to versions sequentially as they are created, starting with number 1. The application developer cannot modify version numbers.

For CA Datacom/DB Dataviews and Sequential File Dataviews Modeled in the Dictionary

CA Ideal assigns numbers to test versions separately from production and history versions. Test versions are identified as T1 through T999. Production and history versions are identified as 1 through 999.

Editing a definition has no effect on the version number. No matter how many changes are made, the version number remains the same. You can only create new versions with the same name by using the DUPLICATE...NEXT VERSION command. This command makes a copy of an existing version. CA Ideal assigns each new version of a definition the next higher number than the highest previously assigned number. When a version is deleted from the system, unless it was the highest, its number is never reassigned to another version with the same name.

Each definition is uniquely identified by the combination of its type, name, and version number, and can always be referenced by this combination.

There are three cases when you can reference a particular definition without using the version number:

• You can reference the production status version of a definition by replacing the version number with the term PROD (since there can be only one production version at a time).
• For any type of definition except for an SQL dataview definition, you can reference the most recently created version of a definition by replacing the version number with the term LAST.
• The version clause is optional when specifying PROD or LAST. For example, if the production version of a report definition named SALARIES is version 5, you can reference it as REPORT SALARIES VERSION 5 or as REPORT SALARIES VERSION PROD. If there are seven versions of a program named UPDATE (numbered 1 through 7), you can reference the most recently created version as PROGRAM UPDATE VERSION 7 or as PROGRAM UPDATE VERSION LAST.

The following is a description about usage of version clauses:

Status

Each version is assigned to a category that is based on the stage it reached in the production process. This category is called the status of the version. A version can be in test status, production status, or history status. Except for dataview entity types, you can only change the status of a version with the MARK STATUS command.

The following rules apply to each type of status:

Test

• For all entity types except modeled and SQL dataviews: When a version is created in CA Ideal by either the CREATE or DUPLICATE command, the version is in test status. You can modify a version as long as it remains in test status. There can be many versions in test status at one time. If a dataview is edited, you must recatalog it before it can be reused.
• For CA Ideal dataviews and sequential file dataviews modeled in the dictionary: Test versions are created and maintained in the dictionary. There can be up to 999 test versions at one time.
• SQL dataviews can not be in test status.

Production

When a version is created, edited, and tested, and is ready for use in an application, it is marked to production and becomes the production version. Only one version of a definition can be in production status at a time.

A production application must consist of components that are also in production status. This protects its integrity.

• For all entity types except modeled and SQL dataviews: You cannot edit or delete the production version. If a production version of a program is compiled, a compilation listing is produced; a new object program is not created.
• For SQL dataviews: There can be only one version of a definition at a time, version 1 in production status. SQL dataviews are created through the CA Ideal CATALOG command. You can delete them if they are resources of production programs. You cannot edit them.

History

History versions of a definition are former production versions of that definition.

• For all entity types except SQL dataviews: Marking a test version to production automatically retires the existing production version, if any, to history status.
• SQL dataviews can not be in history status.

  The maximum number of history status versions that you can save is recorded in the dictionary (as the ENTY‑HIST‑VERS attribute of the TABLE entity in the DATA‑DICT database). When this number is exceeded, the oldest history versions are automatically deleted. You can modify the installed default of three history versions.