Release 5.1 enhancements

The enhancements incorporated into Release 5.1 of tableBASE focused primarily on improving the product’s performance as well as maintaining compatibility with the latest versions of MVS.

Here are the more important features of Release 5.1 that are of particular interest to programmers of tableBASE applications and tablesONLINE exit programs:

  1. VSAM libraries. MVS tableBASE libraries may now be defined as VSAM files. The BDAM file organization will continue to be supported. In fact, you may have some libraries defined as BDAM files and some as VSAM files. Or, you may define all of your libraries as either BDAM or VSAM files.
  2. Faster initialization of BDAM libraries. Tests have shown that libraries are initialized under Release 5.1 in one-fifth the time of that used in Release 5.0
  3. Reduced elapsed time to write tables to BDAM libraries in the batch, TSO, and IMS TM environments. In the CICS environment, elapsed time to write to BDAM libraries has been halved. These reductions are most noticeable when large tables are stored or rolled out to TBTSLIB.
  4. More consistent JCL conventions across interfaces for specifying Release 5.1 Enhancements.
  5. TBTSLIB overflow libraries. In Release 5.0, tableBASE does not verify if TBTSLIB is available and properly defined until it is required for overflow. In Release 5.1, this check is performed at first access to tableBASE to insure that a job or task does not abend halfway through processing. If you are migrating from Release 5.0, you were able to process without ever referencing TBTSLIB, if there was no need. In order to prevent untimely abends with the Release 5.1, the validation of TBTSLIB is always performed first. If tableBASE finds that TBTSLIB is not properly defined or initialized, the job or task will abend with a G040 or 0040, depending on the environment.
  6. More use of storage above the line. tablesONLINE/CICS has been converted to COBOL II, thus tablesONLINE/CICS modules can be loaded above the line. The initial CICS GETMAIN for a transaction is now executed above the line.
  7. Revised and improved PTF (Program Temporary Fix) management programs that make the application and tracking of tableBASE PTFs much more reliable and convenient.