3. Installation › 3.3 Define Database Complex › 3.3.6 Set Up the CA MICS ISPF Environment › 3.3.6.4 ISPF Preprocessed Panels

3.3.6.4 ISPF Preprocessed Panels

ISPF panels are written in an interpretive language that is
specific to ISPF.  Beginning with ISPF Version 2 Release 2,
an option to preprocess, or compile, ISPF panels is
available.  This provides significant performance
improvements for ISPF applications.  The ISPF display service
normally reads panels from an external library and converts
them to an internal format before each display.
Preprocessing the panels enhances performance by eliminating
the interpretive process from normal display processing.

We recommend using preprocessed panels for the CA MICS
Workstation Facility.  The remainder of this section
describes the steps necessary to accomplish the preprocessing
of ISPF panels.

It is described in the IBM manual entitled "ISPF Dialog
Developer's Guide", document number SC34-4821, under sections
titled "Using Preprocessed Panels".

If you decide to use preprocessed panels for the CA MICS
Workstation Facility, use the following steps for
implementation:

   1.  Allocate a library with the same DCB attributes as the
       sharedprefix.MICS.ISPPLIB library which contains the
       panel definitions.  For the purposes of this
       discussion, we call this new data set
       sharedprefix.MICS.PREPROC.ISPPLIB.

   2.  Invoke the preprocessed panel utility by entering
       ISPPREP in the primary command field on any ISPF
       panel.

   3.  Enter the sharedprefix.MICS.ISPPLIB as the input data
       set and the new sharedprefix.MICS.PREPROC.ISPPLIB as
       the output data set.  Note that you should enter an
       asterisk (*) as the input data set member name to
       specify that all members should be participate.  Press
       ENTER and run the utility.

   4.  There are some technical reasons that we will not
       expand on here that prevented some panels from being
       preprocessed in the previous step.  We must copy those
       panels from the shareprefix.MICS.ISPPLIB to the
       sharedprefix.MICS.PREPROC.ISPPLIB in order to make a
       complete and usable library.  (We can copy these
       panels to the new preprocessed library because ISPF
       allows the coexistence of preprocessed and
       non-preprocessed panels in the same data set.)

       Select the move/copy utility using PDF option 3.3.
       Select the copy options and enter the
       sharedprefix.MICS.ISPPLIB as the "from" data set and
       the new sharedprefix.MICS.PREPROC.ISPPLIB as the "to"
       data set.  Enter the "from" member name as an asterisk
       (*) and the "replace like-named members" option as NO.
       This causes the utility to attempt to copy the entire
       library, but without replacing members that already
       exist.

       The preprocessed library now has all the panels and
       can be used instead of the unprocessed (distributed)
       library.

   5.  Modify the ISPF allocations used to set up the CA MICS
       Workstation Facility so that the ISPPLIB allocation is
       pointing to sharedprefix.MICS.PREPROC.ISPPLIB instead
       of the actual sharedprefix.MICS.ISPPLIB data set.

       In other words, refer to the previous sections on the
       allocation of the ISPF environment and substitute the
       sharedprefix.MICS.PREPROC.ISPPLIB data set name
       wherever the original sharedprefix.MICS.ISPPLIB data
       set name is called for.

   6.  Retain the sharedprefix.MICS.ISPPLIB data set for
       maintenance purposes.  DO NOT delete this data set; it
       is the library into which all CA MICS panel
       maintenance is applied.  The preprocessing must be
       redone after applying any product change that changes
       CA MICS panels.

We do NOT recommend preprocessing the CA MICS tutorial panels
(sharedprefix.MICS.ISPHLIB).  The performance enhancement
from preprocessing tutorial panels is minimal and, since
tutorial panels are infrequently displayed, you are unlikely
to gain sufficient benefit to justify the additional DASD
space required for the preprocessed tutorial panel data set.

If you decide to preprocess the CA MICS tutorial panels,
repeat steps 1 through 6 above for the
sharedprefix.MICS.ISPHLIB data set.  Remember that you must
still retain the sharedprefix.MICS.ISPHLIB data set for
maintenance purposes -- that is, DO NOT delete
sharedprefix.MICS.ISPHLIB even if you preprocess the CA MICS
tutorial panels.