idms rexx

[Gary Cherlet]

Hi,
Is it possible to access IDMS-DB via a REXX program?
Reason : we would like to write a generator in REXX which needs input from an IDMS database
Hilde

[Gary Cherlet]

DML access is quite tricky. It can be done but anchoring the Subschema-Control needs a lot of messy coding.
If you have the SQL Option then it is really easy to just call IDMSBCF from a REXX.
If you use the "SET OPTIONS OUTPUT ddname" control statement in your input yu can get the result table in a sequential file of any lrecl which is easily processed by REXX.
I have many REXXs that have used this techniwue for years very effectively.

Chris Trayler

[Gary Cherlet]

You can write a DML PL/1 program , define as table procedure and use IDMSBCF to select this table procedure. (SQL-option).

Luc de Naeyer

[Gary Cherlet]

We used Cobol from REXX with great success. In fact wrote an entire application this way.

The problem with coding the IDMS-DB calls is that they need to be coded by hand because there is no REXX pre-compiler. So to understand the API for each type of call (i.e. each format of the FIND/GET/OBTAIN and all the variations on MODIFY, ERASE and so forth) - it would be useful to see the Cobol expansions from the pre-compiler for example - then translate that to REXX constructs.

Having done that you might as well just use the Cobol from REXX!

HTH - cheers - Gary

[Gary Cherlet]

Hi,

The DML pre-compiler is supporting only these languages: cobol, assembler or pl/1.

So, it can be done by a call to a cobol subprogram. In my mind, you have to use batch protocol.

bye - louis auger

[Gary Cherlet]

[color=#0901fc]This works.. Chris[color]

[font=Courier New]/* REXX */
newstack

x = msg('off')

"free fi(sysctl,syslst,sysipt,answers)"
"alloc fi(sysctl) ds('your.sysctl.file') shr reuse"
"delete ***"
"delete yyy"
"delete zzz"
x = msg('on')
"alloc fi(sysipt) ds(***) new lrecl(80)"
"alloc fi(syslst) ds(yyy) new"
"alloc fi(answers) ds(zzz) new lrecl(1024)"

queue 'SET OPTIONS OUTPUT ANSWERS;'
queue 'SELECT * FROM SYSDICT."OOAK-012";'
queue '/*'

n=queued()
"execio "n" diskw sysipt (finis"
"call 'your.load.library(idmsbcf)'"
bcfrc = rc

"execio * diskr syslst (finis"
"free fi(sysctl,syslst,sysipt)"
x = msg('off')
"delete ***"
"delete yyy"
x = msg('on')
n = queued()

if bcfrc > 0 then,
do
say 'Error from BCF - output follows...'
do n
pull line
say strip(substr(line,2),'T')
end
signal Finish
end
else,
do
delstack
"execio * diskr answers (finis"
n = queued()
do n
pull line
say line
end
end

delstack
finish:
return

[font]