In CONTROL The updated CONTROL File Management Utility gets increased and effective functionality
From "VS Workshop",  Access to Wang, January 1990
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The Wang File Management Utilities (CONTROL, CONDENSE, DATENTRY, EZFORMAT, INQUIRY, and REPORT) are among the forgotten benefits of the VS. Technically limited and confusing to the casual user, they are nonetheless powerful data access tools for end users and programmers alike. In combination, they can assist in data reporting and management, and may even replace the need for programming for simple needs.

Wang has included the File Management utilities with the operating system from the early days of the VS. As "freebies", they have not received the attention of other Wang products - particularly since purchased tools (PACE, EZQUERY) performed the same functions with more sophistication. Thus, the File Management utilities have languished, with known constraints and bugs.

This situation has changed significantly with the introduction of the 7.20 operating system. Important improvements are evident in two of the most important utilities - CONTROL and DATENTRY - with a net effect of better control and easier usage.

The CONTROL utility will be the first of the tools to be scrutinized, with future columns exploring changes to DATENTRY and ancillary programs from Wang sources and the USERAIDS / ISWUAIDS collection. I will assume that all readers are generally familiar with the File Management utilities and have constructed data bases using them; if you are not, consult the VS File Management Utilities Reference (Wang catalog number 800-1308-01) for instructions, technical information, and a sample application.

Program navigation

The OPTIONS menu - the core screen of CONTROL - have been reordered and access to the INQUIRY utility added. CONTROL highlights the last item selected from this screen each time the user returns, allowing better review of prior steps performed.

User access to CONTROL has been improved in many aspects, including PF key usage, item selection by cursor position, and better internal integration between functions. Like many other recent improvements to Wang utilities, it features better standardization of PF key usage. For example, the option to create a new CONTROL file has been moved from the OPTIONS screen to the first file specifications screen (CTLFIL). Another example is the use of PF1 to return to the OPTIONS menu from other modes (Modify, Delete, Create Source, etc.).

Shifted PF keys have been used where two options are related. For example, the Modify Field option is PF4, while the Modify Header option is PF20 (shifted PF4). Another example is the direct exit from CONTROL on the OPTIONS menu (PF32, or shifted PF16).

Item selection within the Modify Field and Delete Field options has been markedly improved. In the new approach, the user is shown a table of the field names and positions the cursor to the name desired to access the item. The List to Screen option from the OPTIONS menu also allows direct access to the Modify Field function.

In short, the new CONTROL offers more consistent navigation and easier use.

New header options

The header records define the basic characteristics of the data file and control access to that file through the other File Management utilities. The options for the CONTROL file header records have been changed to include new capabilities, support for relative files, and new field validation options. The HEADER screen has gained six new fields:

• FILEORG: specifies the file organization. May be (I)ndexed, (C)onsecutive, or (R)elative. (Previously, CONTROL assumed the file was consecutive unless a key was specified.)

• OPENSHAR: allows the data file to be opened in I/O mode instead of SHARED in the DATENTRY utility.

• TIMEOUT: specifies the timeout for record deadlock within DATENTRY when using the SHARED mode.

• FILE, LIBRARY, VOLUME: specifies the default data file to be used within DATENTRY.

The ALTKEYS field has been removed from the screen; instead, the PATHS screen (where alternate keys are specified) is shown whenever the file organization is indexed. A feature has been added to PATHS to allow skipped alternate key numbers to be condensed. For example, you might have defined alternate keys for 1, 2, and 4; this option would allow you to reset these to 1, 2, and 3.

New field specification options

The field specification records define the characteristics of each field in the data file. The only change to this screen is enhancement of the Date Stamp option - now referred to as the Stamp option. Stamps are fields that receive a value from the system within the DATENTRY utility, identifying the date or time when the record was added or modified. Valid stamp options are now as follows:

• Date (format MMDDYY): the old date option; month/day/year format

• Date (format YYMMDD): a new date format preferred by programmers because of better sort capabilities; year/month/day format

• Time (format HHMMSSHH): the time; hour/minute/second/hundredths of a second format

• Date/time created (format YYMMDDHHMMSSHH): the date and time of record creation

• Date/Time Modified (format YYMMDDHHMMSSHH): the date and time the records was last modified

The Modify Field function has been modified to allow the field names to be changed. To perform this, enter the Modify option (PF4 from OPTIONS), tab to the field to be renamed and press PF7, and enter the new name. (This capability was also present in the old MODCNTRL USERAID, long unavailable.) To those of us that habitually use similar field names, this feature is miraculous!

Technical considerations

Other options that are of interest to the technical user are the field update sequence, source file create options, CONTROL file reporting and management, and bugs fixed and introduced.

The Field Update Sequence option (PF12 from OPTIONS) allows the user to change the order that fields appear on the DATENTRY screen. This allows better appearance and can set the fields in the order used by input forms. This option has been enhanced to allow easier resorting by listing the fields in either the present (old) order or resorting by an entered new order. Each option may be reviewed and the results accepted; there is also a new option to exit without updating.

The Create Source option (PF8 from OPTIONS) generates file specifications from the contents of the CONTROL file. Three programming languages are supported: COBOL, RPGII, and PL/I. The three conversions work as follows:

• COBOL: works correctly with field redefines (finally!). The output file is closer to modern tabbing and numbering standards (e.g. the FD is numbered in increments of 5) and the SELECT statement is created in addition to the FD. The record name has been changed, allowing easier specification of multiple record types.

• RPGII: contains a new bug where there is no specification of the number of records to be created (the EDFILE correction GETPARM appears). The output file also does not include output specifications. (RPGII appears to be a loser in this release!)

• PL/I: similar to prior release of CONTROL, except only the key area is specified; other fields become part of a large FILLER area. (PL/I is another loser!)

The new CONTROL is also pickier in the files it accepts. I discovered this when I attempted to modify a CONTROL file and the utility came back with the message "Not a CONTROL file". The problem was that the CONTROL file was fixed in length rather than compressed. Picky, picky.

An interested feature added to CONTROL and DATENTRY is the capability to search for a file name given the library and volume. In CONTROL, this appears on the CTLFIL screen (the first screen in the utility) and display all of the files in a given library. Another feature on this screen is the option to list all CONTROL files in a library (PF9 from CTLFIL). This listing is the same as that produced from the List option (PF6 from OPTIONS), except it lists all files in the library. (This functionally replaces the PRNTCTL USERAID.)

The listing produced by CONTROL now shows the field update sequence but (unfortunately) no longer shows the field alias (a long-form description of the field). The width of the listing has been shrunk, and it can now be printed on 80-column printers.

Summary

CONTROL has been improved to allow easier, more effective use. It offers better navigation, better integration with other Wang utilities, support for RELATIVE files, better reporting options, and correct COBOL source file generation. The result of these changes may be to push the File Management utilities further into the consciousness of the VS community.