To open the Data Element call section, click
on a Data Element call line entered in the list. In the section, you can enter
or modify the values in the Occurs and sort key fields, you can also redefine
a Data Element of the same COBOL level, and add other characteristics via
the More... and -G Lines... buttons.
- Occurs
- Occurs is set for occurences. The COBOL ″OCCURS″ clause is a pure numeric
field. This field represents the ’OCCURS’ clause at an elementary Data Element
level, or at a group level .(Maximum of 3 levels).
- Sort key
- This field identifies all data elements that might be used as control
break sort keys, or as access keys to a file, a database or a Pactables table.
Note: It is highly recommended to dedicate a Segment to only one type of use.
Each data element that may belong to a sort key must be referenced by a unique
alphabetic or numeric character. It is recommended to reference the indicators
by a series (1, 2, 3 ...). The actual sort sequence will be chosen at the
program level (on the Call of Data Structures (-CD) screen) by sequencing
the characters in the appropriate order. Reminder: The format of key group
data elements must have been entered in the Dictionary or at the segment level.
Values |
Meaning |
U |
References the access key for a VisualAge Pacbase table.
This value must be indicated on the group data element if it is a group key. |
S |
Indicates that the data element belongs to at least
one sub-system. DL1 DBD |
U |
References a unique key for an DL/1 database. |
M |
References a multiple key for an DL/1 database. |
1 to 9 |
Secondary index All other values designate a search
field. DBD AS400 physical file |
0 to 9 |
AS400 physical file key. Relational databases |
V |
Variable length column |
Blank |
Fixed length column |
L |
For DB2 SQL, SQL/DS and ORACLE, generation of a LONG
VARCHAR. |
Note: Sort keys are not allowed on data elements redefining other
data elements.
- Set of Redefines
- Redefinition is possible within a Segment. It generates the COBOL 'REDEFINES'
clause. The Data Element containing this option redefines the Data Element
of the same COBOL level which precedes it in the -ce lines of the Segment.
If a Data Element which redefines another Data Element is contained in a
group, it is considered to be an elementary Data Element. It must be taken
into account in the calculation of the number of Data Elements contained in
a group (except for DL1 database Segments).
Note: When Data Elements are
redefined, VA Pac does not take their respective lengths into account. This
is your responsibility. In the calculation of address length, the redefined
Data Element length is used for the address calculation. Redefined Data Elements
are ignored when generating for the Database Description function. If the
'Redefines' box is checked, no initial value can be entered.
- To redefine a Data Element, check the Redefines option.
A Set of Redefines line is created in the list, it
contains the redefined Data Element and the preceding one of the same level
in the tree structure. You must then define the Occurs option
in the Set of Redefines section.
Indicating more information
More
Click the More... button
to open a dialog box in which you indicate the presence check values for the
Data Element called in the Segment.
-G Lines
Click the -G Lines... button
to define -GC lines, -GE lines, and -GG lines for the Data Element called
in the Segment.
Clicking the buttons in the bottom part of the section, switches
to the editor of the Data Element called, in the corresponding tabs: