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Glossary of Terms

accessories

Databridge accessories access the services in DBEngine and DBSupport. Some of the accessories provided with Databridge are as follows:

  • DBServer, which provides communication and DMSII database replication services to Databridge Clients.

  • DBSpan, which produces a replication of one or more data sets into flat sequential disk files. DBSpan updates the cloned flat files by appending the changes to the end of the flat files (unlike DBSnapshot, which replaces the changed records).

  • DBSnapshot, which produces a one-time replication of one or more data sets into flat sequential disk files or tape.

  • DBInfo, which produces a report of your DMSII database timestamps, update levels, DMSII release levels, etc.

  • DBLister, which produces a report of the layout of the structures in your DMSII database, including structure numbers and key sets.

  • DBAuditTimer, which closes the current audit file when it is older than a specified length of time.

Accessroutines

The Accessroutines program is a DMSII library program that controls access to the database, reads and writes records, and creates the audit trail.

audit file

An audit file is created by the DMSII Accessroutines and contains the raw format of changes made to the DMSII database by update programs. Audit file records contain the deletes, creates, and modifies that were made to the various structures. Depending on the frequency of changes made to a database, the information in an audit file can span a few hours or several weeks.

Databridge uses the audit file for the raw data of each database change to exactly replicate the primary database. Databridge records the audit location (AFN, ABSN, SEG, IDX) between runs, so it can restart without losing any records.

audit trail

The audit trail contains all of the audit files generated for a database. The Databridge Engine reads the audit files to extract updates. It then passes the updates to the Client to be applied to the relational database. After the updates have been successfully extracted, the Client saves the state information, which includes the location in the audit trail from which the last group of updates for the data set were read.

cloning

Cloning is the one-time process of generating a complete snapshot of a data set to another file. Cloning creates a static picture of a dynamic database. Databridge uses the DMSII data sets and the audit trail to ensure that the cloned data represents a synchronized snapshot of the data sets at a quiet point, even though other programs may be updating the database concurrently. Databridge clones only those data sets you specify.

Cloning is one phase of the database replication process. The other phase is tracking (or updating), which is the integration of database changes since the cloning.

CONTROL file

The DMSII CONTROL file is the runtime analog of the DESCRIPTION file. The DESCRIPTION file is updated only when you compile a modified DASDL. The CONTROL file controls database interlock. It stores audit control information and verifies that all database data files are compatible by checking the database timestamp, version timestamp, and update level. The CONTROL file is updated each time anyone opens the database for updates. The CONTROL file contains timestamps for each data set (when the data set was defined, when the data set was updated). It contains parameters such as how much memory the Accessroutines can use and titles of software such as the DMSUPPORT library (DMSUPPORT/databasename).

Databridge uses the CONTROL file for the following information:

  • Timestamps
  • INDEPENDENTRANS option
  • AFN for the current audit file and ABSN for the current audit block
  • Data set pack names
  • Audit file pack name
  • Database user code

DASDL

Data and Structure Definition Language (DASDL) is the language that defines DMSII databases. The DASDL must be compiled to create a DESCRIPTION file.

data set

A data set is a file structure in DMSII in which records are stored. It is similar to a table in a relational database. You can select the data sets you want to store in your replicated database.

Databridge Engine

The Databridge Engine (also referred to as DBEngine) is a host library program that uses the DMSII Support Library to retrieve data records from the DMSII database for cloning.

DESCRIPTION file

The DESCRIPTION file contains the structural characteristics of a database, physically and logically. This file is created from the DASDL source by the DASDL compiler and contains the layout (physical description), timestamp, audit file size, update level, logical database definition, and any static information about the database. It contains information about the database, not the data itself.

There is only one current DESCRIPTION file for each DMSII database. Databridge must have access to the DESCRIPTION file before it can replicate a database. Additionally, Databridge uses the DESCRIPTION file information for consistency checks between the primary database and the secondary or replicated database.

The DESCRIPTION file corresponds to the schema in a relational database.

DMSII Support

DMSII Support is a Databridge library that retrieves data records from the DMSII database for cloning. The Databridge Engine links to this library to perform database functions such as reading records, switching the audit file, and getting database statistics.

extraction

Extraction is the process of reading through a data set sequentially and writing those records to a file (either a secondary database or flat file).

fixup records

Changes that occur to the DMSII database while a clone is taking place.

primary database

This is the original DMSII database that resides on the host. Databridge replicates from the primary database to one or more client databases. The client databases can be another DMSII database or one of several relational databases. Compare this to the replicated (or secondary) database.

quiet point (QPT)

A quiet point is a point in the audit trail when the DMSII database is quiet and no program is in transaction state. This can occur naturally, or it can be forced by a DMSII sync point.

replication

Replication is the ongoing process of cloning and tracking changes to a DMSII database.

secondary database

The replicated database. The replicated database is the database that usually resides on the client machine and contains records cloned from the DMSII database. The replicated database is updated periodically with changes made to the primary (original) DMSII database. The periodic update (or tracking process) is explained later in this section. Compare this to the primary database.

set

An index into a data set. A set has an entry (key + pointer) for every record in the data set.

structure

A data set, set, subset, access, or remap. Each structure has a unique number called the structure number.

subset

An index into a data set. A subset does not necessarily have an entry (key + pointer) for every record in the data set. Subsets are used to access selected members of a data set and to represent relationships between data set records. Subsets typically contain fewer entries than normal sets.

An automatic subset is any subset that contains a WHERE clause and is maintained by DMSII.

A manual subset is any subset that is maintained by an application.

Support Library

A library that provides translation, formatting, and filtering to the DBServer and other accessories. After DBServer receives data from the Databridge Engine, it calls the Support Library to determine if the data should be replicated, and if so, passes the data to the Support Library for formatting.

tracking

Tracking is an ongoing process for propagating changes made to records in the DMSII primary database to the replicated database after the initial clone. The Databridge Engine performs extraction as well as tracking.