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DCI allows COBOL applications to store and access data in database tables, rather than traditional COBOL records. Once stored in the database, data may be also accessed and manipulated using ad-hoc SQL queries and commands, and by any ODBC compliant software applications. With DCI, the performance of COBOL applications are preserved on the front end, while DBMaker provides the flexibility to enable decision support queries and a distributed storage and retrieval architecture at the back end. |
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Mapping Files to the Database
Engineers in the DBMaker development team have worked closely with ACUCOBOL® and Micro Focus partners and distributors. The result is an interface that allows COBOL records to be mapped directly to the rows of a DBMaker table. Fields and records from the COBOL file are used to create the structure of an XML file, which is then used to create database table schema. The data type and name of each field is precisely mapped, so a COBOL field defined as ADDRESS pic X(20) automatically becomes a CHAR(20) type column called ADDRESS in the database table. As the database tables are mapped to the original COBOL file structure, COBOL data can be stored in a database with no changes to the structure of the original COBOL source code. Multiple record formats are also accepted, and with the addition of directives (COBOL source code commands that are understood by DCI) they can also be exactly mapped to a database table.
Once in the database, a variety of tools can be used to access and manipulate the data. For SQL users DBMaker provides dmSQL, a command line driven tool for executing SQL commands on the DBMaker database. DBMaker also provides three graphical, cross-platform database management tools: JDBA, JServer Manager, and JConfiguration Tool. These Java-based applications can run on any machine that supports the Java run-time environment (JRE). Using the Java application suite requires very little prior knowledge of database management, yet still allows you to make full use of the database's features.
Efficient Access
DCI provides a direct link into the internal database engine. This eliminates most overhead processing associated with moving to an RDBMS, so queries have a response time that is similar to the old COBOL file storage. This is very important as most databases are accessed through an outside query process. This external process greatly increases the time required to process data, so data access becomes unacceptably slow, and application performance is degraded. |
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Conclusion
COBOL continues to be used for a huge variety of business applications, and data handled by these applications is often stored using the traditional COBOL B-tree filing technique. This method is very suitable for repeated high speed access to the same data sets. However, many types of analysis and decision support require broad access to a wide variety of data and flexible querying techniques. Increasing the value of existing data by referencing it to other data sets or enabling ad-hoc queries is virtually impossible with traditional COBOL filing techniques, but is straightforward in an relational database environment. DBMaker now bridges the gap between traditional COBOL systems and modern relational database systems with DCI.
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