2. USAGE GUIDELINES › 2.1 Methods of Using the Data › 2.1.3 Major Features of MICF

2.1.3 Major Features of MICF

MICF is a menu based system that operates under IBM's
Interactive Systems Productivity Facility (ISPF).  Those
familiar with ISPF commands will find that MICF menus behave
like ISPF menus.  The major features of MICF include:

    o Structured inquiry composition
    o Logical inquiry modification
    o Direct inquiry composition
    o Execution-time specifications
    o Output replay
    o Production interface
    o Facilities for expert users
    o Distributed inquiries
    o User-written reports

Each of these features is described separately below.


STRUCTURED INQUIRY COMPOSITION

MICF provides a comprehensive, full-screen system that
enables you to access data in the database and generate
reports interactively in a structured prompt manner without
requiring you to code the request in SAS.

MICF operates by automatically translating your panel
specifications into an inquiry program which performs the
required operations on the database.   As you request data
files, operations, and reports from the MICF panels, MICF
performs numerous validation checks.  It helps you to avoid
problems by refusing to accept clearly invalid commands and
by asking you to validate the accuracy of your inquiries if
you have made changes to them.  For example, if you add or
delete steps from an inquiry, MICF will ask you to validate
it before saving or executing it.


LOGICAL INQUIRY MODIFICATION

Once created, an inquiry can be stored in your private
catalog, recalled, copied, deleted, or modified.  You make
changes to an inquiry using the same MICF panels as you used
to create the inquiry originally.  You do not, however, need
to revisit panels that do not change.


DIRECT INQUIRY COMPOSITION

Direct inquiry composition is a feature that allows you to
create an inquiry by completing a single panel.  You may
select from a series of pre-defined report formats and
graphics templates for direct, express data retrieval and
presentation.


EXECUTION-TIME SPECIFICATIONS

You may define inquiries so that key inquiry parameters can
be specified at the time an inquiry is executed.  This
facility allows you to report against varying data without
changing the inquiry.

You can change the following parameters at execution time:

    o  CA MICS database
    o  CA MICS file cycles
    o  Data selection criteria
    o  Execution parameters
       -- SAS execution parameters (whether to list SAS
          source code, output page dimensions, etc.)


OUTPUT REPLAY

MICF allows you to save the output produced when you run an
inquiry and replay it at another time.  The output is saved
by inquiry name, date, and time, so that the results of
running an inquiry against different data can be saved and
replayed at will.  The CA MICS System Administrator can place
inquiry outputs into a shared replay catalog that can be used
throughout your site.  You also have access to reports and
color graphics from production reporting, though access to
some reports may be limited by your site's security
procedures.

When you replay an inquiry output, you can either view it on
your terminal or send it to a hardcopy device.  If you are
replaying color graphics output, you do not need to use the
type of device that was specified at the time the inquiry was
originally executed.  You can specify the color terminal,
color printer, or color plotter type to use at the time you
request the replay.

PRODUCTION INTERFACE

You can generate and catalog color graphics and printed
reports with the regularly scheduled CA MICS production jobs
(the daily CA MICS update). You can also control CA MICS
production reporting with your site's batch scheduling
facilities.  MICF lets you select shared inquiries for batch
execution (either with CA MICS production jobs or through
your own scheduling process), with printed report and color
graphics outputs being saved in a "production catalog" for
later online review and printing.

Each production catalog consists of unique, user-defined
printed report and color graphics data sets, so you can use
your site's security facilities to limit access to sensitive
reports.  For example, your accounting staff may want to
share a series of daily financial graphics.  You can define
MICF production reporting to generate and save the financial
graphics during the CA MICS daily update, and you can protect
the information with RACF (or another security facility).


FACILITIES FOR EXPERT USERS

If you are thoroughly familiar with the CA MICS database and
are accustomed to programming in SAS, two features which you
will find particularly helpful are Direct Inquiry Composition
and the ability to include SAS code in your inquiries.

Direct inquiries are designed to allow you to compose a MICF
inquiry quickly on a single panel.  You are limited to one
report and can only perform limited data manipulation with a
direct inquiry.  You will find, however, that you can
complete a direct inquiry panel more quickly than you can
write the corresponding SAS code.  In addition, because
validation functions are performed automatically by MICF and
because it automatically produces error-free SAS code, you
can frequently obtain the results you need with fewer coding
attempts.

Facilities that include free-form SAS code as part of their
MICF inquiries are available for experienced SAS programmers.
You can insert any valid SAS statement at appropriate points
in the SAS code that is generated by MICF.  This facility
gives you both the convenience of using MICF to handle
routine operations and the freedom to add special coding at
just the points you want it.


DISTRIBUTED INQUIRIES

A library of precomposed report inquiries is included with
the CA MICS Space Analyzer. You may tailor the output of
these inquiries through execution time data selection.

In addition, you may develop customized reports for your site
with a minimum of effort by modifying copies of the
distributed inquiries.  We have designed the distributed
inquiry names for ease of use, each name identifies the type
of output (color graphics, printer graphics, or printed
reports), the component, and the timespan (daily, weekly,
monthly) reported.

In this release of the CA MICS Space Analyzer, the
distributed inquiries have the following characteristics:

    - they are printed reports rather than color graphics
    - they include the VCA information area files only
    - they are designed to use the DETAIL or DAYS timespan

As stated above, you can customize MICF inquiries and thereby
extend the range and utility of the CA MICS Space Analyzer
reporting function.  With the recent addition of support for
DFHSM, we now have the opportunity of extending the reporting
functions in future releases by including more distributed
inquiries for VCA and HSM files.

USER-WRITTEN REPORTS

MICF inquiry execution and output processing includes a
capability to support user-written reports.  With this
feature, you can consolidate on demand reporting under MICF.
For example, you can define a MICF inquiry that has two
steps.  The first step allocates the CA MICS file to be
analyzed (tells MICF which file or files you want to process)
and the second step refers to a file containing the SAS
source statements that create your report.  With this
facility, you can add existing reporting routines to your
MICF catalog so that the Information Systems staff only needs
to go to a single location to initiate routine reporting.