Introduction

tableBASE is a memory-resident table-management system that handles row data in similar ways to a database management system (DBMS) but with substantially faster performance.

With tableBASE, all table data is loaded into memory in a tableSPACE region (TSR) on the first table access, thereby making the entire table available. This permits extremely fast access to all the data and ensures that all requisite data manipulations can be performed directly in memory. tableBASE uses IBM’s Data Space architecture, allowing tables to occupy up to 2G of data in virtual memory. Large table sorting and manipulation occurs in memory, without resorting to external files. Since data manipulation is done entirely in memory using very short path lengths, tableBASE avoids the I/O and CPU overheads associated with other technologies. It can be used with applications written in C, C++, COBOL, Assembler, PL/1, and any other language that can make a standard IBM call. tableBASE requires z/OS running on 64 bit hardware which are provided with the z10 EC processor and higher. More information on systems requirements can be found in the tableBASE Concepts and Facilities Guide.

tableBASE improves the performance of applications that use data with a high read-to-write ratio such as validation tables, reference tables and business rules. tableBASE also facilitates the creation of on-the-fly tables that can be used to amalgamate report information or discern business intelligence information.

tableBASE provides proprietary facilities for:

  • dynamic allocation of memory
  • dynamic creation of indexes
  • indirect accessing of tables
  • date-sensitive processing
  • memory management.

For more information on tableBASE, see the tableBASE Concepts and Facilities Guide.

This section is designed to provide the background you, as a programmer, should have to make effective use of the capabilities of tableBASE.