Re: help!! -- how to create batch queries in bpcs? -- BPCS-L

>  From:    Johnson_Zhao@bba-nonwovens.com

>  Hi:
>     I have two basic urgent questions here for BPCs system because I do not
> have any document at hand.

This post reminds me of a joke:
There are three kinds of people in the world ...
those who can count & those who can't.

No offense intended.

>  1. I have 10 separate queries,

You lucky - we have thousands.

>  and I want to create a batch query to run all
> the queries in a specified sequence.
> Because I have to input some parameters (some dates),
>  I think I have to create a parameter input dialogue before I run the
>  batch query. How can I do that?

Yes you can, but it is a non-trivial task to combine:
parameter input to query/400 interactively
then have the string go on JOBQ

One of the problems is that it is extremely easy for someone to change the
query & cause your parameter input dialogue to break.

What we do is

a) If the job can not be run interactively, it does not belong in a
query/400, it belongs in RPG or SQL or some other high level language, unless
WRKQRY access by the user is permitted

(e.g. a "simple report" that joins ITH & CMF by someone who does not
understand that ITH already contains costs as of transaction time ... the
problem is that ITH has over a million records & CMF is 1/2 a million records
& query/400 finds all possible combinations before it selects just what we
need, while RPG or SQL can limit access to only the data that is needed).

b) We use a CL program with a string of RUNQRY with whatever the query is &
if the user has access to the selection screens on which of the queries.  For
example ... query-1 is used to recreate a work file which is input to
query-2.  This CL also has OVRPRTF because our query creators are in habit of
creating a query that works at THEIR facility, then invite co-worker to try
this out & we end up with someone at one facility mystified what happened to
their query that printed at another facility ... query/400 is not governed by
BPCS pop-up menu option-1.

c) We put this CL on one of the custom BPCS menus.

If you need something more sophisticated then visit the Query/400 forum of
AS/400 Network & check the midrange_l archives here.

>  2. Anybody knows how can I get the online document for bpcs4.05?
> I tried rundoc command, but it did not work.

To access the documentation library of BPCS 405 CD from within BPCS you have
to either have SYS security, or security specific to the DOC options.

If you have programmer authority, you can get at it by figuring out where the
file BPCSDOC is located, then accessing it through PDM.

Be very careful with granting security authority to people to do anything
more to this than reading the contents ... it is very easy for someone who is
not familiar with SEU to be deleting stuff by accident & not knowing how to
get it back.

There are in fact a whole "library" of documents.
The first one you should read is member SSALOG00 because it explains the
naming conventions for getting at the rest of them.

>  3. It tried to contact with SSA to get a user name and account for using
OGS
>  because I think there maybe some useful documents there, but they are too
> busy to reply .How can I get a valid user name and account to use OGS.

Your company has to have a contract with SSA for tech support (the help line)
because OSG is part of that.  If your company does not have such a contract,
you have to find some alternative to OSG.  There are several but I am under
orders not to reveal some proprietory information.  Since SSA is terminating
support for 405 CD, your company has to be on a supported version of BPCS for
the cost of SSA help line to be worth having.  We are talking several
thousand dollars a year here, so before you try to talk your boss into
budgeting that for SSA on-line documentation, consider whether formal
education at one of the BPCS Universities would be money better spent or get
one or more of the $250 to $350 BPCS Manuals, which can be shared by multiple
co-workers.

OSG has some excellent documents, but those of us who have elected to remain
on BPCS 405 CD have to live without them & go with the competition.

Visit BPCS_L archives http://archive.midrange.com/bpcs-l/index.htm
Search for documentation & you will have over 500 hits
then revise your search engine selection to be more selective

>  Johnson
>  from bba

MacWheel99@aol.com (Alister Wm Macintyre) (Al Mac)
BPCS 405 CD Manager / Programmer @ Global Wire Technologies Incorporated
http://www.globalwiretechnologies.com = new name same quality wire
engineering company: fax # 812-424-6838