Re: MIDRANGE-L Digest V1 #720

Dean

At 07:01 PM 10/19/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Folks,
>
>In a message dated 97-10-18 13:31:56 EDT, you write:
>
>> Use a data area. Load a value into this data area at the start of your job
>and 
>> clear it out at the end. Any job can then check this value to see if your
>job 
>> is running.
>
>I've seen at least two responses on this, and have to disagree with actually
>placing a value in the data area.  If the system goes down or the program
>falls over, the value is left and the jobs looking for it don't run -- even
>though the program isn't running.  For this reason, I prefer the allocation
>method.
>
>The BPCS software package does this all over the place.  We once went a week
>without anyone noticing that automated transactions weren't posting due to an
>"orphaned" data area -- seems "Systems Engineering" shut the machine down
>early for backup, causing the program that normally resets the area on
>weekends to not run.  If you allocate it and check for same, the object will
>free itself up if a program fails...

In another reply you mentioned client/server environments. Client Access
has the means to run commands on the 400 from a PC, and I think there is
some kind of feedback, so ALCOBJ should work (there I am shoulding again!),
as long as we can know the result of the attempted allocation.

I would think that Java has the same capability.

Cheers

Vernon Hamberg
Systems Software Programmer
Old Republic National Title Insurance Company
400 Second Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN  55401-2499
(612) 371-1111 x480


+---
| This is the Midrange System Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to "MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com".
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to MAJORDOMO@midrange.com
|    and specify 'unsubscribe MIDRANGE-L' in the body of your message.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---