NEWSLETTER the Adaptable DAta BAse System

Published by the International ADABAS Users Group and software ag of North America, Inc. Vol. 3 No. 3, Dec. 1977

1: PRESIDENT'S MESSRGE -1 by: Rob Macmil lan

Department o f Ana l y t i ca l Studies Simon Fraser Un ive rs i t y

The success o f t h e two ADAGROUP conferences i n 1978 w i l l , t o a l a r g e ex tent , be determined over t h e next few months. D u r i n g t h i s t i m e a l l u s e r s s h o u l d dec ide wha t t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n w i l l be t o t h e conferences. The c a l l f o r papers f o r Boston (May, 1978) has been d i s t r i bu ted . We are l ook ing f o r a s i g n i f i c a n t response f r o m a1 1 ADAGROUP r e g i o n s . Arrangements f o r Munich (September, 1978) are we1 1 underway. N o r t h American u s e r s s h o u l d c o n s i d e r combining business w i t h p leasure by t a k i n g a t r i p t o Europe - we owe i t t o o u r s e l v e s p e r i o d i c a l l y .

Continued on page 11

CALL FOR PAPERS

WE NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTION! We are c u r r e n t l y s e t t i n g up t h e schedu le f o r p r e s e n t a t i o n s - - f o r m a l and in formal , and speci a1 i n t e r e s t group d i scussions f o r t h e 5 t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l ADABAS Users Conference.

I f you have an i n t e r e s t , an app l i ca t i on , an unusual experience, an e x c i t i n g endeavor, o r j u s t want t o show y o u r i deas , p l a n now t o be i n c l u d e d as a Speaker. A1 1 speakers g i v i n g a formal p resenta t ion w i l l rece ive $100.00 A1 1 formal p resenta t ions must be accompanied by a w r i t t e n document wh ich w i l l be i n c l u d e d i n t h e Conference Proceed ings t o be d i s t r i b u t e d t o a1 1 attendees. I f you would l i k e t o g i ve a presenta t ion , please contact, before January 15, e i t h e r :

Barbara Futch Rob Macmil lan s o f t w a r e a g President o f ADAGROUP 11800 Sunr ise Val l e y Dr ive Dept. o f Ana l y t i ca l Reston, VA. 22091 Studies U.S.A. Simon Fraser Un ive rs i t y 703-860-5050, ext. 200 Burnaby, B.C. V5A 156

CANADA 604-291-4525

A l l w r i t t e n ma te r i a l must be sent by March 15, 1978. The Speaker g i v i n g the most c a p t i v a t i n g presenta t ion w i l l rece ive a $500.00 p r i ze - - t ha t ' s r i g h t , $500.00 f o r simply g i v i n g a presenta t ion about something o f i n t e r e s t t o you and the o ther ADABAS users a t tend ing the Conference.

Continued on page 4

ADABAS MAKES DATAPRO HONOR ROLL

The f o l l o w i n g i s a telegram sent t o John Maguire from DATAPRO. I t h i n k i t t e l l s the story.

DEAR MR. MAGUIRE:

I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT YOUR COMPANY'S PRODUCT, ADABAS, HAS BEEN NAMED TO THE 1977 DATAPRO SOFTWARE HONOR ROLL.

THIS YEAR'S HONOR ROLL MEMBERS WERE DETERMINED BY WHAT WE ARE CONFIDENT I S THE INDUSTRY'S LARGEST SURVEY OF ITS KIND. APPROXIMATELY 30,000 INDIVIDUAL COMPUTER SYSTEM USERS, REPRESENTING VIRTUALLY EVERY USER FACILITY I N THE UNITED STATES, WERE CONTACTED. TO BE BRIEF, YOUR PRODUCT WAS RANKED AMONG THE TOP 32 SOFTWARE PRODUCTS OUT OF 1223 PRODUCTS RATED BY THESE USERS.

ALSO, YOU MAY BE PLEASED TO LEARN THAT I N ADDITION TO APPEARING I N THE DECEMBER SUPPLEMENT TO OUR INFORMATION SERVICE, DATAPRO 70, THE RESULTS OF THIS YEAR'S SURVEY WILL AGAIN BE PROMINENTLY FEATURED I N THE DECEMBER ISSUE OF DATAMATION MAGAZINE, WITH WHOM WE COLLABORATED ON THE SURVEY.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL FOLLOW, EXPLAINING I N GREATER DETAIL THE SIGNIFICANCE OF YOUR PRODUCT'S ACHIEVEMENTS. HOWEVER, I WANTED TO ALERT Y O U NOW AND SEND M Y CONGRATULATIONS AT THE EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY.

MY BEST WISHES FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS.

J. BURT TOTARO VICE PRESIDENT DATAPRO RESEARCH CORPORATION 1805 UNDERWOOD BOULEVARD DELRAN, NJ 08075

Thanks t o a1 1 o f ou r u s e r s f o r c a r i n g enough t o respond t o the DATAPRO survey.

P. Webster

I

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

. . Source Code Val i da t i on . . . 2

SAG Reorganization. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3.1.4 & 3.2.1 D i f fe rences W i l l i e Kraatz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

ADABAS T r a i n i ng Schedule. . . . . . . . . . 9

- . . . . . . . . . . . Future Plans Update 15

t

1, - ' TECHMICRL MOTES

The l a t e s t ADABAS System Mod i f i ca t i on SM321-5 was j u s t sent out. Th is i s a good oppor tun i ty t o remind everyone o f what i s inc luded i n an SM and how they are t o be appl i ed.

ADABAS System M o d i f i c a t i o n s a r e s e n t p e r i o d i c - a l l y t o each i n s t a l l a t i o n . Each SM i n c l u d e s a l i s t i n g and a card deck o f t he cards necessary t o update the ADABAS System. Each SM w i l l a lso i nc lude v e r i f i e s aga ins t t he assembly dates o f e f f ec ted 1 oad modules t o i nsu re zaps are being app l ied aga ins t t he c o r r e c t l o a d modules. Comments a r e i n c l u d e d t o exp la in t he reason f o r t h e SM. Each i n s t a l l a t i o n i s expected t o i n s t a l 1 the SM upon rece ip t .

System mod i f i ca t i ons a re designed t o use standard IBM u t i l i t i e s and se rv i ce aids. ADABAS load modules d i s t r i b u t e d as p a r t o f the ADABAS.V321.LOAD data s e t are maintained us ing the IBM se rv i ce a ids IMASPZAP and IMBLIST. IMASPZAP i s used t o m o d i f y system c o n s t a n t s and t o app l y updates t o t h e modules. IMBLIST i s used t o d i sp lay the record o f IMASPZAP mod i f i ca t i ons re ta ined i n each 1 oad module.

IMASPZAP func t i ons are used t o v e r i f y module con- t e n t s (VER), rep lace module contents (REP), and t o e n t e r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i n t o t h e module r e c o r d o f mod i f i ca t i ons (IDRDATA). The module and CSECT name are s p e c i f i e d o the r name card. I n add i t i on , comment cards(* ) a re inc luded t o exp la in the reason f o r the update. I n the comments each system m o d i f i c a t i o n i s da ted, i d e n t i f i e d f o r r e f e r e n c e purposes (E.G. 2321-0101, and a s e v e r i t y l e v e l (SL) i s provided. The s e v e r i t y l e v e l s used and t h e i r meanings are as fo l l ows :

SL 4 - Cosmet ic improvement -- does n o t a f f e c t func t ion ing.

SL 8 - Funct ional c o r r e c t i o n under unusual circumstances.

SL 12 - Funct ional e r r o r -- I n s t a l l as soon as possib le.

SL 15 - S e v e r e e r r o r , D a t a Base may b e damaged -- i n s t a l 1 immediately and f o l l o w any s p e c i a1 i n s t r u c t i o n s .

Also i ~ c l u d e d w i l l be 'VER' statements aga ins t each module's assembly date t o ensure the c o r r e c t ADABAS vers ion i s being modi f ied.

IMBLIST i s used t o l i s t the record o f system m o d i f i - cat ions. IMBLIST should be run a f t e r each IMASZPZAP run as p a r t o f the same job.

A l l IMASZAP runs and the c u r r e n t IMBLIST should be s tored i n the ADABAS maintenance record.

ADABAS source modules d i s t r i b u t e d as p a r t o f t he ADABAS.V321.SOURCE data s e t are maintained us ing the IBM u t i l i t y IEBUPDTE. IEBUPDTE i s used t o apply updates t o t he modules. Each module contains a card i d e n t i f y i n g each update. This card contains the date d i s t r i b u t e d along w i t h a sequence number. Each

update i s a l so accompanied by comments desc r i b ing t h e upda te and t h e a p p r o p r i a t e sequence number.

IEBUPDTE f u n c t i o n s a r e used t o add, d e l e t e , and rep lace source statements.

A f t e r updat ing a source module, care must be taken t h a t i t i s assembled and r e - l i n k e d i n t o a l l modules o f which i t i s a par t .

The main tenance Data S e t (ADABAS.V321.MAINT) i s intended t o record documentation on a l l changes made t o ADABAS Data Sets s ince the i n i t i a l re1 ease o f t h e ADABAS re lease 3.2.1 was "FROZEN". I n a d d i t i o n t o l o a d and /o r sou rce module changes, each sys tem m o d i f i c a t i o n s e n t t o t h e u s e r w i l l i n c l u d e JCL and e n t r i e s t o i nc lude i n the maintenance Data Set. These e n t r i e s w i l l summarize the source and l oad module changes.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . *

IMPORTANT * *

The user should have a c u r r e n t l i s t i n g * o f t h e main tenance Data Se t a v a i l a b l e * when c o n t a c t i n g s o f t w a r e a g * f o r techn ica l assistance. x

* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SOURCE CODE VALIDATION

This year s o f t w a r e a g i n i t i a t e d another escrow/custodi a1 agreement i n a d d i t i o n t o the one s t i l l i n f o r c e w i t h C i t i co rp . s o f t w a r e a g experienced d i f f i c u l t i e s i n v a l i d a t i n g the ADABAS source code a t C i t i c o r p . "We were the ones who ' pushed ' C i t i c o r p i n t o t h e agreement because I persona l ly wanted t h a t e x t r a ' p r e s t i g e ' and 'secur- i t y ' f o r our c l i e n t s -- i n our mutual, long-term bes t i n t e r e s t , " sa id John Maguire.

Therefore, on September 13, 1977, t he source code f o r V e r s i o n 3.2.1. o f ADABAS was s u c c e s s f u l l y val i da ted a t I n t e r n a t i o n a l Computer Programs, Inc. Dan Skwarcan represent ing the ADABAS Users Group, Peter Schnel l and J im Addis represent ing s o f t - w a r e a g, and I n t e r n a t i o n a l Computer Programs, Inc., the source code cus tod ia l agent, p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the v a l i d a t i o n proceedings a t the Lane Bryant 1 Computer Center, I n d i anapol i s, Indiana. Two modules 1 compr ised t h e v a l i d a t i o n t e s t . The two modules va l i da ted were ADADAK and ADALDZ. Fo l lowing the v a l i d a t i o n , the source code tape was deposi ted w i t h

4

ICP.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Computer Programs, I n c . ( ICP) , o f Carmel , I n d i a n a , i s a b i t 1 i ke Da tap ro Research Corporat ion i n t h a t i t s business i s r e p o r t i n g on the sof tware indust ry . It does n o t produce software. ICP recognized a need i n the Computer I ndus t r y f o r a sof tware escrow serv ice.

There were a few problems encountered dur ing the v a l i d a t i o n wh ich w i l l be improved d u r i n g f u t u r e procedures. Th is i s a f i r s t i n t he sof tware indus- t r y . We w i l l c o n t i n u e t o s t r i v e t o improve t h e whole process and s e t an example f o r o ther compa- n i e s . Someday soon, c l i e n t s w i l l demand t o see evidence o f such a procedure before consider ing a sof tware vendor. s o f t w a r e a g i s pleased t o be the leader i n t h i s endeavor.

2

EGIONAL?) ROUNDUP

Easte rn Canada and Upper New York S t a t e Bob T a y l o r (ADAGROUP S e c r e t a r y I T r e a s u r e r ) I .& C.S. S h e l l Canada L td . 505 U n i v e r s i t y Avenue Toronto, O n t a r i o M1E 2H2 Canada 416-597-7073

Twenty -one p e r s o n s r e p r e s e n t i n g t w e l v e ADABAS i n s t a l 1 a t i ons a t t e n d e d t h e ADABUG m e e t i ng on Sep tember 13. D u r i n g t h e b u s i n e s s s e s s i o n t h e ADABUG Repor t was discussed. Most users f e l t t h a t t h i s v e h i c l e was e f f e c t i v e i n h e l p i n g r e c o g n i z e problem areas i n advance.

Nex t on t h e Agenda was an i n f o r m a l p r e s e n t a t i o n by S h e l l on t h e c o n c e p t s o f ADAMINT a n d ENVELOPE. C u r r e n t l y S h e l l and PAC a r e u s i n g ENVELOPE and b o t h expec t t o s w i t c h t o ADAMINT. I t was s t r e s s e d t h a t t h e use o f t h i s p r o d u c t enhances t h e c o n t r o l t h e DBA has over t h e use o f t h e Data Base. O t h e r b e n e f i t s i n c l ude improved r e 1 i a b i l i ty , e a s i e r cod i ng , and q u i c k e r implementat ion. Any q u e s t i o n s on t h e use o f t h i s p r o d u c t can be d i r e c t e d t o e i t h e r i n s t a l l a t i o n .

Our n e x t p r e s e n t a t i o n was by Ralph Ghirozan on t h e r o l e o f t h e DBA. T h i s i s an ongoing s e r i e s . Each i n s t a l l a t i on g i v e s a h a l f hour p r e s e n t a t i o n f o l l o w e d by a quest ion-and-answer p e r i o d . R a l p h ' s p resen ta - t i o n was an exce l l e n t a n a l y s i s o f t h e DBA f u n c t i o n . I espec i a1 l y agree w i t h h i s o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t t h e Data D i c t i o n a r y i s perhaps t h e most i m p o r t a n t t o o l f o r t h e DBA. This , o f course, was an e x c e l l e n t t i e - i n f o r t h e a f t e r n o o n p r e s e n t a t i o n o f Datamanager, t h e Data D i c t i o n a r y developed by MSP L td .

Our t h a n k s t o S t e v e G i n s b e r g o f MSP Canada f o r t a k i n g t h e t i m e t o p r e s e n t Datamanger t o us. F o r those who a r e n o t y e t commit ted t o a Data D i c t i o n - ary , I wou ld remind you t h a t t h i s p r o d u c t i s wor thy o f s e r i o u s c o n s i d e r a t i o n . It has been recommended by s o f t w a r e a g and a t l e a s t one ADABAS u s e r has r e p o r t e d f a v o u r a b l y on it.

Hawa i i S c o t t Watnabe Hono lu lu Federa l Savings & Loan A s s o c i a t i o n P.O. Box 539 Honolu lu, H I 96809 808-546-5070

The f i r s t o f f i c i a l meet ing o f ADAGROUP Hawaii was h e l d on August 15, 1977. Among t h e 36 a t tendees were r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from each o f t h e p a r t i c i p a t i n g ADABAS i n s t a l l a t i ons, i n c l u d i n g f u t u r e ADABAS users f o r t h e S t a t e o f Hawai i , Department o f Educa t ion and S t a t e o f Hawai i J u d i c i a r y .

The meet ing was opened w i t h a b r i e f p r e s e n t a t i o n g i v e n by a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f each a c t i v e ADABAS u s e r and served t o i n f o r m t h e a t tendees as t o t h e s t a t u s and use o f ADABAS a t each i n s t a l l a t i o n . Our s p e c i a l g u e s t speaker was Mr. Dav id Del Rio, who d iscussed c o n c e p t s and t e c h n i q u e s f o r ADABAS F i l e D e s i g n , Recovery, U t i l i t i e s , and Performance.

T h i s f i r s t meet ing was p r i m a r i l y a " g e t t o know one a n o t h e r " a n d i t was s u c c e s s f u l i n e s t a b l i s h i n g cummunicat ion and r a p p o r t w i t h t h e o t h e r users as w e l l as i n c r e a s i n g t h e u s e r ' s knowledge and under- s t a n d i n g o f t h e ADABAS system.

I n September, ADAGROUP Hawaii was honored w i t h a v i s i t f r o m Mr. John Magui re, t h e h i g h l i g h t o f which was a d i n n e r m e e t i n g a t t e n d e d by J o h n a n d Ann M a g u i r e , D a v i d D e l R i o , a n d t h e ADAGROUP H a w a i i members. The members wou ld l i k e t o express t h e i r a p p r e c i a t i o n t o Mr. Magui re f o r a most memorable event .

I n November, t h e ADAGROUP H a w a i i members m e t t o d i s c u s s t h e Change/Enchancement Request t h a t w i l l be submi t ted f o r t h e n e x t ADABAS I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Conference. Pr imary c o n s i d e r a t i o n s were p l a c e d on enhancements t o Addload, ADASCRIPT+, and ADAMINT. The g r o u p w i l l be m e e t i n g a g a i n t o f i n a l i z e and c o n s o l i d a t e t h e change and enhancement r e q u e s t f o r submiss ion by t h e January 1 s t deadl ine.

-

Cont inued on page 11

s o f t w a r e a g REORGANIZATION

Kenneth D. R a r d i n has been named S e n i o r V ice P r e s i - den t o f s o f t w a r e a g o f N o r t h America, Inc. H i s new r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s wi 11 encompass a1 1 t e c h n i c a l o p e r a t i o n s and m a r k e t i n g suppor t .

Tom B e r r i s f o r d , who has been i n v o l v e d i n marke t ing development and sa les , w i l l devote f u l l t i m e t o h i s s a l e s a c t i v i t i e s as V ice P r e s i d e n t i n charge o f t h e Mi d-At1 a n t i c r e g i o n .

B e f o r e c l o s i n g t h i s meet ing, we d iscussed t h e n e x t Ralph P a r t l o w w i l l move f r o m t e c h n i c a l suppor t t o m e e t i n g ' s agenda. P l a n n e d a t t h e moment a r e : s a l e s . He w i l l r e l o c a t e i n M i a m i , F l o r i d a , and Consumers' Gas - t h e r o l e o f t h e DBA, S h e l l - how become V i c e P r e s i d e n t i n charge o f m a r k e t i n g f o r t h e t o hand le a head crash, and R.D. N i c k e l ( s o f t - Southern reg ion . w a r e a g ) - C o m - p l e t e , t h e new TP package . T h i s meet ing w i l l be h e l d i n Ottawa on December 6 a t Our c o n t i n u e d suppor t and thanks f o r t h e i r e f f o r t s t h e T r a n s p o r t Canada B u i l d i n g . More d e t a i l s w i l l i n b e h a l f o f s o f t w a r e a g go w i t h these f o l l o w . gentlemen i n t h e i r new r o l e s .

3

MEN flDHBHS USERS 1 Nippon Kokan Kabus t i s k i Kaisha - Tsurumi -Ku,

21-1 Suehiro-Cho, Kanagawa-Ken, Yokohama-Shi, Japan

S t a t e o f South Dakota Bureau of Admi n i s t r a t i o n O f f i c e of Systems Management Capi t a l B u i 1 d i ng P i e r r e , SD 57501

The s t a t e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n p l a n s t o u s e ADABAS a t t h e i r S t a t e Data Centers:

P i e r r e 3701158 OS/VSl

CICS

Vermi 1 1 i on 3701145 OSlVS2

TSO

Aberdeen 3701145

VM WEST1

Type o f bus iness : Ship b u i l d i n g and heavy machinery A commit tee o f 15 s t u d i e d 6 m a j o r DBMS's and s e l e c t - m a n u f a c t u r i n g . T h i s i s a second c o p y o f ADABAS ed ADABAS i n Auqust. The f i r s t ma jo r a p p l i c a t i o n t o f o r Nippon and was s e l e c t e d t o hand le t h e i n c r e a s e u s e ADABAS w i l 1 b e a P a y r o l l P e r s o n n e l System. i n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s i n g on a second machine. O t h e r a r e a s w i l 1 i n c l u d e T r a n s p o r t a t i o n , S o c i a1 T h e i r new hardware i s a one meg 3701158 under VS2. S e r v i c e s , t h e U n i v e r s i t y , and t h e D e p a r t m e n t of A s h i p e q u i p m e n t management s y s t e m w i l l be t h e Labor. The Data Base C o o r d i n a t o r i s E r n i e B a r r e t t - a p p l i c a t i o n p u t up under ADABAS. The Contac t i s phone: (605) 224-3688. F u j i o Sask i , manager o f I n f o r m a t i o n Systems Depar t -

045-511-1331.

S h e l l Southern A f r i c a (PTY) LTD 2 9 Riebeek S t r e e t Cape Town 8001 South A f r i c a

S h e l l i s i n t h e n a t u r a l resources business. They found t h a t ADABAS was t h e o n l y DBMS t h a t c o u l d do t h e j o b on t h e i r machine. They have a one megabyte 3701145 under OS/VSl. The f i r s t a p p l i c a t i o n t o use ADABAS w i l l be a s a l e s s t a t i s t i c s system. The DBA i s P e t e r Feasley - phone: (021) 21-3111.

V 6

n W r i s h t I n v e s t o r ' s S e r v i c e right B u i l d i n g B r i d g e p o r t , CN 06604

A we1 1-known i n v e s t m e n t a d v i s o r and f i n a n c i a l p u b l i s h e r manages accounts t o t a l i n g o v e r $650 Mi l . T h e i r hardware i s 360150 which i s r u n n i n g under EDOS. One o f t h e i r a p p l i c a t i o n s w h i c h w i l l u s e ADABAS i s a C l i e n t s and P o r t f o l i o s System ( T r u s t Accoun t ing ) -- t h i s i s c u r r e n t l y a DBOMP system. A n o t h e r a p p l i c a t i on i s a n e x t e n s i v e s t a t i s t i c s r e s e a r c h a p p l i c a t i o n f o r s t o c k m a r k e t a n a l y s i s and r e p o r t i n g . The c o n t a c t a t W r i g h t i s s k S t a f f - phone: (203) 377-9444. w

9 ERATOM European Communities (Commi s s i o n o f t h e ISPRA E s t a b l i s h m e n t ) J o i n t Research Cente r

1-21020 I t a l y

EURATOM i s a n u c l e a r Research Cente r o f t h e European Communities. They have chosen ADABAS a f t e r compari- son w i t h S2000 and I n q u i r e . They have a 3701165 u n d e r OS/MVT a n d TSO. They w i l l u s e ADABAS f o r t h e i r S c i e n t i f i c Data Bases. Con tac t i s -s (0332) 780131.

FATME V i a Anagi na 203-00100 Rome I t a l y

FATME manufac tu res t e l ephone s w i t c h i n g equipment. They have a 3701148 under OS/VSl. They p l a n t o use ADABAS f o r t h e i r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d f o r b i l l o f m a t e r i a1 a p p l i c a t i o n s . The c o n t a c t i s te lephone ( 0 6 ) 4694.

Dow Chemical H o l l and Herbert-H-DON-WEG T i erneuzen Nether1 ands

T h i s i s t h e second Dow I n s t a l l a t o n i n Europe. They w i l l r u n ADABAS on t h e i r 3701138 Under OSIVS1 w i t h TASKMASTER f o r TP. They p l a n t o implement a s a l e s o r d e r s y s t e m u s i n g ADABAS. Mr. P o s t i s t h e DP manager and .Mr. fFm- i s t h e DBA. They c a n b e c o n t a c t e d on 00311 1 018920.

CALL FORPAPERS Cont inued

Anyone w i s h i n g t o make an i n f o r m a l p r e s e n t a t i o n i s reques ted t o i n f o r m Rob o r Barbara by March 15, 1978. Copies o f viewgraphs o r a b r i e f o u t l i n e must b e r e c e i v e d by A p r i l 15, 1978. $25.00 w i l l b e p r e s e n t e d t o a l l i n f o r m a l Speakers. s o f t w a r e a g i s p r e s e n t i n g t h e s e cash g i f t s on b e h a l f of t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Group and s o f t w a r e a g i n o r d e r t o make t h i s Users Conference b e t t e r t h a n e v e r !

Spec ia l I n t e r e s t Groups w i l l meet i n t h e f o l l o w i n g a r e a s : D a t a D i c t i o n a r y , DBA T o o l s, E d u c a t i o n , Performance, R e t r i e v a l I n t e r f a c e s . The o n l y way t h e Users Group can work e f f e c t i v e l y f o r you and y o u r company i s t o have you j o i n t h e Group t h a t h o l d s t h e mos t i n t e r e s t f o r you. P l a n now t o be an a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a n t by j o t t i n g down p o i n t s y o u ' d l i k e t o d i scuss.

Educa t ion Dave 01 dham S h e l l O i l C0mpan.y P.O. Box 20239 Houston, TX 77025 713-795-3781

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

I n a r e c e n t d i s c u s s i o n w i t h Roy Wood we became aware o f severa l t r a i n i n g a i d s a v a i l a b l e f o r a nominal charge f r o m s o f t w a r e a g. Some o f these were ment ioned b r i e f l y a t t h e F o u r t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Conference i n New Or leans, b u t t h e r e were some t h a t were new t o us. I f you have an e s t a b l i s h e d educa t ion program f o r y o u r ADABAS employees, you may be i n t e r e s t e d i n c o n t a c t i n g Roy f o r more i n f o r - m a t i o n . A v a i l a b l e now a r e a n ADASCRIPT+ V i d e o c a s s e t t e , ADABAS i n t r o d u c t o r y s l i d e s , and cop ies o f Roy 's t r a i n i ng m a t e r i a1 s : ADASCRIPT+, ADAWRITER, F i 1 e Def i n i ti on, D i r e c t Ca I 1 Proqrammi ng, ADAM1 NT Programming, and ADAMINT MACROS.

I n t h e near f u t u r e , a Data D i c t i o n a r y f a c t sheet and I n t r o d u c t o r y pamphlet w i l l be a v a i l ab le.

I f t h e r e a r e any comments o r s u g g e s t i o n s a b o u t s o f t w a r e a g ' s t r a i n i n g program, p lease c o n t a c t Dave Oldham a t t h e above address.

Re t r i eva l I n t e r f a c e C a r l G a r r i s o n She1 1 O i l Company P.O. Box 20239 Houston, TX 77025 713-795-3970

T h i s commit tee se rves those users who s igned up on t h e R e t r i e v a l I n t e r f a c e forms. We have r e c e i v e d about one h a l f o f t h e forms. I f you have a form and have n o t y e t f i l l e d o u t t h e necessary i n f o r m a t i o n , p lease do so as q u i c k l y as p o s s i b l e and send i t t o C a r l G a r r i s o n a t t h e above address. I f you wou ld l i k e t o j o i n t h i s committee, p lease c a l l Car l . The i n f o r m a t i o n we a r e c o l l e c t i n g w i l l be used by t h i s c o m m i t t e e as s u g g e s t e d a r e a s o f d i s c u s s i o n f o r t h e R e g i o n a l m e e t i n g s a n d t h e U s e r s C o n f e r e n c e .

We have r e c e n t l y been i n c o n t a c t w i t h I n f o m a t i c s about t h e i r Mark I V i n t e r f a c e w i t h ADABAS. They s t i l l have no f i r m commitment date.

The ADAMINT i n t e r f a c e f o r Mark I V i s b e i n g developed by Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y personnel . The m o d i f i - c a t i o n s and documentat ion w i l l be a v a i l a b l e soon. We s h o u l d have a d e f i n i t e d a t e by t h e t i m e t h i s N e w s l e t t e r i s d i s t r i b u t e d .

ChangeIEnhancement Requests Dan Skwarcan A s s o c i a t e s Computer C e n t e r 1720 Ruski n South Bend, I N 46604 219-284-6203

The Boston Conference i s r a p i d l y approaching. To f a c i l i t a t e t h e Change Enhancement Request proceed- i ngs, a schedule o f even ts has been developed as f o l l o w s :

January 1, 1978 - Dead l ine f o r submiss ion o f Change Enhancement Requests.

February 1, 1978 - C c n s o l i d a t e d / c o l l a t e d C h a n g e E n h a n c e m e n t Requests w i t h b a l l o t s , d i s t r i b u t e d t o u s e r s .

March 1, 1978

March 24, 1978

- Dead l ine f o r submiss ion o f Change Enhancement R e q u e s t b a l l o t s .

- C h a n g e E n h a n c e m e n t R e q u e s t s w i t h b a l l o t t o t a l s s u b m i t t e d t o s o f t w a r e a g .

A p r i l 14, 1978 - Dead l ine f o r s o f t - w a r e a g responses t o Change Enchancement Requests.

May 3, 1978

May 17, 1978

- C o m p l e t e C h a n g e E n h a n c e m e n t R e q u e s t Package d i s t r i bu ted t o users.

- B o s t o n C o n f e r e n c e .

P l e a s e t r y t o s u b m i t y o u r r e q u e s t as soon as p o s s i b l e .

Each Regional R e p r e s e n t a t i v e shoul d i n s u r e t h a t a c e r t a i n amount o f t i m e a t R e g i o n a l m e e t i n g s i s spen t i n t h e area o f Change Enchancements.

A copy of t h e Change/Enchancement Request has been i n c l u d e d i n p a s t News le t te rs . I f y o u need e x t r a cop ies of t h e form, p l e a s e c a l l Barbara F u t c h a t (703) 860-5050. P lease send a1 1 Change Enhancement Requests t o :

D a n i e l R. Skwarcan Assoc ia tes Computer Cen te r 1720 Rusk in South Bend, I N 46604

Performance Chuck Noone, I 1 Mat te1 Inc . 5150 Rosecrans Avenue Hawthorne, CA 90250 213-644-041 1

Cont inued on page 10

MUNICH USERS CONFERENCE

Munich, Germany September 12-15, 1978

s o f t w a r e a g and the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Group a r e w o r k i n g on ar rangements f o r t h e S i x t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Conference i n Munich, Germany, September 12-15, 1978. There are several t r a v e l op t ions c u r r e n t l y under cons idera t ion f o r t he North American ADAGROUP members i nteres ted i n a t tend ing t h i s Conference. The th ree opt ions and p r i ces are d e t a i l e d below.

$150.00. T h i s d e p o s i t i s f u l l y r e f u n d a b l e i f c a n c e l l a t i o n i s made p r i o r t o J u n e 1, 1978. Should you need t o cancel a f t e r June 1, 1978, and we a re ab le t o f i l l your p lace, a $50.00 c a n c e l l a t i o n f e e w i l l be charged, the remaining $100.00 w i l l be refunded t o you. I f , due t o l a t e cance l la t ion , we a r e u n a b l e t o f i l l y o u r p l a c e , no r e f u n d o f t h e o r i g i n a l $150.00 depos i t w i l l be made.

Due t o t h e l i m i t e d space ( t h e s e da tes a r e j u s t Please send i n you r t e n t a t i v e rese rva t i on as soon as before Oktoberfest when ho te l s and planes are f u l l 1, poss ib le , using the enclosed form, o r c a l l Barbara we are asking f o r your t e n t a t i v e reservat ions NOW! F u t c h , ( 7 0 3 ) 860-5050, t o r e s e r v e y o u r p lace . By January 1, 1978, we w i l l need a d e p o s i t o f

PLAN A

September 11-16, 1978

Travel Options

PLAN C

September 9-24, 1978

F l i g h t : New York t o Munich (You book)

Hotel : Munich - Four Seasons (Sept. 12-15, f o u r n i g h t s )

Conference Reg is t ra t i on *

Tota l Cost

Tota l c o l l e c t e d by s o f t w a r e a g $ 234.78

PLAN B

September 11-16, 1978

F l i g h t : New York t o Munich ( s o f t w a r e a g books)

Hotel : Munich - Four Seasons (Sept. 12-15, f o u r n i g h t s )

Conference Reg is t ra t i on * 100.00

Tota l Cost $1,033.78

Tota l c o l l e c t e d by s o f t w a r e a g $1,033.78

- Includes: Reception, Banquet, Bu f fe t , and Three Lunches. (Cast1 e Tour and Oktoberfest Tour: op t i ona l .

Pr ices a re sub jec t t o change. These f i g u r e s are based on:

a. Cur rent r a t e o f exchange: 2.3 DM = 1 US d o l l a r ;

b. Per person based on double occupancy ( s i n g l e r a t e a v a i l ab le on request) ;

c. Cur rent a i r fares.

PLAN B p l u s the fo l l ow ing :

September 9 Depart New York f o r Pa r i s

September 10 A r r i v e P a r i s 11 In te rcon t i nen ta l Hotel

112 day and Nightc lub Tours

September 12 Munich 13 Four Seasons Hotel 14 Conference 15 Tours (see Column 1, "* Includes:")

September 16 Rome ( l a t e f l i g h t ) 17 B r i t a n n i a Hotel 18 112 day and Nightc lub Tours 19

September 20 Florence 21 Bag l i on i Palace Hotel

September 22 Zu r i ch 23 Car l t on E l i t e Hotel

September 24 Depart Zur ich f o r New York

PLAN B Cost Add-on f o r PLAN C

To ta l Cost

Tota l c o l l e c t e d by s o f t w a r e a g $1,183.78

Minimum Group needed i n o r d e r t o o f f e r PLAN C . Hotel s may be changed t o comparable accommodations depending on a v a i l a b i l i t y . Breakfas t d a i l y except i n Munich.

No p r i c e r e d u c t i o n has y e t been de te rm ined f o r companions a t t e n d i ng the Conference, Please remem- ber, these ra tes are based on double occupancy and the c u r r e n t r a t e o f exchange informat ion.

(See page 16 f o r the Tenta t ive Reservation Form.)

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 3.1.4 and 3.2.1 VERSIONS O F ADABAS

D. De te rm ine i f t h e c u r r e n t v a l u e i n Va lue B u f f e r i s i n t h i s record. I f i t i s not, the sequence has s w i t c h e d t o t h e n e x t h i g h e r value f o r F i e l d MU. Move t h i s value t o the Value Buf fe r .

By: , W i l l i e Kraatz E.I. DuPont Co. T e x t i l e F ibe rs Department

A. Used f o r Format B u f f e r on Update Commands as we1 1 as Read Commands.

B. I s n o t released f o r L1, L4, AX, NX and must be re leased w i t h R C o r CL.

C. I s a l t e r e d by OP Command t o b inary zeros.

D. Binary zeros are n o t v a l i d as Command-ID. Under 3.1.4 was e q u i v a l e n t t o spaces.

E. Using same Command-ID w i t h L9 cou ld r e s u l t i n Response Code 92.

2. New Commands - N2, S8, S9, C5, RC.

3. A2 Command dropped. Feature i s now p a r t o f F i l e Mode U t i l i t y .

4. Cont ro l Block has new areas o r new funct ions.

Status Protec Value Opt ion Add i t ions

t i o n / Opt ion 1 (35) / Opt ion 2 (36 / Add i t ions 1 (37-44) / Add i t ions 2 (45-48)

Password / Addi t i o n s 3 (49-56) Cipher / Add i t ions 4 (57-64)

/ Command Time (73-76) / User Area (77-80)

5. Some response codes have d i f f e r e n t meanings.

6. ET Command does no t re lease saved ISN l i s t s o r i n t e r n a l l y s to red Format Buf fe r .

"I" i n O p t i o n 2 f i e l d w i l l r e t u r n t h e n e x t h ighe r ISN record i f the s p e c i f i e d ISN does no t e x i s t . To be used when r e a d i n g f i l e i n ISN sequence.

I f reading i n a m u l t i p l e f i e l d sequence, the Value Opt ion must be used w i t h t he c u r r e n t value i n t he Value Buf fe r .

Example

A. Define i n storage a Format B u f f e r conta in ing a l l t h e p o s s i b l e MU f i e l d e n t r i e s o r a t l e a s t t h e m a j o r i t y and the f i e l d count as MUC. (MU = ADABAS Fie1 d Name)

B. Issue L3/L6 w i t h Value Option.

C. Determine if a l l values f o r MU F i e l d have been read. I f not , read remainder w i t h L1 Comma nd .

E. I f t h e c u r r e n t value i s i n the record b u t t he ISM number has n o t increased, t h e value has changed t o t he next h igher value f o r MU. Determine which value i t i s and p lace i t i n Val ue Buffer.

The f o l l o w i n g i s a good t e c h n i q u e f o r L3 Commands on o ther descr ip tors . It saves t ime i f MPM loses i t s p o i n t e r s t o nex t read and must r e e s t a b l i s h the 1 ocation.

05 FORMAT-BUFFER PIC X(NN) VALUE 'DE,XX.. ' . 05 RECORD-BUFFER PIC X(NN). 05 VALUE-BUFFER REDEFINES RECORD-BUFFER

PIC X(NN). 05 SEARCH-BUFFER P I C X(6) VALUE 'DE, .' .

Treatment o f desc r i p to r 1 i s t s f o r non-NU des- c r i p t o r f i e l d s omi t ted f rom Format Buf fe r . I f f i e l d i s i n record before l a s t f i e l d referenced, i t w i l l be placed i n the nu1 1 value chain. I f i t i s a f t e r the l a s t f i e l d referenced, i t w i l l be o m i t t e d f rom t h e nu1 l va lue cha in . The requirements o f 3.1.4 t o have a1 1 non-NU des- c r i p t o r f i e l d s s p e c i f i e d i n the Format B u f f e r w i t h a value i n t he Record B u f f e r should s t i l l be fo l lowed. Value, i f unknown, should be zero o r blank.

H o l d ISN l i s t o p t i o n . L i s t r e l e a s e d by R C Command .

11- MPM I n t e r f a c e Code has changed. A l l b a t c h programs must be re1 inked.

12. Expanded U t i l i t i e s

ADAFIX - R e s t o r e a s i n g l e f i l e f r om f u l l backup tape.

ADAWAN - Sub and super descr ip tors . FILEMOD - A d d n e w f i e l d s t o f i l e . DBMOD - S t a r t ISN reuse.

Reorder data storage o f f i l e area. DECOMP - Decompress a f i l e c r e a t i n g a

va r i ab le l eng th block. ADASEL - Create a u d i t t r a i l from SIBA tape. ADASCRIPT+

13. C I C S L ink Program 'ADABAS' has been modi f ied t o issue an R C Command w i t h CID X'00000000' each t ime an ET i s issued. This w i l l be a temporary measure t o a1 low conversion. Procedures t o gain the bes t use o f the new fea tu res o f the C I D w i l l be worked ou t , discussed, and publ ished.

14. MU f i e 1 ds may be selected by subscr ip t .

15. C3 Command w i l l be r e c o g n i z e d o n l y a f t e r a Response Code 5. Previous f u n c t i o n o f using C3 t o i n i t i a t e a synchronized checkpoint w i l l no longer work.

16. I f the re i s an e r r o r i n e i t h e r t he Format o r Search Bu f fe r , the f i e l d i n e r r o r i s placed i n t h e A d d i t i o n s 2 F i e l d o f t h e C o n t r o l B lock .

IN MEMORIAM

On Wednesday, November 30, 1977, a t r a g i c acc i den t occurred. Ha r r y O t t i n g e r , a ded ica ted and 1 oyal employee of s o f t w a r e a g, was hav ing l u n c h w i t h h i s w i f e , S u s i e a t t h e i r home i n Res ton , V i r g i n i a, when an a i r p l ane crashed i n t o t h e i r home and exploded, k i l l i n g bo th Har ry and Susie.

We a t s o f t w a r e a g a re t e r r i b l y saddened by t h i s a c c i d e n t and w i l l g r e a t l y miss Harry and Susie. Ha r r y p rov i ded a c r i t i c a l c o n t r i b u t i o n t o o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s growth and success. Th i s 1 oss w i l l be d e e p l y f e l t by a l l o f h i s f r i e n d s and assoc i ates.

Jenny, t h e i r 6 y e a r o l d daughter, was a t school a t t h e t i m e o f t h e acc i den t . A "Fund f o r Jenny" has been s e t up a t t h e Town & Country Bank by s o f t - w a r e a g. C o n t r i b u t i o n s w i l l be accepted by s o f t w a r e a g .

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL USERS CONFERENCE

The F i f t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Conference w i l l be h e l d i n Boston, Massachusettes, May 17-19, 1978. The ' 5 7 ' Park Plaza Hote l w i l l be our headquarters t h i s y e a r . R e s e r v a t i o n s a r e now b e i n g t a k e n by s o f t w a r e a g. Please use t h e enclosed fo rm t o make y o u r r e s e r v a t i o n as soon as poss i b l e . I f you need e x t r a forms, c o n t a c t Penny F u l t o n (7031 860-5050. We hope a l l users w i l l be ab l e t o a t t e n d t h i s y e a r ' s Conference.

The C a l l f o r Papers has gone o u t (see t h e a r t i c l e under t h a t heading i n t h i s i s sue o f t h e News le t t e r ) . T h e r e w e r e many e x c e l l e n t p r e s e n t a t i o n s a t t h e Fou r t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Conference l a s t year . We a r e su re many o f you w i l l want t o p a r t i c i p a t e as a Speaker t h i s year , so p lease read t h e a r t i c l e and l e t us know t he t o p i c o f you r speech.

ADABAS TRAINING TRAINING SCHEDULE

The t r a i n i n g c o u r s e s have been segmented i n t o modules t h a t can be taken i n one day increments. The days taken w i l l l a r g e l y depend on t h e exper ience and e d u c a t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l . Wi th t h i s modular c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t r a i n i n g , courses c a n be t a i l o r e d t o t h e o n s i t e t r a i n i n g p rogram.

January-June 1978

DATA BASE Course ADABAS ADAWRITER INTERNALS ADMINISTRATION MODULES 1,2,3,4,7 5&6 2

Month P lace

January San F r a n c i s c o Sheraton Pa lace

Recommended Prerequl s l t e

Recmmended f o r Modules i c n q t h

Elodule (Days) O e s c n p t l o n

February Washington, D.C. Sheraton N a t i o n a l

l n t roduc ton Data [lase Definition and M o d i f i c a t i o n

None

March 6-8 Washington, D.C. Sheraton N a t i o n a l

X X X X X X X X X X X * X

X X

ADAWRITER ~ x t e n d e d Usage Application Proqramming wl t h D i r e c t C a l l s Data Raze Ad rn in~s t ra t i on * * Data Dase Appl7cat1on Oesiqn*** AOARAS I n t e r n a l s

A p r i l 17-19 New York C i t y * * Americana C i t y S q u i r e

3 or 7 7 and t h r e e months of exper ience

Workshops f o r Modules 2.3.4.5.6 o r 7 1 I ( I I I I May Boston** H y a t t Regency

15-16 Users '

Conference

19-20 June Chicago Sheraton 0 ' Hare

* When A p p l i c a t i o n ProgrammerIAnalyst i s us i ng D i r e c t C a l l s i n s t e a d o f ADAMINT.

* New Course ** A v a i l a b l e A p r i l , 1978. C u r r e n t l y t a u g h t as a

112 day on ADAMINT Macro-Generat ion and 112 day o f workshop on t h a t sub jec t .

** Guarantee: These da tes w i l l remain f i r m regard- l e s s of t h e number o f r e g i s t r a n t s . s o f t - w a r e a g reserves t h e r i g h t t o cancel t he o t h e r c l asses depending on t h e number o f advance r e g i s t r a t i o n s . I f a c l a s s i s c a n c e l l e d , a l l p r e r e g i s t e r e d p e r s o n s w i 1 1 be n o t i f i e d f o u r work ing days p r i o r t o t he c lass .

*** Ava i l ab l e second q u a r t e r 1978.

T h i s d i a g r a m l i s t s each modu le a l o n g w i t h key i n f o r m a t i o n r ega rd i ng d u r a t i o n o f a module, recommended at tendees, and p r e r e q u i s i t e mod- u les . The modules l i s t e d above, a long w i t h workshops, a re a v a i l a b l e t o be t augh t ons i t e . I f you a re i n t e r e s t e d i n having these t a i l o r e d t o y o u r nepds o r w o u l d l i k e t o a r r a n g e f o r o n s i t e t r a i n i n g , p lease c o n t a c t Roy Wood o r Gary Bowers, s o f t w a r e a g., 11800 S u n r i s e V a l l e y D r i v e , R e s t o n , V i r i g i n i a 22091, (703) 860-5050.

Note:

1. Module 7 - -D i r ec t c a l l s w i l l be t a u g h t i n t he Reston o f f i c e on January 26, February 23, and A p r i l 3.

2. A one day ADAMINT macro gene ra t i on c l a s s i n c l u d - i n g a 112 day workshop w i l l be he1 d i n Reston January 27, February 24, and A p r i l 4.

The January through June 1978 p u b l i c t r a i n i n g schedule has been f i n a l i z e d . As was done l a s t y e a r , s o f t w a r e a g i s o f f e r i n g courses on t he Eas t and West coas ts and one s e r i e s o f courses i n Chicago f o r t h e Cen t ra l area.

3. Module 7 p l u s t h e DBA c l a s s w i l l be o f f e r e d i n Reston June 14-16. Brochures a r e be i ng p repared w h i c h f u l l y d e s c r i b e each pub1 i c c o u r s e and module w i t h i n t h e course. The brochures w i l l be a v a i l a b l e f o r m a i l i n g e a r l y i n December.

@ SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS Cont inued

DBA Too ls Rob Macmil l a n ( a c t i n g Chairman) Dept. o f Ana ly t . S t u d i e s Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Canada 604-291-4525

J i m Buchner has l e f t h i s Commercial Union p o s i t i o n and i s t h e r e f o r e no l o n g e r w i t h ADAGROUP. He was f o r m e r l y t h e DBA T o o l s S p e c i a l I n t e r e s t Group Chairman among h i s o t h e r s ADAGROUP d u t i e s . We a r e c u r r e n t l y l o o k i n g f o r h i s successor. No s p e c i a l I requ i rements a r e necessary - j u s t a w o r k i n g know- ledge o f and i n t e r e s t i n Data Base A d m i n i s t r a t o r Tools . P lease c o n t a c t Rob Macmi l lan a t t h e above

I address i f you a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s p o s i t i o n o r i f you can recommend someone who m i g h t be w i l l i n g t o 1, assume t h i s r o l e .

Data D i c t i o n a r y R i c h a r d Tannor I NCO One New York Plaza New York, N.Y. 10004 (212) 742-4157

M o s t u s e r s h a v e r e c e i v e d t h e f i n a l d r a f t o f t h e Reference Manual f o r t h e ADABAS Data D i c t i o n a r y . We w e r e q u i t e p l e a s e d t o see t h a t many o f t h e sugges t ions and c r i t i c i s m s s u b m i t t e d by members o f t h e Users Group were r e f l e c t e d i n t h e new speci f i c a - t i o n s . I n s p i t e o f t h e f a c t t h a t t h e D i c t i o n a r y ' s r e l e a s e w i l l be delayed, i t i s very g r a t i f y i n g t o see s o f t w a r e a g e a r n e s t l y respond ing t o o u r reques ts .

There are, however, some aspec ts o f t h i s p r o j e c t t h a t demand o u r s c r u t i n y and concern. F o r i n s t a n c e , t h e ADABAS Data D i c t i o n a r y r e q u i r e s t h e acqui s i t i o n o f ADAMINT. A l s o , Tom B e r r i s f o r d ' s memo, w h i c h accompanied t h e Reference Manual, i n d i c a t e s t h a t s o f t w a r e a g ' s . f u t u r e p l a n s c a l l f o r s t r o n g e r i n t e g r a t i o n o f t h e D i c t i o n a r y w i t h ADABAS i t s e l f , and c l o s e i n t e r f a c i n g w i t h a s s o c i a t e d p r o d u c t s such as ADACOM. These may b e v e r y good i d e a s , w i t h a g r e a t d e a l o f p o t e n t i a l b e n e f i t and enhancement t o d a t a base s e r v i c e s and d a t a a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . On t h e o t h e r hand, t h i s t r e n d o f devel opment c o u l d cause problems f o r e s t a b l i shed ADABAS i n s t a l l a t i o n s .

Your o p i n i o n s and comments a r e needed i f we a r e t o s u s t a i n s o f t w a r e a g ' s responsiveness t o t h e User Group. L e t us hear f r o m you soon.

ADABAS DICTIONARY STATUS REPORT

The Data D i c t i o n a r y devel opment e f f o r t i s c u r r e n t 1 y i n t h e f i n a l cod ing phases and i s on schedule. A l l modules w i l l be w r i t t e n and t e s t e d and t h e i n s t a l l a - t i o n documentat ion and p l a n w i l l be ready by m i d December. Be ta t e s t i n g w i l l b e g i n i n January and t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n o f t h e Data D i c t i o n a r y can take p l a c e i n February o r March.

S e v e r a l m i n o r changes have o c c u r r e d i n t h e D a t a D i c t i o n a r y p r o d u c t s i n c e t h e r e f e r e n c e manual was p u b l i s h e d . These changes were made as a r e s u l t o f e v a l u a t i n g users comments and p l a n n i n g f o r near term uses o f t h e D i c t i o n a r y .

0 An ADAMINT Macro Pre-Process U t i l i t y w i l l h a v e an e a s y t o use l a n g u a g e f a c i l i t y .

0 T h e C o n v e r s i o n U t i l i t y w h i c h i s d e s i g n e d t o c r e a t e d e f i n i t i o n s f o r e x i s t i n g u s e r f i l e s w i l l a l s o have an o p t i o n t o u p d a t e f r o m t h e u s e r d a t a base v i a t h e LF Command o r f r o m ADAWAN f i l e d e f i n i t i o n cards.

0 The U t i l i t y t o genera te "FNAMES" w i l l n o t b e i n c l u d e d i n t h i s r e l e a s e .

A P r o v i s i o n i s a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e n e x t v e r s i o n o f ADASCRIPT+. It w i l l p r o v i d e f o r code t a b l e t r a n s l a t i o n d a t a a n d d i r e c t access t o f i l e and f i e l d names as w e l l as ADASCRIPT+ Macros.

The ADABAS e r r o r messages, r e s p o n s e codes, and meanings w i l l be m a i n t a i n e d i n t h e D i c t i o n a r y f o r q u i c k r e f e r e n c e b y a p p l i c a t i o n s p e o p l e and ADABAS subsystems.

The D a t a D i c t i o n a r y R e f e r e n c e Manual w i l l b e mod i f i e d t o accommodate s u g g e s t e d u s e r changes. I f t h e r e a r e a r e a s i n t h e manual w h i c h y o u f e e l need i m p r o v e m e n t o r c l a r i f i c a t i o n , p l ease send y o u r c o m m e n t s t o Roy Wood, s o f t w a r e a g, Reston, V i r g i n i a .

I PEEHMG lMTD T H FUTURE I December, 1977 T r a i n i n g Schedule Brochures A v a i l a b l e

January, 1978 Data D i c t i o n a r y System Beta T e s t

January, 1978 ADACOM Beta T e s t

May 17-19, 1978 F i f t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Conference - Boston

September 12-15, 1978 S i x t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l Users Conference - Munich

March, 1978 NEWSLETTER Vol . 3, No. 4 (Copy Deadl ine: February 1 0 )

-

FREEBIES Freebies i s your way t o l e t o the r ADABAS users know what i t e m s a r e WANTED by y o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n o r AVAILABLE from your organizat ion. Freebies can on ly be used t o l i s t i tems t h a t are f r e e o r ava i l ab le f o r a nominal d i s t r i b u t i o n charge.

s o f t w a r e a g o f North America, Inc., has agreed t o d i s t r i bute t h e AVAILABLE i tems prov ided t o them f o r a handl ing charge o f $15.00. These i tems are i n no way endorsed, supported, o r maintained by s o f t w a r e a g .

WANTED

Knowledge o r i n fo rma t i on on r e s t a r t i n g batch programs which run i n MPM mode, espec ia l l y i f those programs a l so use OS f i l e s and/or a re i n a c o m p e t i t i v e upda te s i t u a t i o n w i t h o t h e r programs.

Requested by: R. M. H a l l I C I P l a s t i c s P.O. Box No. 6 Bessemer Road Welwyn Garden C i t y He r t f o rdsh i re AL7 1HD England

AVAILABLE

Wayne Kennedy has a general ized ed i t /update program (ADAGUF) t h a t takes a t ransac t i on f i l e and ed i ts lupdates the data base f i l e . I f you are i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s , con tac t Wayne d i r e c t l y .

Cont r ibu ted by: Wayne Kennedy S t a t i s t i c s Canada R.H. Coats B u i l d i n g Hol land Avenue Ottawa, Ontar io KIA OT6 Canada

Ted Hi1 1 i s has developed several educat ional a ids t h a t he w i l l d i s t r i b u t e on request. These i nc lude Data Base Concepts as a na tu ra l evolu- t i o n , ADABAS Basics, ADABAS I n t e r n a l s f o r p ro- grammers, and ADASCRIPT overview and prac t ice .

Contr ibuted by: Ted H i l l i s Consumers Gas Company P. 0. Box 650 Scarborough, Ontar io M1K 5E3 Canada

Continued

Source code f o r ADABAS 3.2.1 was placed i n escrow w i t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l Computer Programs, I n c . , on September 13, 1977. I must compliment Dan Skwarcan f o r h i s f i n e work i n complet ing the v a l i d a t i o n o f t he source code and i n e s t a b l i s h i n g procedures f o r f u t u r e v a l i d a t i o n s .

Meanwhi le, Dan i s a l s o w o r k i n g on ou r Change/ Enhancement submiss ion t o s o f t w a r e a g f o r 1978. H i s schedule f o r t h e year i s pub l ished i n t h i s News1 e t t e r . The f i r s t i m p o r t a n t d e a d l i n e i s Janua ry 1, 1978 - t h e d a t e by wh ich Change/ Enhancement requests must be rece ived if they are t o be inc luded i n t h i s y e a r ' s submission.

The Reg iona l R e p r e s e n t a t i v e f o r t h e N o r t h e a s t co r r i do r , J im Buckner, has l e f t h i s j o b w i t h Com- m e r i c a l Un ion and has t h e r e f o r e l e f t t h e ADABAS u s e r s community. J i m r e s i g n e d h i s p o s t i t i o n as Vice Pres ident and Regional Representat ive as of November 2, 1977. Our t hanks go o u t t o J i m f o r h i s work i n ADAGROUP o v e r t h e p a s t few yea rs , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the area o f DBA too ls .

M ichae l Berman o f INCO i n New York C i t y w i l l be t a k i n g o v e r J i m ' s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s as ADAGROUP Vice President . Bob Cole o f Nat ional Educational A s s o c i a t i o n , Washington, D.C., has assumed t h e du t i es o f Regional Representat ive f o r t he Northeast C o r r i d o r . We a p p r e c i a t e t h e i r p a s t e f f o r t s i n beha l f o f ADAGROUP and know they w i l l do a f i n e j o b i n t h e i r new ro les .

Bob Tay lor i n t he Eastern Canada and Upper New York S ta te Region i s p rov id ing a much needed se rv i ce i n d i s t r i bu t i ng known ADABAS bugs (ADABUG repor ts ) . Users who are i n t e r e s t e d i n rece i v ing these repo r t s should contac t t h e i r Regional Reps.

Continued

Northwest U.S. & Western Canada Rob Macmi 1 l a n (ADAGROUP Pres ident ) Department o f A n a l y t i c a l Studies Simon Fraser U n i v e r s i t y Burnaby, B.C. V5A 156 Canada 604-291-4525

The f i r s t formal conference o f t he Northwest ADABAS Users Group took p lace i n S e a t t l e on September 9 and by a l l accounts was an overwhelming success. Ten i n s t a l l a t i o n s and two p o t e n t i a l i n s t a l l a t i o n s were represented by t h i r t y conferees.

The morning session took p lace a t S e a t t l e Pub l ic Schools where i n t r o d u c t i o n s were made over co f fee and donuts. The group was welcomed by conference c o o r d i n a t o r , S teve Greaves o f S e a t t l e Schools. Rob Macmi l l an , ADAGROUP P r e s i d e n t , Simon F r a s e r Un ive rs i t y , then o r i en ted the group t o the h i s t o r y I; I

and ob jec t i ves o f ADAGROUP. User p r o f i l e forms were : I d i s t r i buted and c o l 1 ected.

Continued on page 12 ' I

The m o r n i n g c o n t i n u e d w i t h d e m o n s t r a t i o n s a n d p r e s e n t a t i o n s . George Gosl i ne, S e a t t l e Schools, and Bob Preger, s o f t w a r e a g, demonstrated Com-plete. N a r c i sco J a r a m i l l o and Gordon Bennet t , b o t h o f S e a t t l e Schools, made a p r e s e n t a t i o n on t h e use o f ADAMINT. Narc i sco Jarami 1 l o completed t h e morn ing s e s s i o n w i t h a demons t ra t ion and d i s c u s s i o n o f ADASCRIPT+.

F o r l u n c h and t h e r e s t o f t h e a f t e r n o o n , t h e group moved t o t h e Edgewater I n n on S e a t t l e ' s w a t e r f r o n t .

A f t e r 1 unch o f r e d s n a p p e r , o v e r 1 o o k i n g sunny E l l i o t Bay, B i l l Thomson and Don Calnek, o f Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y , f o u n d a c l e a r phone l i n e t o Burnaby, B.C., and p r o v i d e d t h e group w i t h a t e r m i - n a l demons t ra t ion and an o r i e n t a t i o n t o Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y ' s use o f ADABAS and t h e i r PDP-11 i n t e r - face. George G o s l i n e p resen ted some though ts on P h y s i c a l Storage Independence, and Rob Macmi 1 l a n c h a i r e d d i s c u s s o n on a dozen c h a n g e l e n h a n c e m e n t requests .

I n December we move t o Canada f o r a meet ing a t Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y . We a r e c o n t i n u i n g w i t h a f o r m a t o f two o r t h r e e fo rma l p r e s e n t a t i o n s and p l e n t y o f t i m e f o r an i n f o r m a l g e t - t o g e t h e r t o d i s c u s s common p r o b l e m s and i n t e r e s t s i n t h e D a t a Base f i e 1 d. The t e n t a t i v e agenda f o r December i n c l u d e s a d iscus- s i o n on backout, r e s t a r t , etc., a demons t ra t ion o f S.F.U. ' s ADABASIPDP-11 i n t e r f a c e , and a r e v i e w o f s o f t w a r e a g ' s Data D i c t i o n a r y .

F a r E a s t Kazuro Fuj i rnoto 5-7 Yaesu Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, 104 Japan

The second JADAGROUP (Japanese ADAGROUP) meet ing was h e l d on October 11, 1977, a t F u j i Photo F i l m Co. i n T o k y o , Japan. T w e n t y - s e v e n p e o p l e a t t e n d e d i n c l u d i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m f i v e u s e r s , t w o p r o s p e c t s and John Magui re o f s o f t w a r e a g o f N o r t h America, I n c . The agenda f o r t h i s meet ing was :

10:45 a.m. Opening speech by F u j u Photo F i l m Co. and Chairman o f JADAGROUP

'':0° a'm. "Fu tu re P l a n o f s o f t w a r e a g "

by John Magui re, SAGNA

12:OO p.m. Lunch

13:OO p.m. P r e s e n t a t i o n o n ADABAS a p p l i c a t i o n s a t F u j i Photo F i l m

by T. T a k a h a s h i , M. Watanabe & N. I sh ikawa o f F u j i Photo F i l m

15:00 p.m. P r e s e n t a t i o n on F u j i F i l m ' s u t i l i t y programs

15:30 p.m. P r e s e n t a t i o n on "A-AUTO" ( a u t o m a t i c c o m p u t e r o p e r a t i o n s y s t e m w h i c h s o f t w a r e a g o f F a r E a s t s t a r t e d m a r k e t i n g i n August t h i s y e a r )

by I. Miyada i o f s o f t w a r e a g o f F a r E a s t

16:00 p.m. JADAGROUP bus iness d i s c u s s i o n

C h a i r e d b y T. T a k a h a s h i o f F u j i Photo F i l m

1. An exchange o f programming techno l - ogy and m a t e r i a l :

L i k e "FREEBIES" o f ADAGROUP, domes- t i c exchange o f programming techno l - o g y a n d m a t e r i a l w h i c h w i l l b e p r o m o t e d b y s o f t w a r e a g o f F a r East.

2. The t h i r d JADAGROUP meet i ng

To b e hos ted by S h e l l Sekiyu, and be h e l d around March 1978.

B e g i n n i n g a t 1 7 : 3 0 p.m. a r e c e p t i o n was h e l d a t Azabu P r i n c e H o t e l , near F u j i F i lm, hos ted by John Magui re and s o f t w a r e a g o f F a r East. As s p e c i a l guests , Dr. D. T s i c h r i t z i s, p r o f e s s o r a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Toronto, and Dr. A.G. Mer te rn , p r o f e s s o r a t . t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Mich igan, a t tended t h e r e c e p t i o n and JADAGROUP members and guests had a v e r y e n j o y a b l e and i n s t r u c t i v e evening.

We s i n c e r e l y hope t h e t h i r d m e e t i n g w i l l b e a s s u c c e s s f u l , w i t h even more users.

We hope many Japanese users w i l l be a b l e t o a t t e n d t h e F i f t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l ADABAS Users Conference n e x t May.

New York C i t y Mike Berman I n t e r n a t i o n a l N i c k e l Company One New York P laza New York, NY 10004 212-742-4180

The second ADABAS Users meet ing was h e l d a t t h e C i t y U n i v e r s i t y o f New Y o r k I U n i v e r s i t y Computer Cen te r (CUNY/UCC), on September 7, 1977. The m a j o r t o p i c o f d i s c u s s i o n was t h e r o l e o f t h e Data Base admin- i s t r a t o r .

R i c h a r d Tannor l e d o f f t h e d i s c u s s i o n by e x p l a i n i n g t h e f u n c t i o n o f t h e da ta base a d m i n i s t r a t o r a t INCO L td . A t INCO, a d m i n i s t r a t i v e d u t i e s a r e handled by two departments. Some o f t h e d u t i e s o f t h e group are: documentat ion, documentat ion on s tandards, s e c u r i t y , d a t a d i c t i o n a r y f u n c t i o n s , t e c h n i c a l s u p p o r t , a n d c o o r d i n a t o n o f s y s t e m i n f o r m a t i o n . INCO uses a twen ty p e r c e n t padd ing f a c t o r t o a v o i d f i l e re loads .

Sherman H u n t e r spoke n e x t f o r Simon & S c h u s t e r . They a r e a DOSIVS shop w i t h 256K o f r e a l core. The f u n c t i o n o f t h e DBA a t S imon & S c h u s t e r i s a t p r e s e n t l i m i t e d t o f i l e d e f i n i t o n s , p r o j e c t i o n s on f i l e s i z e , and t h e i r impac t on t h e system.

by R . N a k a i o f F u j i P h o t o F i l m Cont inued on page 13

ROUNDUP Cont inued

J i m K o r e n t h a l o f CUNY spoke n e x t . A t t h e C i t y U n i v e r s i t y , Data Base a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i s handled b y t h e c e n t r a l computer f a c i l i t y . The d u t i e s o f t h e Data Base group a re : Data Base maintenance, t e c h n i - c a l suppor t , s e c u r i t y , da ta d i c t i o n a r y f u n c t i o n s , e d u c a t i o n a l suppor t f o r i n s t r u c t o r s t e a c h i n g Data Base theory , and research and development o f ADABAS and o t h e r Data Base systems. Since t h e City Un iver - s i t y has so many users a t independent i n s t a l l a t i o n s , t h e Data Base Systems Group canno t impose s tandards o f p rogramming . However, by d e v e l o p i n g a u s e r i n t e r f a c e , t h e programming standards a r e automat- i c a l l y c a r r i e d o u t by t h e i n t e r f a c e .

Our n e w e s t member, Hank S t e n n e s , spoke n e x t . Cadence I n d u s t r i e s i s a DOS/VS shop. H i s d u t i e s t h e r e a r e t h e complete maintenance o f t h e Data Base system. T h e i r Data Base i s c e n t e r e d around a sma l l number o f v e r y l a r g e f i l e s . Mr. Stennes p r a i s e d s o f t w a r e a g l s t e c h n i c a l suppor t i n h e l p i n g h im l o a d a massive 2.2 m i l l i o n r e c o r d f i l e .

The t h i r d New York C i t y ADAGROUP meet ing was h e l d a t A m e r i c a n E l e c t r i c Power S e r v i c e C o r p o r a t i o n o n November 7. The t o p i c o f t h i s m e e t i n g was D a t a D i c t i o n a r i e s .

Roy Wood, o f s o f t w a r e a g, gave a p r e - s e n t a t i o n on t h e Data D i c t i o n a r y be ing o f f e r e d by s o f t w a r e a g i n e a r l y 1978. Q u e s t i o n s were answered and sugges t ions accepted.

R i c h a r d Tannor o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l N i c k e l Co. (INCO) and Chairman o f t h e ADAGROUP Data D i c t i o n a r y Com- m i t t e e compared t h e proposed o f f e r i n q by s o f t - w a r e a g t o t h o s e d i c t i o n a r y l d i r e c t o r y packages a1 ready a v a i l ab le. He concluded t h a t f o r an ADABAS i n s t a l l a t i o n , t h e r e i s n o t h i n g c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e t h a t i s comparable.

V i r g i n i a S u l l i v a n , a1 so o f INCO, p resen ted t h e i r Data D i c t i o n a r y . The exper ience a t INCO and t h e needs t h a t have been uncovered i n work ing w i t h t h e d i c t i o n a r y p r o v i d e d much f e e d b a c k t o s o f t - w a r e a g i n t h e i r developmental work.

We welcomed r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m Persh ing & Co. as new users t o o u r group.

E a s t C e n t r a l Dan Skwarcan Assoc ia tes Computer Cen te r 1720 Rusk in South Bend, I N 46604 219-284-6203

On September 26, 1977, an ADABAS Users meet ing was h e l d f o r a1 1 members on t h e E a s t C e n t r a l U.S. R e g i o n . The m e e t i n g was h e l d a t t h e A s s o c i a t e s Computer Cen te r i n South Bend, Ind iana .

The meet ing began w i t h a ge t -acqua in ted hour f o l - 1 owed by i n t r o d u c t o r y comments by Dan Skwarcan f r o m Associates. The da te o f t h e upcoming Boston Confer- ence was announced. Each u s e r was reminded t o s t a r t s u b m i t t i n g Change Enhancement Requests and t o s t a r t p r e p a r i ng p r e s e t l t a t i o n s f o r t h e Boston Conference.

13

The f i r s t t o p i c o f d i s c u s s i o n was Data Base Adminis- t r a t i o n by L a r r y Bowman o f Associates. Da ta Base A d m i n i s t r a t i o n was d iscussed f rom a f u n c t i o n a l as we1 1 as an o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t a n d p o i n t .

Dan Skwarcan o f Assoc ia tes l e d d i s c u s s i o n s i n t h e a rea o f Data D i c t i o n a r y D i r e c t o r i e s . The Assoc ia tes Data Base D i c t i o n a r y D i r e c t o r y was b r i e f l y examined. Standards enforcement th roughou t t h e d i c t i o n a r y was a l s o d i s c u s s e d w i t h f o c u s on a "how t o do i t" approach c u r r e n t l y i n use a t Associates.

ADAMINT as t h e a p p l i c a t i o n i n t e r f a c e w i t h ADABAS was p r e s e n t e d by J i m V i l a r d o o f R. R. Done l ley & Sons. J i m f o c u s e d o n h i s e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h ADAMINT and e n t e r t a i n e d q u e s t i o n s f rom new and p o t e n t i a l ADAMINT users.

The t h i r d i t e m o f d i s c u s s i o n was R e s t a r t and Recov- e r y by Greg Bordner o f Associates. Greg focused on h i s exper ience i n t h e area o f au tomat ing r e s t a r t a f t e r machine f a i l u r e by g e n e r a t i n g t h e a p p r o p r i a t e c o n t r o l i n f o r m a t i o n f o r COPY and WARMSTART. Greg 's work i n t h i s a rea has y i e l d e d an 80% sav ings i n t i m e between machine f a i l u r e and subsequent success fu l r e c o v e r y o f pend ing t r a n s a c t i o n s .

Bob B e c k e r o f F o r e m o s t I n s u r a n c e p r e s e n t e d h i s t h o u g h t s and f i n d i n g s i n t h e a rea o f i m p r o v i n g r u n t i m e s i n ADABAS. Bob focused on t h e e f f i c i e n c i e s t o be ga ined th rough t h e p r o p e r use o f Command-ID. Bob w i l l p r e s e n t h i s f i n d i n g s i n t h i s area a t t h e Boston C o n f e r e n c e . H i s f i n d i ngs a r e s u b s t a n t i a l a n d d e f i n i t e l y a "must" f o r t h o s e o f us concerned w i t h e f f i c i e n c y .

The l a s t i t e m f o r d i s c u s s i o n was ADABAS enhance- ments. A n o t h e r r e m i n d e r c o n c e r n i n g t h e Change Enhancement Requests was g iven.

C l o s i n g remarks were g i v e n by Dan Skwarcan. The n e x t E a s t C e n t r a l R e g i o n a l m e e t i n g was s e t f o r March 27, 1978, i n Chicago.

G r e a t B r i t a i n Rober t Hal 1 I C I P l a s t i c s P.O. Box 6 Bessemer Road Welsyn Garden C i t y H e r t f o r d s h i r e AL7 1HD England

Bob Hal 1, t h i s y e a r ' s chairman, opened t h e meet ing and we1 comed r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f a1 1 c u r r e n t ADABAS i n s t a l l a t i o n s i n t h e UK ( s a v e o n e ) , p l u s t w o E n g l i s h speaking r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m i n s t a l l a t i o n s e l sewhere i n Europe. A v e r y good t u r n o u t .

Some i s s u e s d i scussed were:

An ad-hoc sub-group on r e p o r t w r i t e r s was e s t a b l i s h e d t o encompass problems, problem by-pass, enhancement sugges- t i o n s , u s e r exper iences, e t c . ( I n i - t i a l l y ADAWRITER, ADASCRIPT+, 1 a t e r ADACOM . )

0 A u s e r exper ience documentat ion mecha- n i s m was e s t a b l i s h e d whereby d e s i g n

Cont inued on page 1 4

<?2) ROUNDUP Continued

papers, sof tware documentation, notes on problems, techniques, etc., w i l l be co l l ec ted , c o l l a t e d , and c i r cu la ted . It was accepted t h a t t h e c i r c u l a t i o n o f i n - h o u s e s o f t w a r e m i g h t c a u s e problems because of in-house macros, maintenance, etc.

r A co-ordi na to r was appointed t o handle and conso l ida te , as appropr iate, change enhancement request and submit them t o ADAGROUP and the UK supp l ie r .

A l e x Maya1 1 ( I C I Organ i cs D i v i s i o n ) and Ma lco lm Robinson (Commerical Un ion ) b o t h gave p r e s e n t a - t i o n s on t h e i r c o n s i d e r a b l e e x p e r i e n c e i n u s i n g ADABAS.

The n e x t m e e t i n g o f t h e group w i l l be h e l d on January 18, 1978, a t Gu i l d fo rd Surrey. A l l ADABAS users, i n c l u d i n g those outs ide t h e UK, are welcome t o attend.

Northeast Co r r i do r Bob Cole Nat ional Education Assoc ia t ion 1201 - 16th S t ree t , N.W. Washington, D. C. 20036 202-833-4371

The East Coast Regional ADAGROUP meeting o f November 2, 1977, was opened by J i m Buckner , t h e E a s t e r n Regional Representat ive t o ADAGROUP. The agenda was changed and f i n a l i z e d .

The attendees in t roduced themselves and signed an attendees ros te r .

A business meeting was he1 d and the f o l l o w i n g i tems were decided:

r s o f t w a r e a g was requested t o have a techn ica l representa t ive present a t each f u t u r e meeting.

0 The p roposa l o f sepa ra te i n t e r e s t g roups was dec ided n o t t o be i n t h e bes t i n t e r e s t o f each at tendee s ince t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e i t e m s were o f i n t e r e s t t o everyone.

r Jim Buckner n o t i f i e d the Regional Group t h a t he was l eav ing Commercial Union and, there fore , coul d n o t cont inue as our Regional Representative.

Bob C o l e f r o m NEA was e l e c t e d o n a n i n t e r i m b a s i s as t h e R e g i o n a l Representative u n t i l the annual meeting i n May, 1978.

r Minutes are t o be sent t o each a t ten - dee as w e l l as t h e i n d i v i d u a l s on s o f t w a r e a g 's m a i l i n g l i s t .

r The next meeting i s t o be h e l d on March 15, 1978, a t NEA i n Washington, D.C.

D.C. Government ADABAS User 's Guide

Several i tems were discussed concerning the use r ' s guide. The o v e r a l l op in ion o f t h e group was the document was thorough, w e l l prepared, and use fu l f o r the D.C. data center . However, the a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e document was t h a t i t wou ld r e q u i r e uniqueness f o r each i n s t a l l a t i o n .

Car l Sa l ley from DuPont, Aiken, S.C., brought h i s u s e r ' s guide and o f f e r e d i t t o the group.

ADABAS Program Exchange

Ted Le in inge r f rom DuPont (Engineer ing) presented f o u r r o u t i neslprograms:

r ADALOG Analys is 0 ADAMINT Module G e n e r a t i o n Program r A n a l y s i s o f L o g i c a l B l o c k L e n g t h r Data Space Summary

W i l l i e Kraatz from DuPont T e x t i l e F ibe rs presented several ADABAS Enhancement U t i l i t y and Batch pro- grams and subroutines.

J im Buckner f rom Commercial Union presented h i s Data Base Space A l l o c a t i o n and Usage programs.

Doug Benson and Ron Watcher from Kip1 i nge r discussed t h e i r ADALOG ana lys i s programs and Data D ic t ionary .

ADABASIEnd User I n t e r f a c e With Other Software Packages

J i m Buckner f r o m Commercial Un ion p r e s e n t e d t h e d i f f e r e n t users i n t e r f a c e w i t h f i v e sof tware prod- u c t s t h a t use t h e i r ADABAS System.

The f i v e sof tware products were:

ADASCRIPT - r ADASCRIPT+

r MACROS RAMIS

r ROBOT

s o f t w a r e a g

This session o f f e r e d oppo r tun i t i es f o r questions from the group and answers by Tom B e r r i s f o r d and general d i scussion o f several i tems. John Magui r e a l s o j o i n e d t h e group l a t e r and j o i n e d i n t h e d i scuss ions . Some o f t h e i tems p r e s e n t e d were:

r Change/Enhancements/SM1s/early warning:

One o f t he concerns i n t h i s area was t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f an i t e m as i t moves through t o completion; i.e., a change/ enhancement t h a t e v e n t u a l l y becomes a re leased system m o d i f i c a t i o n (SM) - having some coding scheme t o t i e t o g e t h e r each o f t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s .

r ADAMINT, Data D ic t i ona ry , and ADABAS a r e p lanned t o be r e l e a s e d i n t h e f u t u r e as one product.

r AOACOM i s now expected t o be released 2nd quar ter , 1978. This w i l l replace ADAWRITER.

The f o l l o w i n g a r e b r i e f summaries o f t h e d a y ' s Continued on page 15

REGIONAL

r Documentation wi 11 become o r i en ta t ed towards t h e end user.

ADABAS Res ta r t and Recovery

Ted Le in i nge r of DuPont Engi n e e r i ng p r e s e n t e d t h e i r T I P r e s t a r t l r e c o v e r y approach. They u s e a dual logg ing approach a s t r a n s a c t i o n s p a s s from inter-comm t o ADABAS a p p l i c a t i o n s and MPM.

S i n c e some of t h e group had a i r l i n e d e p a r t u r e time, t h e general discussion was postponed un t i l t he next meeting. In addi t ion , t he following items were i d e n t i f i e d f o r presenta t ions :

r ADALOG Analysis - Ted Leininger, DuPont Engi neeri ng

a ChangeIEnhancements - J u l i a Heidt, Com- merical Union

r ADASCRIPT+ - James Deignan, Connecticut General

r Multiple Data Bases - Phil MacInnis, DuPont Information Systems

FUTIJRE PLANS OF

s o f t w a r e a g - A N UPDATE

by Pe te r Webster

A t t h e l a s t Users Conference i n New O r l e a n s , s o f t w a r e a g announced and described the fu tu re plans f o r ADABAS development. In addi t ion , we promised t o keep you informed of any changes i n the plan or in the scheduled r e l ease dates.

There have been no changes in the plan i t s e l f but t h e r e l e a s e of some i tems w i l l be de layed . The f o l l o w i n g development p r o j e c t s were announced.

DESCRIPTION

ADASCRIPT+ Version 1.0.2

ADASCRIPT+ Version 1.1

ADAWRITER Version 1.2

ADACOM (BATCH & TSO)

ADACOM (CICS & Com-plete)

CURRENT STATUS

Re1 eased

Delayed f o r t i e - i n t o Data Dictionary

Delayed

1 s t qua r t e r 1978 Beta t e s t

1 s t qua r t e r 1978 Beta t e s t

ADAM I NT Version 1.2

ADAM1 NT Version 1.3

ADABOMP

DATA DICTIONARY

ADAM I NT (Major Revision)

U t i l i t i e s f o r 3.2.1 DBMOD Reorderd Associ a t o r Inver t on Sub & Super Descr ip tors

NUCLEUS & UTILITIES Version 4.1

DOS Version 3.2.1

Data Base Administration Class

Data Base Application Design Class

Re1 eased

1 s t qua r t e r 1978

1 s t qua r t e r 1978

1st qua r t e r 1978

3rd qua r t e r 1978

1st qua r t e r 1978

1 s t qua r t e r 1978

3rd qua r t e r 1978

Re1 eased

2nd qua r t e r 1978

2nd qua r t e r 1978

In add i t ion , we announced t h a t t h e documentation would be completely redone f o r version 4.1. These manuals wi l l be or iented t o t h e various users of ADABAS and what they want t o do. The preliminary broad o u t l i n e s f o r these manuals a r e as follows:

Data Base Admi n i s t r a t i o n

1. Data Base Administration, general procedures

11. Data Base Admi ni s t r a t i o n Guide 11.1 Data Base Desiqn 11.2 Data Dictionary Usage 11.3.1 Data Dictionary Directory Generation

and Usage 11.3.2 ADASCRIPT+ Directory Generation and

Usage 11.3.3 ADACOM Directory Generation and Usage 11.3.4 ADAWRITER Directory Generation and

Usage 11.4 ADAMINT Macro Generation and Usage 11.5 11 1. IV.

Restart/Recovery Faci 1 i t i e s ADABAS Uti 1 i t e s Manual ADABAS Security Manual

Application Design and Programming

1. 11. 111. IV.

F i l e and Program Design Guide Command Reference Manual ADAMINT Programmers Reference Manual Programmers Guide f o r Teleprocessing Applications (suggested)

Ins t a l l a t i on and Operation

1. I n s t a l l a t i o n and Maintenance Manual 11. Operations Manual 111. Messages and Codes Manual

Users Manual

ADASCRIPT+ Users Manual ADACOM Users Manual ADAWRITER Users Manual

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Ed i tor :

F i r s t l y , congratu la t ions on a more in format ive and i n - t o u c h p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e ADABAS N e w s l e t t e r , c e r t a i n l y an improvement on e a r l i e r issues. Jus t one minor g r i pe i n the cosmetic area - almost every t o p i c covered i s cont inued on a d i f f e r e n t page. I s i t no t poss ib le t o s t a r t a top i c and cont inue i t through on the same o r immediately f o l l o w i n g pages u n t i l t h a t t o p i c i s exhausted, then cont inue w i t h the nex t t op i c , and so on. It may be t h a t we i n t h e UK are unused t o t h e American j o u r n a l i s t i c s t y le , bu t we f i n d i t annoying t o t u r n pages repeatedly t o f o l l o w t h r o u g h a p a r t i c u l a r t o p i c o r i n d e x a p a r t i c u l a r f e a t u r e . T rue t o say, we wou ld n o t expect an Eng l ish p u b l i c a t i o n t o be thus presented. That aside, t he Newslet ter i s genera l ly regarded as an improvement f o r more pene t ra t i on given t o user areas, as you obviously intended, a move we h e a r t i l y support.

Yours s incere ly ,

R.M. H a l l Chairman, UK User Group

The Editors

Suzan Schultz American Electric Power 2 Broadway New York, New York 10004 (21 2) 422-4800 ~ 7 9 6

Pete Webster software ag of North America, Inc. Reston International Center 1 1800 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, Virginia 22091 ( 703) 860-5050

Dear M r . Hal 1 :

We appreciate your comments. We're amateurs i n the a r t o f journalism. As you can see, t he format i s changing. We w i l l t r y t o accommodate t h i s k i n d o f request as best we can.

The Ed i to rs

MUNICH CONFERENCE

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