Rational Developer for System z, Version 7.5

The 'Design explorer' view

With the 'Design explorer' view of the 'Design' perspective, you can view and modify the design of your applications. It enables you to create, modify, rename or move instances, import and export instances, search for references, perform various types of generation, and dispatch Macros.

Here is what the 'Design explorer' view looks like:

Design view

The 'Design explorer' view displays a tree structure.

Tasks from the location, entity or instance level

If you right-click on an open location, on any entity or instance, you can see a popup menu which enables you to:
  • Create a location (New > Location...).
  • Create instances (New > Pac Data Element..., or New > Pac Program..., ... or any other entity available).
  • Copy and paste instances, or delete instances or locations.
  • Import/export a set of instances, grouped in a file.
  • Refresh the display after updates.
  • Rebuild your environment, to make sure that your Design perspective is consistent. All the files and projects contained in your workspace are opened and if the files contain instances, they are parsed and repaired (the existence of the instances, their references, links to keywords... are checked and updated if necessary).

Tasks from an instance level only

If you click on an instance level (whatever the entity), you can:
  • Open the selected instance. The instance is then displayed in its dedicated Pattern Driven Programming editor.
  • Open the selected instance with... various editors.
    • The first editor is the flat editor, which displays the instance in an xml format. You can modify the instance in this editor but it is not recommended. It is advised to modify it in its dedicated PDP formatted editor.
    • Three other editors are also available; text editor, system editor and in-place editor. You can also add other editors via your preferences specified via Window > Preferences > General > Editors > File Associations.
  • Refactor the selected instance. You can:
    • Rename the selected instance. The new name is automatically propagated to all the instance's links (references, keywords, instance calls, lists...). Renaming an instance this way avoids consistency errors.
    • Move one or more selected instances (you can select multiple instances in the 'Design explorer' list) to another existing project and/or package, while keeping all their links (references, keywords, instance calls...).
  • Search for the selected instance's References. You can search for its super references, i.e the instances in which it is called, or its sub-references, i.e. the instances it calls. Selecting one of these choices makes you switch to the References view, where the search results are displayed.

Possible generation requests

You can perform various types of generation. If you right-click on:
  • A Program instance, you can select Generate > Pac Program generation, and if you right-click on or a Screen instance, you can select Generate > Pac Screen generation. Both these choices enable you to generate the design of the selected instance. This generation outputs a .cbl file, nested under the instance in the Design explorer view. Right-click on it and choose Open with > Pdp Cobol System z Lpex editor to access the Cobol editor and views which will enable you to work on the code and the design. (A contextual help is available on this editor and views)
  • An open location, or on a Macro (entity or instance level), you can select Generate > cblgen generation to initialize the files which will contain the code of one or more Macros. You must select this choice if you want to:
    • Enter the code of a Macro and if this code does not exist yet.
    • Overwrite the code of the Macro whose code already exists (either it has been entered in VA Pac and imported in RDz (via a drag and drop or a copy/paste) in the Navigator view, or it has been directly entered in RDz). If the code of the Macro already exists, a message warns you that the content of the .cblgen file will be re-initialized.
    This generation outputs a .cblgen file in the Navigator view. Right-click on it and choose Open with > Pdp macro editor to access the 'Macrostructure tags tree' and the .cblgen editor, in which you will enter the Macro code. (A contextual help is available on this view and editor).
  • An open location, or on a Data Structure (entity or instance level), you can select:
    • Generate > Error messages generation to generate the error messages associated with one or more Data Structures and constituting Segments into a text file, which will have to be integrated into the error messages file used by the applications.
    • Generate > Copybook generation to generate the COBOL description (COPY book) of one or more Data Structures in a file. This file is then available for a subsequent insertion in a Program, through the use of the COPY clause. A single Data Structure can be used to generate several different descriptions, each one adapted to a particular need in the programs. (i.e. in FILE SECTION or WORKING-STORAGE SECTION, taking the internal and input formats into account). The file is created in the Navigator view. To see its content, you must right-click on it and choose Open with > System z LPEX editor.

The 'dispatch macro' choice

A dispatch macro choice is available from the location level as well as from the Macro level (entity and instance levels).

You should use this choice if your Macros already exist in VA Pac and have been generated in a single file.

If you do not select this choice, the code of all the generated Macros will remain in this single file (which you will have to put (via a drag and drop or a copy/paste) in the Navigator view of the Design perspective, with a .cblgen extension).

On the other hand, if you dispatch the Macros to packages (equivalent of Libraries), one .cblgen file will be created for each Macro included in the VA Pac generated file. To see these files, go to the Navigator view and select the package you have specified.

The toolbar

Like the other views in the Workbench, the 'Design explorer' view has its own toolbar, which enables you to:
  • Go back (back icon). This command navigates to the most recently-displayed state of the view with a different element at the top level. This button becomes available once you double-click on an entity line and consequently see its instances alone in the Design explorer view. Clicking this button then returns the view to the same hierarchy from which you double-clicked on the entity line. The hover help for this button tells you where it will take you.
  • Go forward (forward icon). This command navigates to the state of the view with a different element at the top level that was displayed immediately after the current state. For example, if you have just selected the back command, then selecting the forward command in the resulting display returns the view to the same hierarchy from which you activated the back command. The hover help for this button tells you where it will take you. This command is similar to the 'Forward' button in a web browser
  • Go up (up to icon). This command navigates to the location level. The hover help for this button tells you where it will take you.
  • Expand all (Expand all icon). This command expands all the tree nodes in the 'Design explorer' view
  • Collapse All (Collapse all icon). This command collapses all the tree nodes in the 'Design explorer' view
  • Link with Editor (Link with editor icon). This command links the active editor to its corresponding instance in the 'Design explorer' view list (if this button is not clicked, changing the active editor will not update the selection, in the Design view list, to the instance being edited).
  • Change the sort and display of instances in the Design view list. Click the white upside-down triangle icon and select:
    • Sort to specify a new sort criterion: by name, package or project.
    • Display to specify a new display criterion: by package, project or label.
    This new setting will then automatically be saved and associated with the 'Design explorer' view, until you change it again.
Related concepts
Entités
Related tasks
Creating/Opening a location
Exporting instances (Export wizard)
Importing instances
Opening an instance
Searching for the references to an instance
Création d'une instance
Searching for instances ('Design Search' tab)
Generating from the Design explorer view
Generating the Pac COBOL and modifying it: the various steps

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