| The
Issue |
Are you starting a major project that requires changes to a
large application on the mainframe? Is the source code stored in a PDS on the
mainframe? Are all the source members for the application stored in the same
PDS? Does this include COBOL, Assembler, Copy Files, JCL, PROCEDURES and some
job control decks?
Are you looking for a quick way to analyze the
members in the PDS to determine the member types and produce a summary report?
Yes, there is a relatively quick way to identify what is stored in a
PDS or other mainframe source code facilities. This capability is often
referred to as member typing.
|
| The
Requirements |
What is member typing and why is it important? Member
typing is the process of storing a source member and then being able to
determine its content without having to examine the member.
This is
typically accomplished in the following ways.
| 1. |
How the member is stored. Many
of the source control management systems provide a capability of defining the
type of member when it is being stored. |
| 2. |
Where the member is stored.
Member types are stored into specifics directories or libraries base on the
type of member. |
3.
|
The name of the member. Naming
conventions are used to identify a member type. For example, on the PC the file
extension is typically used for this purpose. |
|
|
|
| Source
Member Typing |
Source member typing is often overlooked or receives a
low priority in many programming shops. The importance of member typing is not
often recognized until a change to an application is required.
Attempting to estimate the skills required to implement a change and define the
scope-of-effort required is very time consuming when the type and quantity of
members that makeup an application are not known and/or are difficult to
determine.
Some programming shops have attempted to keep track of
members by type but even these shops run an average error rate of fifteen
percent. Other shops or programming groups do not even attempt to track member
types and many shops have a variety of application source code that has not
been touched in years. Knowledge about these applications is minimal or
non-existent.
The programming analysis tools and services required to
do member typing of mainframe source code are available today. These tools
would require downloading the source members to a PC.
|
| Additional
Information |
SimoTime has the people and technology to assist in this
effort. For more information about how we can help you simply send an e-mail
note to
helpdesk@simotime.com or give us a
call. Also, take a moment to visit our web site at
http://www.simotime.com. |
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