Re: Part-lists in ADM/400

>  From:    Refaie.Heba@khb.hu

>  Hello
>   
>          I have a small problem, It is related to the application 
>  development manager /400. If I have a part-list which contains other 
>  part-lists and these other part-lists contain part-lists also and so on. 
>  Is there any command or work around that makes me able to retrieve the 
>  names of all the embedded part-lists inside a given one? I want to avoid 
>  the hassle of treating the part-list as files and read them recursively. 
>  Is there any idea that can make life easier for me.
>  
>  Thanks 
>  Heba 

If you are designing a system, you might look at how Bill of Material Product 
Structure is standardized in ERP systems.  I have worked with MAPICS, BPCS, 
and some home brew that may have beein influenced by APICS.  In all cases 
there is a file which contains a PARENT CHILD releationship.

Each item in the part lists has information about that item stored in an ITEM 
file, perhaps several specialized files ... engineering data, cost 
information, inventory status.

The CHILD part is a component of the PARENT part.
The record identifying this link gives some criteria like HOW MANY of the 
child parts are included in the parent list.

This relationship is a FILE with relatively small noumber of fields, using 
400 index keys so that you can get at the data either from the PARENT 
perspective or from the CHILD perspective.

When the software is processing this data, it uses a series of nested arrays.
There is the logic that is reading all the records associated with what 
children parts might share the same parent level.
Then for each child, it in turn has children, so we remember our navigation 
clues in like an array of clues, so after exhausting children of children, 
each level gets back to the array values associated with the next branch 
after each one is exhausted.

Now there is a language of labeling sibling branches of chldren, as you 
explore the family tree in various directions to accomplish different goals, 
so you keep all of this straight in your programmer mind.  If you have never 
worked with ERP product structure before, it takes a bit of getting 
comfortable with, but is well worth the effort.

I recently did some modifications of our ERP product structure, in which I 
added additional links.  The parent-child pattern holds true for the official 
story, but the problem was that this structure is not easy to access using 
general user tools like query/400.  You have to go to one record to get the 
address to get to another record ... ad finitum.  Thus as you learn the ERP 
logic, you also need to give some thought to what tools exist at your company 
in the hands of various users & ask yourself whether this structure is 
tools-friendly.

MacWheel99@aol.com (Alister Wm Macintyre) (Al Mac)
AS/400 Data Manager & Programmer for BPCS 405 CD Rel-02 mixed mode (twinax 
interactive & batch) @ http://www.cen-elec.com Central Industries of 
Indiana--->Quality manufacturer of wire harnesses and electrical 
sub-assemblies - fax # 812-424-6838

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