Oracle® Database Gateway for VSAM

User's Guide

11g Release 1 (11.1)

B31054-01

July 2007

Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM User's Guide, 11g Release 1 (11.1)

B31054-01

Copyright © 2005, 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved.

Primary Author:  Jeanne Wiegelmann

Contributing Author:  Maitreyee Chaliha, Sami Zeitoun, Oussama Mkaabal

Contributor:  Vira Goorah, Peter Wong

The Programs (which include both the software and documentation) contain proprietary information; they are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and are also protected by copyright, patent, and other intellectual and industrial property laws. Reverse engineering, disassembly, or decompilation of the Programs, except to the extent required to obtain interoperability with other independently created software or as specified by law, is prohibited.

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. If you find any problems in the documentation, please report them to us in writing. This document is not warranted to be error-free. Except as may be expressly permitted in your license agreement for these Programs, no part of these Programs may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose.

If the Programs are delivered to the United States Government or anyone licensing or using the Programs on behalf of the United States Government, the following notice is applicable:

U.S. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS Programs, software, databases, and related documentation and technical data delivered to U.S. Government customers are "commercial computer software" or "commercial technical data" pursuant to the applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation and agency-specific supplemental regulations. As such, use, duplication, disclosure, modification, and adaptation of the Programs, including documentation and technical data, shall be subject to the licensing restrictions set forth in the applicable Oracle license agreement, and, to the extent applicable, the additional rights set forth in FAR 52.227-19, Commercial Computer Software--Restricted Rights (June 1987). Oracle USA, Inc., 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065.

The Programs are not intended for use in any nuclear, aviation, mass transit, medical, or other inherently dangerous applications. It shall be the licensee's responsibility to take all appropriate fail-safe, backup, redundancy and other measures to ensure the safe use of such applications if the Programs are used for such purposes, and we disclaim liability for any damages caused by such use of the Programs.

Oracle, JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and Siebel are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

The Programs may provide links to Web sites and access to content, products, and services from third parties. Oracle is not responsible for the availability of, or any content provided on, third-party Web sites. You bear all risks associated with the use of such content. If you choose to purchase any products or services from a third party, the relationship is directly between you and the third party. Oracle is not responsible for: (a) the quality of third-party products or services; or (b) fulfilling any of the terms of the agreement with the third party, including delivery of products or services and warranty obligations related to purchased products or services. Oracle is not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort that you may incur from dealing with any third party.

Contents

List of Examples

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

- Audience

- Documentation Accessibility

- Related Documents

- Conventions

1 Getting Started with Oracle Database Gateways

- 1.1 Overview

- 1.2 Oracle Heterogeneous Services

- 1.3 Oracle Database Gateways

- 1.4 Gateway Architecture

- 1.5 Gateway Process Flow

- 1.6 Setup Flow

2 Gateway Features and Restrictions

- 2.1 Accessing VSAM Data

- 2.2 SQL Support

- 2.2.1 Transaction Support

- 2.2.2 Pass-Through Feature

- 2.2.3 Naming Rules

- 2.2.3.1 Rules for Naming Objects

- 2.2.3.2 Case Sensitivity

- 2.2.4 Data Types

- 2.2.4.1 Binary Literal Notation

- 2.2.4.2 Data Type Conversion

- 2.2.5 SQL Execution

- 2.2.5.1 Row Selection

- 2.2.5.2 Empty Strings

- 2.2.5.3 Empty Bind Variables

- 2.2.6 Locking

- 2.3 Handling Non-Relational Data

- 2.4 Restrictions

- 2.4.1 SQL Restrictions

- 2.4.1.1 Unsupported SQL Functions

- 2.4.1.2 SQL Syntax

- 2.4.1.3 Transaction Capability

- 2.4.1.4 Transactional Integrity

- 2.4.1.5 COMMIT or ROLLBACK in PL/SQL Cursor Loops

- 2.4.1.6 Pass-Through Feature

- 2.4.1.7 Database Links

- 2.4.1.8 Data Types

- 2.4.1.9 Encrypted Format Login

- 2.4.1.10 Data Dictionary Views and PL/SQL

- 2.4.2 VSAM Restrictions

- 2.4.2.1 General VSAM Restrictions

- 2.4.2.2 Restrictions Specific to VSAM (CICS)

- 2.4.2.3 Restrictions Specific to VSAM Batch

3 Normalizing Non-Relational Data

- 3.1 Overview of Normalizing Non-Relational Data

- 3.2 About Arrays

- 3.3 Representing Metadata

- 3.4 Methods of Handling Arrays

- 3.4.1 Virtual Views

- 3.4.2 Sequential Flattening (Bulk Load of Array Data)

4 Setting the Array Handling Policy

- 4.1 Setting the Default Behavior for Array Handling

- 4.2 Modifying the Default Behavior During Metadata Import

- 4.3 Modifying the Array Handling Policy for a Specific Table

A Data Type Conversion

- A.1 Conversion of Atomic Data Types

- A.2 Conversion of Non-Atomic Data Types

- A.3 Conversion of Decimal Data Types

- A.4 Conversion of Scaled Data Types

B Supported SQL Syntax and Functions

- B.1 Supported SQL Statements

- B.1.1 DELETE

- B.1.2 INSERT

- B.1.3 SELECT

- B.1.4 UPDATE

- B.2 Oracle Functions

- B.2.1 Functions Not Supported by VSAM

- B.2.2 Functions Supported by VSAM

- B.2.2.1 Arithmetic Operators

- B.2.2.2 Comparison Operators

- B.2.2.3 Group Functions

- B.2.2.4 String Functions

- B.2.2.5 Other Functions

C Data Dictionary

- C.1 Data Dictionary Support

- C.1.1 Accessing the Gateway Data Dictionary

- C.1.2 Supported Views and Tables

- C.1.3 Default Column Values

- C.2 VSAM Data Dictionary Descriptions

D Globalization Support

- D.1 Character Set Terminology

- D.2 Globalization Support Settings

E Examples

- E.1 COBOL Copybook Example

Index

List of Examples

- 3-1 SQL Query Result

List of Figures

- 1-1 Gateway Processing

- 1-2 Gateway Process Flow

- 3-1 Arrays and Nested Arrays

- 3-2 Representation of Metadata on the Columns tab in Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

- 3-3 Normalized View of the Tables in the Metadata View

- 3-4 Virtual View STUDENT_BOOKS

- 3-5 Display of Virtual Views in Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

- 3-6 SQL View of the Single Table's Metadata

- 3-7 STUDENT_ST with All Parent and Child Records

- 4-1 Setting the Default Behavior for Handling Arrays

- 4-2 Selecting the Metadata Model

- 4-3 Modifying the Array Handling Policy on the Table Level

- E-1 Metadata Example in COBOL

List of Tables

- 2-1 SQL Syntax Restrictions

- 3-1 Metadata Column Tab Definition

- 3-2 SQL View Window

- A-1 Atomic Data Types

- A-2 Non-atomic Data Types

- A-3 Decimal Data Types

- A-4 Scaled Data Types

- C-1 ALL_CATALOG

- C-2 ALL_COL_COMMENTS

- C-3 ALL_CONS_COLUMNS

- C-4 ALL_CONSTRAINTS

- C-5 ALL_IND_COLUMNS

- C-6 ALL_INDEXES

- C-7 ALL_OBJECTS

- C-8 ALL_TAB_COLUMNS

- C-9 ALL_TAB_COMMENTS

- C-10 ALL_TABLES

- C-11 ALL_USERS

- C-12 ALL_VIEWS

- C-13 DBA_CATALOG

- C-14 DBA_OBJECTS

- C-15 DBA_TAB_COLUMNS

- C-16 DICT_COLUMNS

- C-17 DICTIONARY

- C-18 DUAL

- C-19 USER_CATALOG

- C-20 USER_COL_COMMENTS

- C-21 USER_CONS_COLUMNS

- C-22 USER_CONSTRAINTS

- C-23 USER_IND_COLUMNS

- C-24 USER_INDEXES

- C-25 USER_OBJECTS

- C-26 USER_TAB_COLUMNS

- C-27 USER_TAB_COMMENTS

- C-28 USER_TABLES

- C-29 USER_USERS

- C-30 USER_VIEWS

- D-1 Globalization Support Language Codes

Preface

This manual describes the Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM, which enables Oracle client applications to access VSAM data through Structured Query Language (SQL). The gateway, with the Oracle Database, creates the appearance that all data resides on a local Oracle Database, even though the data can be widely distributed.

Audience

This manual is intended for Oracle database administrators who perform the following tasks:

- Installing and configuring the Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM

- Diagnosing gateway errors

- Using the gateway to access VSAM data

Note:
You should understand the fundamentals of Oracle Database Gateways before using this guide to install or administer the gateway.

Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Accessibility standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For more information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at

http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

Screen readers may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, some screen readers may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

TTY Access to Oracle Support Services

Oracle provides dedicated Text Telephone (TTY) access to Oracle Support Services within the United States of America 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For TTY support, call 800.446.2398.

Related Documents

For more information, see the following documents in the Oracle Database Gateway 11g Release 1 (11.1) documentation set:

- Oracle Database New Features

- Oracle Call Interface Programmer's Guide

- Oracle Enterprise Manager Administrator's Guide

- Oracle Database Administrator's Guide

- Oracle Application Developer's Guide - Fundamentals

- Oracle Database Concepts

- Oracle Database Performance Tuning Guide and Reference

- Oracle Database Performance Planning

- Oracle Database Error Messages

- Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide

- Oracle Database Reference

- Oracle SQL Reference

- Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide

- SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference

- Oracle Database Heterogeneous Connectivity Administrator's Guide

- Oracle 2 Day DBA

- Oracle Database Security Guide

Conventions

The following text conventions are used in this document:

Convention

Meaning

boldface

Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary.

italic

Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for which you supply particular values.

monospace

Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.

1 Getting Started with Oracle Database Gateways

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Overview

- Oracle Heterogeneous Services

- Oracle Database Gateways

- Gateway Architecture

- Gateway Process Flow

- Setup Flow

1.1 Overview

Heterogeneous data access is a problem that affects a lot of companies. A lot of companies run several different database systems. Each of these systems stores data and has a set of applications that run against it. Consolidation of this data in one database system is often hard—in large part because many of the applications that run against one database may not have an equivalent that runs against another. Until such time as migration to one consolidated database system is made feasible, it is necessary for the various heterogeneous database systems to interoperate.

Oracle Database Gateways provide the ability to transparently access data located in a non-Oracle system from an Oracle environment. This transparency eliminates the need for application developers to customize their applications to access data from different non-Oracle systems, thus decreasing development efforts and increasing the mobility of the application. Applications can be developed using a consistent Oracle interface for both Oracle and VSAM.

Gateway technology is composed of two parts: a component that has the generic technology to connect to a non-Oracle system, which is common to all the non-Oracle systems, called Heterogeneous Services, and a component that is specific to the non-Oracle system that the gateway connects to. Heterogeneous Services, in conjunction with the Database Gateway agent and Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, enables transparent access to non-Oracle systems from an Oracle environment.

1.2 Oracle Heterogeneous Services

Heterogeneous Services provides the generic technology for connecting to non-Oracle systems. As an integrated component of the database, Heterogeneous Services can exploit features of the database, such as the powerful SQL parsing and distributed optimization capabilities.

Heterogeneous Services extend the Oracle SQL engine to recognize the SQL and procedural capabilities of the remote non-Oracle system and the mappings required to obtain necessary data dictionary information. Heterogeneous Services provides two types of translations: the ability to translate Oracle SQL into the proper dialect of the non-Oracle system and the ability to handle data dictionary translations so that the metadata of the non-Oracle system is displayed in the local format. For situations where no translations are available, native SQL can be issued to the non-Oracle system using the pass-through feature of Heterogeneous Services.

Heterogeneous Services also maintains the transaction coordination between Oracle and the remote non-Oracle system, such as providing the global transaction protocol to ensure distributed transaction integrity, even for non-Oracle systems that do not natively support global transactions.

See Also:
Oracle Database Heterogeneous Connectivity Administrator's Guide for more information about Heterogeneous Services.

1.3 Oracle Database Gateways

Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM allows Oracle client applications to access VSAM data through Structured Query Language (SQL). The gateway, with the Oracle database server, creates the appearance that all data resides on a local Oracle database server, even though data might be widely distributed. If data is moved from this data source to an Oracle database, no changes in the client application's design or function are needed because the gateway handles all differences in data types or SQL functions between the applications and the database.

Using Oracle SQL, Oracle client applications can access the VSAM data source as if the data was stored in an Oracle table. A single SQL statement can access data residing in Oracle and VSAM data sources, performing heterogeneous joins and subselects. This means that you can develop one set of portable applications to use against Oracle and these non-relational data sources. You can continue to develop new information systems without losing your investment in existing data and applications.

Transactions updating Oracle and this non-relational data source are automatically protected by the Oracle global transactions feature. Use of synonyms is another Oracle feature. By setting up synonyms in the Oracle database server that point to database links to VSAM files, the physical location of the data is transparent to the client application. This allows future migration of data from VSAM to Oracle to be transparent to the client applications.

The gateway requires the Oracle database server, Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, and Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways. All other Oracle products are optional. However, using other Oracle products with the gateway can greatly extend the gateway's capabilities.

The gateway can be installed on a computer where the Oracle database is installed, or on a second, standalone machine. Each configuration has its advantages and disadvantages. The issues to consider when you determine where to install the gateway are network traffic, availability of the operating system platform, hardware resources, and storage.

Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways must be installed on the z/OS system where the VSAM data source is installed. To be able to configure and manage Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, you need to install Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways on a computer running Windows or Linux.

1.4 Gateway Architecture

The gateway is invoked by the listener. The gateway is not multi-threaded and cannot support shared database links. Each gateway session spawns a separate gateway process, and connections cannot be shared.

The gateway is located on a Windows or UNIX computer. The non-relational data source resides on a computer running IBM z/OS. The Oracle database server can reside on the same machine as the gateway or on another machine.

The gateway interacts with the Oracle database server to interface between client applications and the VSAM data source, as shown in Figure 1-1.

Note:
The non-Oracle system in Figure 1-1 and Figure 1-2 represents the VSAM data source.

Figure 1-1 Gateway Processing

- Client applications, such as Developer, connect to the Oracle database server by using Oracle Net.

- The Oracle database server, which includes Heterogeneous Services and the database itself, resides on a single system. This Oracle database server also stores definitions of database links for the non-Oracle system.

- The gateway to VSAM resides on a second system.

- The VSAM data source, together with Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, resides on a third system, which is an IBM z/OS platform.

- Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, which is used to configure Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, resides on a fourth system, which can be running a Windows or Linux operating system.

- The Oracle database server on the first system uses Oracle Net to connect directly to the VSAM gateway on the second system. The gateway itself uses the Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways protocol to connect to Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, which then connects to the non-Oracle system using the same protocol.

The Oracle database server and the gateway work together to present the appearance of a single Oracle database to the client. All data accessed by the client appears to reside in a single Oracle database. The client application sends a request to the Oracle database server, and the Oracle database server sends the request to the gateway.

For the first transaction in a session, the gateway logs into the VSAM data source using a username and password that is valid in the respective data source. The gateway converts the SQL statement to a native VSAM statement, and the VSAM data source performs the request. The gateway converts the retrieved data to a format compatible with the Oracle database server and returns the results to the Oracle database server, which returns the results to the client application.

1.5 Gateway Process Flow

Figure 1-2 shows a typical gateway process flow. The steps explain the sequence of the events that occurs when a client application queries the VSAM data source through the gateway.

Figure 1-2 Gateway Process Flow

1. The client application sends a query over Oracle Net to the Oracle database server.

2. The Oracle database server sends the query over to the gateway, again using Oracle Net.

3. The gateway passes the query on to Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways.

4. For the first transaction in a session, Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways logs into the VSAM data source using a user name and password that is valid in the respective data source.

5. Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways converts the Oracle SQL statement into a data access operation understood by the data source.

6. Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways retrieves the data.

7. Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways converts the retrieved data into a format compatible with the Oracle database server.

8. Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways passes the data to the gateway using the Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways protocol.

9. The gateway returns the query results to the Oracle database server, again using Oracle Net.

10. The Oracle database server passes the query results to the client application by using Oracle Net. The database link remains open until the gateway session is finished or the database link is explicitly closed.

1.6 Setup Flow

To be able to access VSAM data, you need to perform the tasks described in the following list, in the specified order. Each step in the list directs you to the relevant manual or chapter.

1. Install Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

See:
Oracle Connect Installation and Configuration Guide for IBM z/OS for information on installing Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

2. Install Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

See:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX

3. Configure Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

See:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX

4. Set up the connection to Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

See:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX

5. Set up the VSAM data source

See:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX

6. Set up the data source metadata

See:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX

7. Install Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM

See:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX

8. Configure Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM

See:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX

2 Gateway Features and Restrictions

After the gateway is installed and configured, you can use the gateway to access the Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) data, pass VSAM commands from applications to the VSAM database, perform distributed queries, and copy data.

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Accessing VSAM Data

- SQL Support

- Handling Non-Relational Data

- Restrictions

2.1 Accessing VSAM Data

You can access VSAM data either directly or under CICS, as follows:

- VSAM (CICS): If your VSAM files are installed under CICS, the VSAM (CICS) data source accesses VSAM by making calls from the external CICS interface (EXCI) to a CICS program that is provided as part of the Oracle Connect installation. This CICS program does the actual VSAM reads and writes from within CICS.
When you access VSAM data using this data source, the following restrictions apply:

- SQL DELETE operations are not supported for ESDS files.

- Using an alternate index to access an entry sequenced data set (ESDS) file is not supported.

- A non-unique alternate index for a key sequenced data set (KSDS) file is not supported.

- VSAM Batch: This data source connects directly to the VSAM data and is limited if the VSAM files are managed by CICS. In this case, it is recommended to use this data source for read-only access to VSAM files. However, this may not give you adequate read integrity if some changes are buffered by CICS. Another alternative is to use the VSAM under CICS data source.
When you access VSAM data using the VSAM/Batch data source, the following restrictions apply:

- Transactions are not supported when you access VSAM directly. When you update VSAM data, the update is committed immediately. You cannot issue rollback to un-commit the update.

- Locking is not supported.

- You cannot update an array value (a child record in a hierarchical table) when the parent record is included in the SQL in a subquery.

- SQL DELETE operations are not supported for ESDS files.

- An relative record data set (RRDS) file cannot have an alternate index.

- The primary key of a KSDS file must be one segment only (however, it can be several consecutive fields). You cannot modify the primary key value of a KSDS file.

Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways supports VSAM data on IBM z/OS platforms. VSAM files of types Key Sequenced Data Structure (KSDS), Entry Sequenced Data Set (ESDS), and Relative Record Data Set (RRDS) are supported.

2.2 SQL Support

Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM supports SQL-based data access, allowing developers and applications to use this common and standard syntax for retrieving and updating VSAM data, and for using SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements.

While SQL is supported by relational database management systems, it is not available for legacy, non-relational data such as VSAM data. This means that Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM goes beyond the functionality provided by other Oracle gateways that connect to relational databases, as those merely deal with the translation and delegation of SQL to the target database. Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM takes care of the translation of the SQL statements into system and file specific access primitives, and their execution in an optimized manner, effectively serving as the SQL processor for the non-relational system.

In terms of SQL support, the gateway supports a wide range of SQL capabilities, from basic SQL statements to statements that include advanced features, such as joining of data from multiple VSAM sources, use of subselects, and support of data manipulation functions. In addition, the gateway optimizes query performance by supporting such advanced capabilities in where clauses, processing most of them before returning the data to Oracle.

Because VSAM is a non-relational system, its data model is not normalized. The gateway provides a complete normalization process that imports existing legacy metadata and produces a relational format that can be used by Oracle users. A key consideration in the normalization process takes care of the hierarchical data structures that are common in VSAM, such as arrays.

Going through the import process, the gateway translates the hierarchical structures and embedded arrays into a relational model that maps the hierarchy to several tables. In addition, the process automatically generates the necessary foreign constraints that can later be retrieved using regular Oracle Data Dictionary queries.

In respect to the data dictionary, the gateway provides all the necessary information although the actual data dictionary is not located in the Oracle database. The gateway supports standard data dictionary queries, making the interaction with the non-Oracle data completely transparent to the user, and taking care of translating the non-Oracle model into the Oracle standard data dictionary format including joins across non-Oracle data dictionary tables.

While the typical use case only supports the retrieval of information using SELECT statements, the gateway also supports data manipulation using INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements. Furthermore, it supports advanced options such as distributed transactions.

To summarize, Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM offers robust SQL support and relational access to non-relational, proprietary, legacy VSAM data. The following topics provide more information about specific SQL features and their support by the gateway.

This section includes the following topics:

- Transaction Support

- Pass-Through Feature

- Naming Rules

- Data Types

- SQL Execution

- Locking

See Also:
Supported SQL Syntax and Functions for details; SQL Restrictions for restrictions.

2.2.1 Transaction Support

The VSAM (CICS) data source supports global transactions.

To use Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways with global transactions, you must have RRS installed and configured and have CICS TS 1.3 or later installed.

The VSAM file participating in the 1PC or global transaction must be defined as recoverable. To define a file as recoverable, perform these steps.

1. Install the VSAM file under CICS.

2. In CICS, go to the recovery parameters section of the relevant file.

3. Set the value of the RECOvery parameter to Backoutonly and the value of the Fwdrecovlog parameter to no.

2.2.2 Pass-Through Feature

You can import a COBOL copybook to define a VSAM record structure of an existing VSAM data set. However, you can also create a VSAM data set and define its record structure by using the pass-through feature. You can then view this structure in Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways.

Note:
This option is not supported when you access VSAM data under CICS.

Use the DBMS_HS_PASSTHROUGH package in a PL/SQL block to specify the statement to be passed to the VSAM database, as follows:

DECLARE
num_rows INTEGER;
BEGIN
num_rows := DBMS_HS_PASSTHROUGH.EXECUTE_IMMEDIATE@VSAM('command');
END;
/

Where command cannot be one of the following:

- BEGIN TRANSACTION

- COMMIT

- ROLLBACK

- SAVE

- SHUTDOWN

- VSAM tool commands

For example, to create a table using the pass-through feature, run the following command:

SQL> declare
ret integer;
begin
ret := dbms_hs_passthrough.execute_immediate@dg4vsam('          create table sample(I int,c char(10))');
end;
/
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

The DBMS_HS_PASSTHROUGH package supports passing bind values and executing SELECT statements.

Note:
TRUNCATE cannot be used in a pass-through statement.

See Also:
PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference and Chapter 3 of Oracle Database Heterogeneous Connectivity Administrator's Guide for more information about the DBMS_HS_PASSTHROUGH package.

2.2.3 Naming Rules

Naming rule issues include the following:

- Rules for Naming Objects

- Case Sensitivity

2.2.3.1 Rules for Naming Objects

The concept of owner does not exist for objects from VSAM or VSAM/CICS data sources. The userid of the dblink is not used to qualify the object. The owner field in the data dictionary tables (see Appendix C, "Data Dictionary" for details) is hardcoded as VSAM. You must not use an explicit owner qualifier to reference VSAM or VSAM/CICS tables. Using an explicit owner name results in a message like the following:

ORA-00942: table or view does not exist

See Also:
Oracle Database Reference and VSAM documentation for more information on naming objects and Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

2.2.3.2 Case Sensitivity

Object names are not case sensitive. Both Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways and the gateway automatically use upper case for data source metadata.

2.2.4 Data Types

Data type issues include the following:

- Binary Literal Notation

- Data Type Conversion

2.2.4.1 Binary Literal Notation

Oracle SQL uses hexadecimal digits surrounded by single quotes to express literal values being compared or inserted into columns defined as data type RAW.

This notation is not converted to syntax compatible with the VSAM VARBINARY and BINARY data types (a 0x followed by hexadecimal digits, surrounded by single quotes).

For example, the following statement is not supported:

SQL> INSERT INTO BINARY_TAB@VSAM VALUES ('0xff')

Where BINARY_TAB contains a column of data type VARBINARY or BINARY. Use bind variables when inserting into or updating VARBINARY and BINARY data types.

2.2.4.2 Data Type Conversion

VSAM does not support implicit date conversions. Such conversions must be explicit.

For example, the gateway issues an error for the following SELECT statement:

SELECT DATE_COL FROM TEST@VSAM WHERE DATE_COL = "1-JAN-2001";

To avoid problems with implicit conversions, add explicit conversions, as in the following:

SELECT DATE_COL FROM TEST@VSAM WHERE DATE_COL = TO_DATE("1-JAN-2001")

See Also:
Appendix C, "Data Dictionary" for more information about restrictions on data types and Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

2.2.5 SQL Execution

Query issues include the following:

- Row Selection

- Empty Strings

- Empty Bind Variables

2.2.5.1 Row Selection

VSAM evaluates a query condition for all selected rows before returning any of the rows. If there is an error in the evaluation process for one or more rows, no rows are returned even though the remaining rows satisfy the condition.

Oracle evaluates the query condition row-by-row and returns a row when the evaluation is successful. Rows are returned until a row fails the evaluation.

See Also:
Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

2.2.5.2 Empty Strings

Oracle processes an empty string in a SQL statement as a null value. VSAM processes an empty string as an empty string.

Comparing to an empty string

The Gateway passes literal empty strings to the VSAM database without any conversion. If you intended an empty string to represent a null value,VSAM does not process the statement that way; it uses the empty string.

You can avoid this problem by using NULL or IS NULL in the SQL statement instead of the empty string syntax, as in the following example:

SELECT * from "emp"@VSAM where "ename" IS NULL;

Selecting an empty string

For VARCHAR columns, the gateway returns an empty string to the Oracle Database as NULL value.

For CHAR columns, the gateway returns the full size of the column with each character as empty space (' ').

2.2.5.3 Empty Bind Variables

For VARCHAR bind variables, the gateway passes empty bind variables to the VSAM database as a NULL value.

2.2.6 Locking

The locking model for a VSAM database differs significantly from the Oracle model. The gateway depends on the underlying VSAM behavior, so Oracle applications that access VSAM through the gateway can be affected by the following possible scenarios:

- Read access may block write access.

- Write access may block read access.

- Statement-level read consistency is not guaranteed.

See Also:
VSAM documentation for information about the VSAM locking model.

2.3 Handling Non-Relational Data

Non-relational data sources require metadata, which is kept separately from the data itself. This metadata is stored as a data source definition in a data source repository, on the machine where the data source is defined. It lets you access the data from a non-relational database with SQL commands.

The metadata is imported and maintained using Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways. If COBOL copybooks describing the data source records are available, you can import the metadata by using the metadata import procedure in the Design perspective, on the Metadata tab. If the metadata is provided in a number of COBOL copybooks that use different filter settings, you first import the metadata from copybooks with the same settings and later the metadata from other copybooks.

When the non-relational data contains arrays, these arrays can be exposed as follows:

- As virtual views. This method generates a virtual view for every array in the parent record that contains all the array members.

- As a sequential view (a single table). This method maps all the record fields of the non-relational file to a single table that contains both parent and child records.

2.4 Restrictions

The following sections describe the restrictions and include suggestions for dealing with them if possible:

- SQL Restrictions

- VSAM Restrictions

2.4.1 SQL Restrictions

Restrictions related to SQL are described in the following sections:

- Unsupported SQL Functions

- SQL Syntax

- Transaction Capability

- Transactional Integrity

- COMMIT or ROLLBACK in PL/SQL Cursor Loops

- Pass-Through Feature

- Database Links

- Data Types

- Encrypted Format Login

- Data Dictionary Views and PL/SQL

2.4.1.1 Unsupported SQL Functions

When an unsupported SQL function is used in an UPDATE, DELETE, or INSERT statement, an error occurs.

See Supported SQL Syntax and Functions for a list of the supported functions.

2.4.1.2 SQL Syntax

Table 2-1 lists the restrictions that apply to SQL syntax.

Table 2-1 SQL Syntax Restrictions

Syntax

Restriction

WHERE CURRENT OF clause

UPDATE and DELETE statements with the WHERE CURRENT OF clause are not supported by the gateway because they rely on the Oracle ROWID implementation. To update or delete a specific row through the gateway, a condition style WHERE clause must be used.

CONNECT BY clause

The gateway does not support the CONNECT BY clause in a SELECT statement.

ROWID

The Oracle ROWID implementation is not supported.

Subqueries in INSERT statement

Subqueries of INSERT statements cannot use multiple aliases for the same table. For example, the following statement is not supported:

SQL> INSERT INTO "emp_target"@VSAM
SELECT a."empno" FROM "emp_source"@VSAM a,
"emp_source"@VSAM b WHERE b."empno"=9999

EXPLAIN PLAN statement

The EXPLAIN PLAN statement is not supported.

Date arithmetic

The following SQL expressions do not function correctly with the gateway:

date + numbernumber + datedate - numberdate1 - date2

Statements with the preceding expressions are sent to the VSAM database without any translation. Since VSAM does not support these date arithmetic functions, the statements return an error.

See Also: Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

String functions

If you concatenate numeric literals using the "||" operator when using the gateway to query a VSAM database, the result is an arithmetic addition. For example, the result of the following statement is 18:

SQL> SELECT 9 || 9 FROM DUAL@VSAM;

The result is 99 when using Oracle to query an Oracle database.

Schema names and PL/SQL

If you do not prefix a VSAM database object with its schema name in a SQL statement within a PL/SQL block, the following error message occurs:

ORA-6550 PLS-201 Identifier table_name must be declared.

Change the SQL statement to include the schema name of the object.

See Also: Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

2.4.1.3 Transaction Capability

The gateway does not support savepoints. If a distributed update transaction is under way involving the gateway and a user attempts to create a savepoint, the following error occurs:

ORA-02070: database dblink does not support savepoint in this context

By default, the VSAM-CICS data source supports global transactions. If the VSAM-CICS data source is configured differently in Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, see the Oracle Database Heterogeneous Connectivity Administrator's Guide for configuration information.

See Also:
Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

2.4.1.4 Transactional Integrity

The VSAM batch data source only supports auto-commit mode. Therefore, the gateway cannot guarantee transactional integrity. Each UPDATE, INSERT, and DELETE statement is immediately committed on the VSAM side and cannot be rolled back.

Note:
You can choose to run the gateway for the VSAM batch data source in read-only mode by setting the HS_FDS_TRANSACTION_MODE parameter to READ_ONLY. Carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of executing updates on the VSAM data source using the gateway.

2.4.1.5 COMMIT or ROLLBACK in PL/SQL Cursor Loops

Any COMMIT or ROLLBACK issued in a PL/SQL cursor loop closes all open cursors, which can result in the following error:

ORA-1002:  fetch out of sequence

To prevent this error, move the COMMIT or ROLLBACK statement outside the cursor loop.

See Also:
Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

2.4.1.6 Pass-Through Feature

VSAM commands cannot be issued using the pass-through feature. You should only use the pass-through feature to issue CREATE TABLE statements under the VSAM batch data source that result in the creation of a VSAM data set whose record format is exposed to Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways.

2.4.1.7 Database Links

The gateway is not multithreaded and cannot support shared database links. Each gateway session spawns a separate gateway process and connections cannot be shared.

2.4.1.8 Data Types

The FLOAT data type precision is (7).

The VARBINARY data type is reported as BINARY.

2.4.1.9 Encrypted Format Login

Oracle Database no longer supports the initialization parameter DBLINK_ENCRYPT_LOGIN. Up to version 7.3, this parameter's default true value prevented the password for the login user ID from being sent over the network (in the clear). Later versions automatically encrypt the password.

2.4.1.10 Data Dictionary Views and PL/SQL

Do not refer to data dictionary views in SQL statements contained within PL/SQL blocks.

2.4.2 VSAM Restrictions

When accessing VSAM data, the following restrictions apply:

- General VSAM Restrictions

- Restrictions Specific to VSAM (CICS)

- Restrictions Specific to VSAM Batch

2.4.2.1 General VSAM Restrictions

The following restrictions apply to both the VSAM Batch data source and the VSAM (CICS) data source:

- DDL is not supported.

- Record-level locking is not supported.

- Record-level sharing (RLS) is not supported.

- UPDATE operations on arrays (OCCURS clauses) are not supported. See Normalizing Non-Relational Data for details on handling arrays.

- Compressed VSAM files are only supported if the compression package makes the compression transparent.

- Records in ESDS files cannot be deleted from a table. Therefore, when deleting a record from a table, first make sure that it is not included in a file of type ESDS.

2.4.2.2 Restrictions Specific to VSAM (CICS)

The following restrictions apply to the VSAM (CICS) data source only:

- SQL DELETE operations are not supported for ESDS files.

- Using an alternate index to access an ESDS file is not supported.

- A non-unique alternate index for a KSDS file is not supported.

2.4.2.3 Restrictions Specific to VSAM Batch

The following restrictions apply to the VSAM Batch data source only:

- Transactions are not supported when accessing VSAM directly.
When accessing VSAM under CICS, global transactions are supported.

- Locking is not supported.

- SQL DELETE operations are not supported for ESDS files.

- An RRDS file cannot have an alternate index.

3 Normalizing Non-Relational Data

This section describes the support methods that Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways applies to normalize non-relational data. It includes the following topics:

- Overview of Normalizing Non-Relational Data

- Representing Metadata

- Methods of Handling Arrays

See Also:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX for information on importing metadata into Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways.

3.1 Overview of Normalizing Non-Relational Data

Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways exposes a purely relational front end through the HOA API. However, it connects to non-relational data sources, which include non-relational data models. As such, Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways provides a logical mapping that exposes the non-relational constructs in a relational manner. The most prevalent problem in this domain is the issue of arrays, which is described in this section.

3.2 About Arrays

An array is a group of similar elements of the same size. Arrays contain a series of data elements that are of the same data type, which can be simple or complex (group). A specific element is defined and accessed by its position in the array, which is provided by an index.

Arrays are a convenient way to store a fixed amount of data that is accessed in an unpredictable fashion. They are not efficient, however, when you need to insert or delete individual elements of the array.

3.3 Representing Metadata

Before looking at the different methods of handling arrays, you should understand how metadata is represented in Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways.

Figure 3-1 shows an example record with arrays and nested arrays.

See Also:
COBOL Copybook Example

Figure 3-1 Arrays and Nested Arrays

When you import this metadata into Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways, the import process creates a data dictionary definition that is equivalent to the original structure, usually mapping the fields one to one. The import process also writes all primary and foreign key definitions to the ALL_CONSTRAINTS table.

Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways represents the flattened view of the metadata on the table editor's Columns tab, as shown in Figure 3-2.

Figure 3-2 Representation of Metadata on the Columns tab in Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

Table 3-1 describes the different columns shown in Figure 3-2.

The (+) to the left of a column indicates a group field. This type of field usually has a Dimension value. This value is not mandatory, but it optimizes the access to an array. You can click (+) to display the group members. In Figure 3-2, all groups are expanded.

Table 3-1 Metadata Column Tab Definition

Column

Description

Column name

The name of the column.

Data type

The data type of the column. Selecting this field displays a drop-down box listing the possible data types.

Size

The size of the column for data types of a non-fixed size.

Scale

The information entered in this field depends on the data type:

For decimal data types, this is the number of digits to the right of the decimal place. This number must not be greater than the number of digits. The default value is 0.

For scaled data types, this is the total number of digits. The number must be negative.

Dimension

The maximum number of entries of an array. An array has a dimension other than zero. This value is not mandatory, but it optimizes the access to an array.

Offset

Not relevant for arrays.

Fixed offset

Not relevant for arrays.

Primary Key Column

The column is part of the table's primary key.

The tree in the Metadata view displays a normalized view of the tables, as shown in Figure 3-3, where STUDENT_BOOK, STUDENT_COURSE, and STUDENT_COURSE_ASSIGNMENTS are virtual views and STUDENT_ST is a single table, also called sequential view.

Figure 3-3 Normalized View of the Tables in the Metadata View

The following SQL query on the Oracle data dictionary produces the result shown in Example 3-1. In this query, data source is the name of the data source from which the metadata was created. The result shows the metadata of the original table after virtual arrays were created.

SQL> select TABLE_NAME,COLUMN_NAME,DATA_TYPE from ALL_TAB_COLUMNS@dg4[data_source] where table_name like 'STUDENT%';

Example 3-1 SQL Query Result

TABLE_NAME                       COLUMN_NAME                  DATA_TYPE
------------------------------  ---------------------------  ---------------------
STUDENT                          ID                           NUMBER
STUDENT                          FIRST_NAME                   CHAR
STUDENT                          LAST_NAME                    CHAR
STUDENT                          DATE_OF_BIRTH                CHAR
STUDENT                          NUMOF_COURSES                NUMBER
STUDENT                          NUMOF_BOOKS                  NUMBER
STUDENT_BOOK                     BOOK_ROWNUM                  NUMBER
STUDENT_BOOK                     ISBN                         CHAR
STUDENT_BOOK                     RETURN_DATE                  CHAR
STUDENT_COURSE                   COURSE_ROWNUM                NUMBER
STUDENT_COURSE                   COURSE_ID                    NUMBER
STUDENT_COURSE                   COURSE_TITLE                 CHAR
STUDENT_COURSE                   INSTRUCTOR_ID                NUMBER
STUDENT_COURSE                   NUMOF_ASSIGNMENTS            NUMBER
STUDENT_COURSE_ASSIGNMENTS       COURSE_ROWNUM                NUMBER
STUDENT_COURSE_ASSIGNMENTS       ASSIGNMENTS_ROWNUM           NUMBER
STUDENT_COURSE_ASSIGNMENTS       ASSIGNMENT_TYPE              CHAR
STUDENT_COURSE_ASSIGNMENTS       ASSIGNMENT_TITLE             CHAR
STUDENT_COURSE_ASSIGNMENTS       DUE_DATE                     CHAR
STUDENT_COURSE_ASSIGNMENTS       GRADE                        NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       __LEVEL                      VARCHAR2
STUDENT_ST                       __SEQUENCE                   NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       COURSE_ROWNUM                NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       ASSIGNMENTS_ROWNUM           NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       BOOK_ROWNUM                  NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       ID                           NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       FIRST_NAME                   CHAR
STUDENT_ST                       LAST_NAME                    CHAR
STUDENT_ST                       DATE_OF_BIRTH                CHAR
STUDENT_ST                       NUMOF_COURSES                NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       NUMOF_BOOKS                  NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       COURSE_ID                    NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       COURSE_TITLE                 CHAR
STUDENT_ST                       INSTRUCTOR_ID                NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       NUMOF_ASSIGNMENTS            NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       ASSIGNMENT_TYPE              CHAR
STUDENT_ST                       ASSIGNMENT_TITLE             CHAR
STUDENT_ST                       DUE_DATE                     CHAR
STUDENT_ST                       GRADE                        NUMBER
STUDENT_ST                       ISBN                         CHAR
STUDENT_ST                       RETURN_DATE                  CHAR
41 rows selected.

3.4 Methods of Handling Arrays

Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways lets you handle arrays by using the following methods:

- Virtual Views

- Sequential Flattening (Bulk Load of Array Data)

Note:
Objects from virtual views and sequential flattening are described by Oracle Gateways as tables.

See Chapter 4, "Setting the Array Handling Policy" for information on how to define array handling settings.

3.4.1 Virtual Views

Exposing arrays as virtual views is a commonly used technique to handle arrays. It generates a virtual view for every array in the parent record that contains all the array members. Virtual views contain primary key fields from the parent to connect the parent and the virtual view. Optionally, they can also contain all fields from the parent table.

During the import process or when you set the virtual array policy on the table level, Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways generates virtual views and names them by appending the array name to the parent name. When an array includes another array, the name of the resulting virtual table consists of the parent name, the array name, and the name of the nested array, as follows:

parentName_arrayName_nestedArrayName

For example, a parent table called STUDENT with an array called COURSE and a nested array called ASSIGNMENTS is represented by the virtual view STUDENT_COURSE_ASSIGNMENTS (see Figure 3-5).

The number of nested-array levels is not limited.

Virtual views include the following:

- The array member columns from the original structure.

- The fields from the parent's first unique key, or all parent fields, depending on the selection you make during the import process or when setting the virtual array policy on the table level.
If all parent fields are included in the virtual view, the parent's indexes are available in the view definition and can be used for efficient optimization strategies.

Note:
Inherited keys lose their uniqueness in the virtual view.

- If the view does not include all parent fields, the primary key fields (if the primary key is not the parent's first unique key).

- If selected, a column called <array_name>_ROWNUM, which identifies the row in the array.

The unique key and <array_name>_ROWNUM columns are generated automatically. Together, they uniquely identify each row in the virtual view and form a unique key.

Figure 3-4 shows the STUDENT_BOOKS virtual view with the two array member columns (ISBN and RETURN_DATE) and the column that identifies the row in the array (BOOK_ROWNUM).

Figure 3-4 Virtual View STUDENT_BOOKS

Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways also maintains primary and foreign key definitions that connect between the parent table and the array tables. This allows graphical tools to easily match parent and array.

When working with virtual views, consider the following limitations:

- Virtual views are read-only.

- Virtual views do not support arrays within variants that have a selector field.

Including all parent fields in the virtual view greatly reduces the need for performing join operations because this in itself is an implicit join. In general, the query processor can devise efficient access strategies because Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways copies all relevant indexes from the parent to the virtual view.

Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways indicates virtual views by using a different colored icon in the Metadata view, as shown in Figure 3-5.

Figure 3-5 Display of Virtual Views in Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways

3.4.2 Sequential Flattening (Bulk Load of Array Data)

Performing a bulk load of complex data from a non-relational system to a relational database requires a carefully thought-out algorithm that keeps I/O operations at a minimum.

In a bulk load scenario, a method such as Virtual Views requires a full scan of the physical file for every single array. An efficient method of performing this task presents a kind of row-wise normalization, called sequential flattening. This method reads all data in the physical file in a single scan.

Sequential flattening replaces arrays in a non-relational system by a sequence of rows. It maps all the record fields of the non-relational file to a single table that contains both parent and child records. In this way, sequential flattening enables the reception of a stream of data by using a single SELECT statement.

The sequentially flattened view of a complex table is referred to as a single table or sequential view. You can choose to create a sequential view in Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways by selecting the Generate sequential view check box during the Metadata Model Selection step of the Metadata Import procedure. The single table is read-only.

See Also:
Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX for details on importing metadata into Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways.

The flattened table is called <table>_ST, where <table> is the name of the parent table and ST indicates a single table. For example, if a parent table is called STUDENT, the single table, or sequential view, is called STUDENT_ST.

The structure of the single table is identical to the original table's structure, except that Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways removes all array dimensions and adds some control fields. When reading a record, Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways performs a tree traversal of the parent and its array hierarchy. Each record in the resulting recordset deals with a specific array member; other arrays are nulled out.

The sequentially flattened single table includes the following columns:

- The parent fields, that is the non-repeating fields.

- The array fields for all arrays within the parent.

- For each array, an optional column called <array_name>_ROWNUM, which identifies the row in the array. This column is generated automatically for the array.

The sequentially flattened single table includes a record (row) for each array record.

See Figure 3-1 for an illustration of arrays and nested arrays.

Figure 3-6 shows the metadata that sequential flattening produces for a data source with three arrays (COURSE, ASSIGNMENTS, and BOOK) in the SQL View window. The window presents read-only information about each of the columns in the table.

Figure 3-6 SQL View of the Single Table's Metadata

The following table describes the information presented in this window.

Table 3-2 SQL View Window

Information Type

Description

Name

The name of the column.

Data Type

The data type supported by that column. For example, string or integer.

Size

Indicates the maximum size allowable for the data in the column. The size is in standard units for the data type. For example, a string with size 40 can have no more than forty characters.

Scale

Indicates the number of digits allowed after the decimal point for a numeric value.

Precision

Indicates the total number of digits allowed for a numeric value in the column. If the value has a scale of one or more, then the total number of digits allowed before the decimal point is the precision value minus the scale value. For example, a value with precision 4 and scale 2 can be no larger than 99.99.

Nullable

Indicates whether the column can have a null value. If True, the column is nullable.

Figure 3-7 shows the actual single table after running a SELECT clause. It contains a column for each row in the preceding SQL view.

Figure 3-7 STUDENT_ST with All Parent and Child Records

A SQL describe of this single table produces the following result:

Name                                             Null?              Type
----------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------
__LEVEL                                       NOT NULL        VARCHAR2(64)
__SEQUENCE                                    NOT NULL        NUMBER(11)
COURSE_ROWNUM                                                 NUMBER(10)
ASSIGNMENTS_ROWNUM                                            NUMBER(10)
BOOK_ROWNUM                                                   NUMBER(10)
ID                                            NOT NULL        NUMBER(8)
FIRST_NAME                                    NOT NULL        CHAR(32)
LAST_NAME                                     NOT NULL        CHAR(32)
DATE_OF_BIRTH                                 NOT NULL        CHAR(8)
NUMOF_COURSES                                 NOT NULL        NUMBER(10)
NUMOF_BOOKS                                   NOT NULL        NUMBER(10)
COURSE_ID                                                     NUMBER(8)
COURSE_TITLE                                                  CHAR(48)
INSTRUCTOR_ID                                                 NUMBER(8)
NUMOF_ASSIGNMENTS                                             NUMBER(10)
ASSIGNMENT_TYPE                                               CHAR(12)
ASSIGNMENT_TITLE                                              CHAR(48)
DUE_DATE                                                      CHAR(8)
GRADE                                                         NUMBER(2,1)
ISBN                                                          CHAR(10)
RETURN_DATE                                                   CHAR(8)

This table shows all the columns of the single table.

4 Setting the Array Handling Policy

This chapter contains the following sections:

- Setting the Default Behavior for Array Handling

- Modifying the Default Behavior During Metadata Import

- Modifying the Array Handling Policy for a Specific Table

4.1 Setting the Default Behavior for Array Handling

You can define the default behavior for array handling at the data source level when configuring the data source properties.

See Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX for details on configuring data source properties.

Perform the following steps to set the default behavior:

1. Right-click the data source and select Edit Data Source.
The Configuration Properties screen opens.

2. On the Advanced tab, in the Virtual View Policy section, configure how arrays will be handled by selecting the relevant check boxes. The following options are available:

- Generate sequential view: Select this option if you want to map a non-relation file to a single table.

- Generate virtual views: Select this option if you want to have an individual table created for every array in the non-relational file.

- Include row number column: Select this option if you want to include a column that specifies the row number in the virtual or sequential view.

- Inherit all parent columns: Select this option if you want the virtual views to include all the columns of the parent record.

Figure 4-1 Setting the Default Behavior for Handling Arrays

3. Save your settings.

4.2 Modifying the Default Behavior During Metadata Import

During the metadata import procedure, the Metadata Model Selection step lets you modify the array handling policy for the tables to be imported. You can define specific settings per table or keep the default values, which are inherited from the settings that you defined on the data source level (see Setting the Default Behavior for Array Handling). After importing a table, you can change its array handling settings on the Modeling tab of the table editor (see Modifying the Array Handling Policy for a Specific Table).

See Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX for details on the import procedure per data source.

Perform the following steps to select the metadata model.

1. In the Import Wizard, click Next until you reach the Metadata Model Selection step.

2. Select from the following:

- Default values for all tables: Select this option if you want to apply the same values to all tables to be imported.

Note:
Selecting this check box discards all table-specific settings.

- Generate sequential view: Select this option if you want to map a non-relation file to a single table.

- Generate virtual views: Select this option if you want to have an individual table created for every array in the non-relational file.

- Virtual views include row number: Select this option if you want to include a column that specifies the row number in the virtual or sequential view.

- Virtual views inherit all parent columns: Select this option if you want the virtual views to include all the columns of the parent record.

- Specific virtual array view settings per table: Select this option if you want to apply different values to the tables to be imported. Then select the relevant check boxes.

Figure 4-2 Selecting the Metadata Model

3. Click Next to continue to the next step, then click Finish.

4.3 Modifying the Array Handling Policy for a Specific Table

You can also change the array handling policy on the table level. Perform the following steps to modify the policy for a specific table:

1. Right-click the data source and select Edit metadata.
The Metadata view opens on the node of the respective data source.

2. Expand the data source node, and then expand the Tables node.

3. Double-click the table whose array handling settings you want to modify.
The table editor opens.

4. On the Modeling tab, configure how arrays will be handled by selecting the relevant check boxes. The following options are available:

- Generate sequential view: Select this option if you want to map a non-relation file to a single table.

- Generate virtual views: Select this option if you want to have an individual table created for every array in the non-relational file.

- Include row number column: Select this option if you want to include a column that specifies the row number in the virtual or sequential view.

- Inherit all parent columns: Select this option if you want the virtual views to include all the columns of the parent record.

Figure 4-3 Modifying the Array Handling Policy on the Table Level

5. Save your settings.
Oracle Studio for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways creates new virtual views.

A Data Type Conversion

This appendix contains the following section:

- Conversion of Atomic Data Types

- Conversion of Non-Atomic Data Types

- Conversion of Decimal Data Types

- Conversion of Scaled Data Types

A.1 Conversion of Atomic Data Types

The gateway converts atomic data types in the advanced data dictionary (ADD) to Oracle data types as described in Table A-1.

Table A-1 Atomic Data Types

ADD Data Type

Oracle Data Type

Details

apt_date

DATE

Date packed into a 4-character string.

Format: DMYY

Example: 23-Jul-1998 is represented by four bytes: 19, 98, 7, and 23.

apt_time

DATE

ADD date-time format.

bit

NUMBER(3)

Single bit within a byte.

Size: 1 byte.

Format: datatype="bit"

onBit="n"

Where n specifies which bit (within a byte) the field uses.

If more than one bit is defined, then the additional bits may be defined sequentially within the same byte (or bytes, if the number of bits requires this much space).

bits

NUMBER(3)

A signed number of bits within a byte.

Size: 1 bit to 1 byte

Format: <field name="name" datatype="bits" onBit="n" size="m"/>

Where n specifies which bit (within a byte) to start from and m is the number of bits. If n is not specified then n defaults to 1 for the first occurrence of the field and is contiguous thereafter.

The maximum number of bits you can map is 32.

cstring

VARCHAR2

A null-terminated string of alphanumeric characters; maximum length must be specified. An extra byte is required for the null flag.

cv_datetime

DATE

CorVision date-time format.

date

DATE

Date format.

date6

DATE

Date in a string having the form YYMMDD

date8

DATE

Date in a string having the form YYYYMMDD

dfloat

FLOAT(49)

Double floating-point number (D_FLOAT)

Size: 8 bytes

Range: 0.29E-38 to 1.7E38

Precision: 16 digits.

filler

RAW

Allocation for future use, string type; length must be specified.

fixed_cstring

FLOAT(49)

A fixed null-terminated string of numeric characters; length must be specified. An extra byte is required for the null flag.

int1

NUMBER(3)

Signed byte integer.

Size: 1 byte

Range: -128 to +127

int2

NUMBER(5)

Signed word integer.

Size: 1 byte

Range: -32768 to +32767

int3

NUMBER(10)

Signed integer

Size: 3 bytes

int4

NUMBER(10)

Signed long integer.

Size: 4 bytes

Range: -2147483648 to +2147483647

int6

NUMBER(10)

Signed integer

Size: 6 bytes

int_date

DATE

Date in a four-byte integer having the form YYMMDD or YYYYMMDD.

Example, 23-Jul-1998 has the form: 980723 or 19980723.

jdate

DATE

Julian date

Size: 2 bytes

Bits 0-6: (non-century) year

Bits 7-15: day of the year

logical

NUMBER(10)

Signed long integer

Values: 1 for true, 0 for false

mvs_date

DATE

z/OS date format.

mvs_datetime

DATE

z/OS date-time format.

mvs_time

DATE

z/OS time format.

padded_str_date

DATE

Padded date format, not null-terminated.

padded_str_datetime

DATE

Padded date format, not null-terminated.

padded_str_time

DATE

Padded date format, not null-terminated.

phdate

DATE

Size: 2 bytes

Bits 0-6: (non-century) year

Bits 7-10: number of month

Bits 11-15: day of month

single

FLOAT(23)

Single floating-point number (F_FLOAT).

Size: 4 bytes

Range: 0.29E-38 to 1.7E38

Precision: 6 digits

str_date

CHAR(10)

Atomic date string

Size: 10 characters

Format: YYYY-MM-DD

str_datetime

CHAR(19)

Atomic date-time string.

Size: 19 characters

Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

str_time

CHAR(8)

Atomic date string

Size: 8 characters

Format: HH:MM:SS

string

CHAR

String of alphanumeric characters; length must be specified.

time

DATE

Time format.

timestamp

DATE

Date-time format.

ubits

NUMBE(3)

An unsigned number of bits within a byte.

Size: 1 bit to 1 byte

Format: <field name="name" datetype="bits" onBit="n" size="m"/>

Where n specifies which bit (within a byte) to start from and m is the number of bits. If n is not specified, then n defaults to1 for the first occurrence of the field and its contiguous thereafter.

The maximum number of bits you can map is 31.

uint1

NUMBER(3)

Unsigned byte integer.

Size: 1 byte

Range: 0 to +254

uint2

NUMBER(10)

Unsigned word integer.

Size: 2 bytes

Range: 0 to+65534

uint4

NUMBER(11)

Signed long integer

Size: 4 bytes

Range: 0 to +4,294,967,294

uint6

NUMBER

Unsigned integer.

Size: 6 bytes

unicode

VARCHAR2

A null-terminated alphanumeric unicode string. Maximum length must be specified.

varstring

VARCHAR2

16-bit count, followed by a string.

varstring4

VARCHAR2

32-bit count, followed by a string.

A.2 Conversion of Non-Atomic Data Types

The gateway converts non-atomic data types to Oracle data types as described in Table A-2.

Table A-2 Non-atomic Data Types

ADD Data Type

Oracle Data Type

Details

binary

RAW

Unknown data type, string type; length must be specified.

nls_string

CHAR

A string based on language and driven by table.

A.3 Conversion of Decimal Data Types

The gateway converts decimal data types to Oracle data types as described in Table A-3.

Table A-3 Decimal Data Types

ADD Data Type

Oracle Data Type

Details

decimal

NUMBER

Packed decimal

Maximum number of digits: 31

Maximum fractions: 11

Length = int (number of digits/2) + 1 bytes

numeric_cstring

NUMBER

A null-terminated string of numeric characters; maximum length must be specified. An extra byte is required for the null flag.

numstr_bdn

NUMBER

Signed numeric string. Sign is the first character of the string.

Maximum number of digits: 31

Maximum fractions: 11

Note: the number of fractions includes the decimal point.

numstr_nlo

NUMBER

Signed numeric string. A left overpunched sign is implemented.

Maximum number of digits: 31

Maximum fractions: 11

numstr_nl

NUMBER

Signed numeric string. Sign is the first character of the string.

Maximum number of digits: 31

Maximum fractions: 11

numstr_nr

NUMBER

Signed numeric string. Sign is the last character of the string.

Maximum number of digits: 31

Maximum fractions: 11

numstr_s

NUMBER

Signed numeric string. A right overpunched sign is implemented.

Maximum number of digits: 31

Maximum fractions: 11

The number must be right-justified (for example, "1234N" is -12345). The number can be left-padded by either spaces or zeros. If a scale is provided, it is a fixed positional scale. No decimal point is provided in the data (for example, a value of "1234E" with scale 2 is interpreted as "123.45").

numstr_u

NUMBER

Unsigned numeric string.

Maximum number of digits: 31

Maximum fractions: 11

numstr_zoned

NUMBER

Signed numeric string

Maximum number of digits: 31

Maximum fractions: 11

A.4 Conversion of Scaled Data Types

The gateway converts scaled data types to Oracle data types as described in Table A-4.

Table A-4 Scaled Data Types

ADD Data Type

Oracle Data Type

Details

scaled_int1

NUMBER

Signed byte integer.

Size: 1 byte

Range: -128 to +127

Maximum: 3

scaled_int2

NUMBER

Single word integer.

Size: 2 bytes

Range: -32768 to +32767

Maximum: 5

scaled_int3

NUMBER

Signed integer.

Size: 3 bytes

scaled_int4

NUMBER

Signed long integer.

Size: 4 bytes

Range: -2147483648 to +2147483647

Maximum: 10

scaled_int6

NUMBER

Signed integer

Size: 6 bytes

scaled_int8

NUMBER

Signed quadword.

Size: 4 bytes

Range: -2147483648 to +2147483647

Maximum: 10

scaled_uint1

NUMBER

Unsigned byte integer.

Size: 1 byte

Range: 0 to +254

Maximum: 3

scaled_uint2

NUMBER

Unsigned word integer.

Size: 2 bytes

Range: 0 to +65534

Maximum: 5

scaled_uint4

NUMBER(5)

Unsigned long integer

Size: 4 bytes

Range: 0 to +4,294,967,294

Maximum: 10

B Supported SQL Syntax and Functions

This appendix contains the following sections:

- Supported SQL Statements

- Oracle Functions

See Also:
Oracle Database SQL Reference for detailed descriptions of keywords, parameters, and options and the VSAM documentation for details of executing SQL statements in a transaction.

B.1 Supported SQL Statements

With a few exceptions, the gateway provides full support for Oracle DELETE, INSERT, SELECT, and UPDATE statements.

The gateway does not support Oracle data definition language (DDL) statements. No form of the Oracle ALTER, CREATE, DROP, GRANT, or TRUNCATE statements can be used. Instead, for ALTER, CREATE, DROP, and GRANT statements, use the pass-through feature of the gateway if you need to use DDL statements against the VSAM database.

Note:
TRUNCATE cannot be used in a pass-through statement.

B.1.1 DELETE

The DELETE statement is fully supported. However, only Oracle functions supported by VSAM can be used.

See Also:
"Functions Supported by VSAM" for a list of supported functions.

B.1.2 INSERT

The INSERT statement is fully supported. However, only Oracle functions supported by VSAM can be used.

See Also:
"Functions Supported by VSAM" for a list of supported functions.

B.1.3 SELECT

The SELECT statement is fully supported, with these exceptions:

- CONNECT BY condition

- NOWAIT

- START WITH condition

- WHERE CURRENT OF

B.1.4 UPDATE

The UPDATE statement is fully supported. However, only Oracle functions supported by VSAM can be used. Also, you cannot have SQL statements in the subquery that refer to the same table name in the outer query. Subqueries are not supported in the SET clause.

See Also:
"Functions Supported by VSAM" for a list of supported functions.

B.2 Oracle Functions

All functions are evaluated by the VSAM database after the gateway has converted them to VSAM SQL.

B.2.1 Functions Not Supported by VSAM

Oracle SQL functions with no equivalent function in VSAM are not supported in DELETE, INSERT, or UPDATE statements, but are evaluated by the Oracle Database if the statement is a SELECT statement. That is, the Oracle Database performs post-processing of SELECT statements sent to the gateway.

If an unsupported function is used in a DELETE, INSERT, or UPDATE, statement, the following Oracle error occurs:

ORA-02070: database db_link_name does not support function in this context

See Also:
Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

B.2.2 Functions Supported by VSAM

The gateway translates the following Oracle Database functions in SQL statements to their equivalent VSAM functions:

- Arithmetic Operators

- Comparison Operators

- Group Functions

- String Functions

- Other Functions

B.2.2.1 Arithmetic Operators

The following table specifies the arithmetic operators.

Oracle

VSAM

+

+

-

-

*

*

/

/

B.2.2.2 Comparison Operators

The following table specifies the comparison operators.

Oracle

VSAM

=

=

>

>

<

<

>=

>=

<=

<=

<>, !=, ^=

<>, !=

IS NOT NULL

IS NOT NULL

IS NULL

IS NULL

B.2.2.3 Group Functions

The following table specifies the group functions.

Oracle

VSAM

AVG

AVG

COUNT

COUNT

MAX

MAX

MIN

MIN

SUM

SUM

B.2.2.4 String Functions

The following table specifies the string functions.

Oracle

VSAM

||

+ (expression1 + expression2)

ASCII

ASCII

CHR

CHAR

INSTR

CHARINDEX

LENGTH

CHAR_LENGTH

LOWER

LOWER

SUBSTR (second argument cannot be a negative number)

SUBSTRING

UPPER

UPPER

B.2.2.5 Other Functions

The following table specifies the other functions.

Oracle

VSAM

ABS

ABS

CEIL

CEILING

COS

COS

EXP

EXP

FLOOR

FLOOR

LN

LOG

LOG

LOG10

MOD

%

NVL

IS NULL

POWER

POWER

ROUND

ROUND

SIN

SIN

SQRT

SQRT

TAN

TAN

C Data Dictionary

The Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM translates a query that refers to an Oracle Database data dictionary table into a query that retrieves the data from a VSAM data dictionary. You perform queries on data dictionary tables over the database link in the same way you query data dictionary tables in the Oracle Database. The gateway data dictionary is similar to the Oracle Database data dictionary in appearance and use.

This appendix contains the following sections:

- Data Dictionary Support

- VSAM Data Dictionary Descriptions

C.1 Data Dictionary Support

Data dictionary information is stored in the gateway's advanced data dictionary (ADD). The views and tables that the gateway supports provide information on the following:

- The tables existing in the data source

- The columns for each table

- The primary key for each table

- The foreign keys for each table

- Which primary key each foreign key references

- The existing users and indexes

The following topics describe the Oracle Database Gateway for VSAM data dictionary support.

C.1.1 Accessing the Gateway Data Dictionary

Accessing an ADD record definition is identical to accessing a data dictionary table or view definition on an Oracle database. You issue a SQL SELECT statement specifying a database link. The Oracle Database data dictionary view and column names are used to access the gateway data dictionary. Synonyms of supported views are also acceptable. For example, the following statement queries the data dictionary table ALL_TABLES:

SQL> SELECT * FROM ALL_TABLES@VSAM;

When a data dictionary access query is issued, the gateway:

1. Maps the requested table, view, or synonym to one or more ADD names.

2. Processes the query within the gateway.

3. May convert the retrieved data to give it the appearance of the Oracle Database data dictionary table.

4. Passes the data dictionary information to the Oracle Database.

C.1.2 Supported Views and Tables

The gateway supports the following views and tables:

- ALL_CATALOG

- ALL_CONS_COLUMNS

- ALL_IND_COLUMNS

- ALL_OBJECTS

- ALL_TAB_COMMENTS

- ALL_USERS

- DBA_CATALOG

- DBA_OBJECTS

- DICTIONARY

- USER_CATALOG

- USER_CONS_COLUMNS

- USER_IND_COLUMNS

- USER_OBJECTS

- USER_TAB_COMMENTS

- USER_USERS

- ALL_COL_COMMENTS

- ALL_CONSTRAINTS

- ALL_INDEXES

- ALL_TAB_COLUMNS

- ALL_TABLES

- ALL_VIEWS

- DBA_TAB_COLUMNS

- DICT_COLUMNS

- DUAL

- USER_COL_COMMENTS

- USER_CONSTRAINTS

- USER_INDEXES

- USER_TAB_COLUMNS

- USER_TABLES

- USER_VIEWS

No other Oracle Database data dictionary tables or views are supported. If you use an unsupported view, Oracle Database returns a message that no more rows are available.

If you want to select data dictionary views using SELECT FROM DBA_*, first connect as Oracle user SYSTEM or SYS. Otherwise, you receive the following error message:

ORA-28506: Parse error in data dictionary translation for %s stored in %s

Queries through the gateway of any data dictionary table or view beginning with ALL_ can returns rows from VSAM even when access privileges for those VSAM objects have not been granted. When querying an Oracle database with the Oracle data dictionary, rows are returned only for those objects you are permitted to access.

See Also:
Oracle Database Error Messages for more information on error messages.

C.1.3 Default Column Values

There is a minor difference between the gateway data dictionary and a typical Oracle Database data dictionary. The Oracle Database columns that are missing in a VSAM data dictionary table are filled with zeros, spaces, null values, or default values, depending on the column type.

C.2 VSAM Data Dictionary Descriptions

The gateway data dictionary tables and views provide the following information:

- Name, datatype, and width of each column.

- The contents of columns with fixed values.

In the descriptions that follow, the values in the Null? column may differ from the Oracle Database data dictionary tables and views. Any default value is shown to the right of an item.

Note:
In all data dictionary tables, the OWNER column has the value VSAM.

Table C-1 describes the ALL_CATALOG table.

Table C-1 ALL_CATALOG

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(11)

"TABLE"

Table C-2 describes the ALL_COL_COMMENTS table.

Table C-2 ALL_COL_COMMENTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COMMENTS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-3 describes the ALL_CONS_COLUMNS table.

Table C-3 ALL_CONS_COLUMNS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

CONSTRAINT_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(4000)

-

POSITION

-

FLOAT(49)

-

Table C-4 describes the ALL_CONSTRAINTS table.

Table C-4 ALL_CONSTRAINTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

CONSTRAINT_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

CONSTRAINT_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(1)

"R" or "P"

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

SEARCH_CONDITION

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

R_OWNER

-

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

R_CONSTRAINT_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(30)

-

DELETE_RULE

-

VARCHAR2(9)

-

STATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DEFERRABLE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DEFERRED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

VALIDATED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

GENERATED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BAD

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

RELY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

LAST_CHANGE

-

DATE

NULL

Table C-5 describes the ALL_IND_COLUMNS table.

Table C-5 ALL_IND_COLUMNS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

INDEX_OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

INDEX_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(4000)

-

COLUMN_POSITION

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

COLUMN_LENGTH

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

DESCEND

-

VARCHAR2(4)

NULL

Table C-6 describes the ALL_INDEXES table.

Table C-6 ALL_INDEXES

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

INDEX_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

INDEX_TYPE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TABLE_OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_TYPE

NOT NULL

CHAR(5)

"TABLE"

UNIQUENESS

-

VARCHAR2(9)

"UNIQUE" or "NONUNIQUE"

COMPRESSION

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PREFIX_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

TABLESPACE_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

INI_TRANS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MAX_TRANS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

INITIAL_EXTENT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NEXT_EXTENT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MIN_EXTENTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MAX_EXTENTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_INCREASE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_THRESHOLD

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

INCLUDE_COLUMN

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

FREELISTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

FREELIST_GROUPS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_FREE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LOGGING

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BLEVEL

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LEAF_BLOCKS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

DISTINCT_KEYS

-

FLOAT(49)

-

AVG_LEAF_BLOCKS_PER_KEY

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

AVG_DATA_BLOCKS_PER_KEY

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

CLUSTERING_FACTOR

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

STATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

NULL

NUM_ROWS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

SAMPLE_SIZE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LAST_ANALYZED

-

DATE

NULL

DEGREE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

NULL

INSTANCES

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

NULL

PARTITIONED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

NULL

TEMPORARY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

GENERATED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

SECONDARY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BUFFER_POOL

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

USER_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DURATION

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PCT_DIRECT_ACCESS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

ITYP_OWNER

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

ITYP_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PARAMETERS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

GLOBAL_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DOMIDX_STATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DOMIDX_OPSTATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

FUNCIDX_STATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-7 describes the ALL_OBJECTS table.

Table C-7 ALL_OBJECTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

-

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

OBJECT_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(30)

-

SUBOBJECT_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

OBJECT_ID

-

NUMBER

0

DATA_OBJECT_ID

-

NUMBER

0

OBJECT_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(18)

"TABLE" or "INDEX"

CREATED

-

DATE

NULL

LAST_DDL_TIME

-

DATE

NULL

TIMESTAMP

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

STATUS

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

TEMPORARY

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

GENERATED

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

SECONDARY

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

Table C-8 describes the ALL_TAB_COLUMNS table.

Table C-8 ALL_TAB_COLUMNS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

DATA_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(106)

-

DATA_TYPE_MOD

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DATA_TYPE_OWNER

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DATA_LENGTH

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

DATA_PRECISION

-

FLOAT(49)

-

DATA_SCALE

-

FLOAT(49)

-

NULLABLE

-

VARCHAR2(1)

"Y" or "N"

COLUMN_ID

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

DEFAULT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

DATA_DEFAULT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

NUM_DISTINCT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LOW_VALUE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

-

HIGH_VALUE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

-

DENSITY

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NUM_NULLS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NUM_BUCKETS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LAST_ANALYZED

-

DATE

NULL

SAMPLE_SIZE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

CHARACTER_SET_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

CHAR_COL_DEC_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

GLOBAL_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

USER_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

AVG_COL_LEN

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

Table C-9 describes the ALL_TAB_COMMENTS table.

Table C-9 ALL_TAB_COMMENTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(11)

"TABLE"

COMMENTS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-10 describes the ALL_TABLES table.

Table C-10 ALL_TABLES

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLESPACE_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

CLUSTER_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

IOT_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PCT_FREE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_USED

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

INI_TRANS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MAX_TRANS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

INITIAL_EXTENT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NEXT_EXTENT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MIN_EXTENTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MAX_EXTENTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_INCREASE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

FREELISTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

FREELIST_GROUPS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LOGGING

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BACKED_UP

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

NUM_ROWS

-

FLOAT(49)

-

BLOCKS

-

FLOAT(49)

-

EMPTY_BLOCKS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

AVG_SPACE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

CHAIN_CNT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

AVG_ROW_LEN

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

AVG_SPACE_FREELIST_BLOCKS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NUM_FREELIST_BLOCKS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

DEGREE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

INSTANCES

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

CACHE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TABLE_LOCK

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

SAMPLE_SIZE

NOT NULL

NUMBER (10)

0

LAST_ANALYZED

-

DATE

NULL

PARTITIONED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

IOT_TYPE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TEMPORARY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

SECONDARY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

NESTED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BUFFER_POOL

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

ROW_MOVEMENT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

GLOBAL_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

USER_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DURATION

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

SKIP_CORRUPT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

MONITORING

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-11 describes the ALL_USERS table.

Table C-11 ALL_USERS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

USERNAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

USER_ID

-

NUMBER

0

CREATED

-

DATE

NULL

Table C-12 describes the ALL_VIEWS table.

Table C-12 ALL_VIEWS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

VIEW_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TEXT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

TEXT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TYPE_TEXT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

TYPE_TEXT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

OID_TEXT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

OID_TEXT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

VIEW_TYPE_OWNER

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

VIEW_TYPE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-13 describes the DBA_CATALOG table.

Table C-13 DBA_CATALOG

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(11)

"TABLE"

Table C-14 describes the DBA_OBJECTS table.

Table C-14 DBA_OBJECTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

-

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

OBJECT_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(128)

-

SUBOBJECT_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

OBJECT_ID

-

NUMBER

0

DATA_OBJECT_ID

-

NUMBER

0

OBJECT_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(18)

"TABLE" or "INDEX"

CREATED

-

DATE

NULL

LAST_DDL_TIME

-

DATE

NULL

TIMESTAMP

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

STATUS

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

TEMPORARY

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

GENERATED

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

SECONDARY

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

Table C-15 describes the DBA_TAB_COLUMNS table.

Table C-15 DBA_TAB_COLUMNS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

DATA_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(106)

-

DATA_TYPE_MOD

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DATA_TYPE_OWNER

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DATA_LENGTH

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

DATA_PRECISION

-

FLOAT(49)

-

DATA_SCALE

-

FLOAT(49)

-

NULLABLE

-

VARCHAR2(1)

"Y" or "N"

COLUMN_ID

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

DEFAULT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

DATA_DEFAULT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

NUM_DISTINCT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LOW_VALUE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

-

HIGH_VALUE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

-

DENSITY

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NUM_NULLS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NUM_BUCKETS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LAST_ANALYZED

-

DATE

NULL

SAMPLE_SIZE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

CHARACTER_SET_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

CHAR_COL_DEC_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

GLOBAL_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

USER_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

AVG_COL_LEN

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

Table C-16 describes the DBA_COLUMNS table.

Table C-16 DICT_COLUMNS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COMMENTS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-17 describes the DICTIONARY table.

Table C-17 DICTIONARY

Name

Null?

Type

Value

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COMMENTS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-18 describes the DUAL table.

Table C-18 DUAL

Name

Null?

Type

Value

DUMMY

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(1)

-

Table C-19 describes the USER_CATALOG table.

Table C-19 USER_CATALOG

Name

Null?

Type

Value

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(11)

"TABLE"

Table C-20 describes the USER_COL_COMMENTS table.

Table C-20 USER_COL_COMMENTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COMMENTS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-21 describes the USER_CONS_COLUMNS table.

Table C-21 USER_CONS_COLUMNS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

CONSTRAINT_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(4000)

-

POSITION

-

FLOAT(49)

-

Table C-22 describes the USER_CONSTRAINTS table.

Table C-22 USER_CONSTRAINTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

VSAM

CONSTRAINT_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

CONSTRAINT_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(1)

"R" or "P"

TABLE_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(30)

-

SEARCH_CONDITION

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

R_OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(1)

-

R_CONSTRAINT_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(30)

-

DELETE_RULE

-

VARCHAR2(9)

NULL

STATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DEFERRABLE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DEFERRED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

VALIDATED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

GENERATED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BAD

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

RELY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

LAST_CHANGE

-

DATE

NULL

Table C-23 describes the USER_IND_COLUMNS table.

Table C-23 USER_IND_COLUMNS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

INDEX_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(4000)

-

COLUMN_POSITION

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

COLUMN_LENGTH

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

DESCEND

-

VARCHAR2(4)

"DESC" or "ASC"

Table C-24 describes the USER_INDEXES table.

Table C-24 USER_INDEXES

Name

Null?

Type

Value

INDEX_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

INDEX_TYPE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TABLE_OWNER

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_TYPE

NOT NULL

CHAR(5)

"TABLE"

UNIQUENESS

-

VARCHAR2(9)

"UNIQUE" or "NONUNIQUE"

COMPRESSION

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PREFIX_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

TABLESPACE_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

INI_TRANS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MAX_TRANS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

INITIAL_EXTENT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NEXT_EXTENT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MIN_EXTENTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MAX_EXTENTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_INCREASE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_THRESHOLD

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

INCLUDE_COLUMN

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

FREELISTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

FREELIST_GROUPS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_FREE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LOGGING

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BLEVEL

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LEAF_BLOCKS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

DISTINCT_KEYS

-

FLOAT(49)

-

AVG_LEAF_BLOCKS_PER_KEY

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

AVG_DATA_BLOCKS_PER_KEY

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

CLUSTERING_FACTOR

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

STATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

NUM_ROWS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

SAMPLE_SIZE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LAST_ANALYZED

-

DATE

NULL

DEGREE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

INSTANCES

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PARTITIONED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TEMPORARY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

GENERATED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

SECONDARY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BUFFER_POOL

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

USER_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DURATION

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PCT_DIRECT_ACCESS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

ITYP_OWNER

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

ITYP_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PARAMETERS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

GLOBAL_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DOMIDX_STATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DOMIDX_OPSTATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

FUNCIDX_STATUS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-25 describes the USER_OBJECTS table.

Table C-25 USER_OBJECTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

OBJECT_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(128)

-

SUBOBJECT_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

OBJECT_ID

-

NUMBER

0

DATA_OBJECT_ID

-

NUMBER

0

OBJECT_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(18)

"TABLE" or "INDEX"

CREATED

-

DATE

NULL

LAST_DDL_TIME

-

DATE

NULL

TIMESTAMP

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

STATUS

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

TEMPORARY

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

GENERATED

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

SECONDARY

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

Table C-26 describes the USER_TAB_COLUMNS table.

Table C-26 USER_TAB_COLUMNS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

COLUMN_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

DATA_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(106)

-

DATA_TYPE_MOD

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DATA_TYPE_OWNER

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DATA_LENGTH

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

DATA_PRECISION

-

FLOAT(49)

-

DATA_SCALE

-

FLOAT(49)

-

NULLABLE

-

VARCHAR2(1)

"Y" or "N"

COLUMN_ID

NOT NULL

FLOAT(49)

-

DEFAULT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

DATA_DEFAULT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

NUM_DISTINCT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LOW_VALUE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

HIGH_VALUE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

DENSITY

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NUM_NULLS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NUM_BUCKETS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LAST_ANALYZED

-

DATE

NULL

SAMPLE_SIZE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

CHARACTER_SET_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

CHAR_COL_DECL_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

GLOBAL_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

USER_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

AVG_COL_LEN

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

Table C-27 describes the USER_TAB_COMMENTS table.

Table C-27 USER_TAB_COMMENTS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLE_TYPE

-

VARCHAR2(11)

"TABLE"

COMMENTS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-28 describes the USER_TABLES table.

Table C-28 USER_TABLES

Name

Null?

Type

Value

TABLE_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TABLESPACE_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

CLUSTER_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

IOT_NAME

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

PCT_FREE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_USED

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

INI_TRANS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MAX_TRANS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

INITIAL_EXTENT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NEXT_EXTENT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MIN_EXTENTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

MAX_EXTENTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

PCT_INCREASE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

FREELISTS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

FREELIST_GROUPS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LOGGING

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BACKED_UP

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

NUM_ROWS

-

FLOAT(49)

-

BLOCKS

-

FLOAT(49)

-

EMPTY_BLOCKS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

AVG_SPACE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

CHAIN_CNT

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

AVG_ROW_LEN

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

AVG_SPACE_FREELIST_BLOCKS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

NUM_FREELIST_BLOCKS

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

DEGREE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

INSTANCES

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

CACHE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TABLE_LOCK

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

SAMPLE_SIZE

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

LAST_ANALYZED

-

DATE

NULL

PARTITIONED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

IOT_TYPE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TEMPORARY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

SECONDARY

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

NESTED

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

BUFFER_POOL

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

ROW_MOVEMENT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

GLOBAL_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

USER_STATS

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

DURATION

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

SKIP_CORRUPT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

MONITORING

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

Table C-29 describes the USER_USERS table.

Table C-29 USER_USERS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

USERNAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

USER_ID

-

NUMBER

0

ACCOUNT_STATUS

-

VARCHAR2(4)

"OPEN"

LOCK_DATE

-

DATE

NULL

EXPIRY_DATE

-

DATE

NULL

DEFAULT_TABLESPACE

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

TEMPORARY_TABLESPACE

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

CREATED

-

DATE

NULL

INITIAL_RSRC_CONSUMER_GROUP

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

EXTERNAL_NAME

-

VARCHAR2(1)

NULL

Table C-30 describes the USER_VIEWS table.

Table C-30 USER_VIEWS

Name

Null?

Type

Value

VIEW_NAME

NOT NULL

VARCHAR2(30)

-

TEXT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

TEXT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

TYPE_TEXT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

TYPE_TEXT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

OID_TEXT_LENGTH

NOT NULL

NUMBER(10)

0

OID_TEXT

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

VIEW_TYPE_OWNER

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

VIEW_TYPE

NOT NULL

CHAR(1)

-

D Globalization Support

The main aspect of the Globalization Support in Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways is the recognition of the different characters associated with a language and the way they are encoded in various operating systems and data sources. For each supported language, a special definition file called a character set file is supplied where all the language related information is stored. For complex languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, a special library is also provided where specific conversion rules are implemented.

As a distributed product that accesses heterogeneous data sources on varied platforms, Oracle Connect for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Gateways offers seamless conversion of text between the different character encodings used on the different platforms. Examples of such automatic conversion include:

- Conversion between ASCII based encoding on open systems and EBCDIC based encoding on IBM mainframes and AS/400 machines

- Conversions to and from Unicode for databases that store data in Unicode

- Conversions between different encodings of the same language used on different platforms

- Conversions of legacy data stored using old character encodings (such as 7-bit encoding) into the current platform encoding standard

Getting this kind of seamless Globalization Support requires the proper setting of the character set definitions according to the kind of encoding in use in the various data sources and platforms.

This section discusses the different encoding schemes in use, the character set definitions required and other Globalization Support related aspects, and contains information on the following topics:

- Character Set Terminology

- Globalization Support Settings

D.1 Character Set Terminology

The following terminology is used to describe character sets.

Single-Byte Character Sets

In a single-byte character set, each character is represented by a single-byte value, that is, a number between 1 and 255, inclusive. Single-byte character sets are typical of Western languages. For example, in the ISO-8859-1 (Latin) character set, the character 'A' is represented by the single byte value of 65, whereas in the US-EBCDIC character set (or in the IBM-037 character set), the same character is represented by the single-byte value of 193.

Multibyte Character Sets

In a multibyte character set, some or all of the characters are represented by more than one byte value. Multibyte character sets are typical in complex languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Unicode Character Sets

Unicode is a universal numbering of all known characters, with each character identified by a unique number - its codepoint. Unicode has several encoding schemes, of which Oracle Application Development Framework Controller API Reference supports UTF-8 and, to a lesser extent, UCS-2.

Since the product uses 8-bit characters, the only Unicode encoding that qualifies as a 'character set' is the UTF-8 encoding. The product supports UCS-2 in its data sources (through special Unicode data types).

Customized Character Sets

The Globalization Support of Oracle Connect can be customized to add new languages and character sets not currently supported as well as to introduce special conversion cases. The customization involves editing special character set source files and building .cp files from them using the NAV_UTIL program.

D.2 Globalization Support Settings

The minimal globalization Support configuration amounts to adding the HS_LANGUAGE parameter to the HS initialization parameter file and telling the product what national language is in use.

For information on how to add the parameter to the HS initialization parameter file, see Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for Microsoft Windows or Oracle Database Gateway for IMS, VSAM, and Adabas Installation and Configuration Guide for UNIX.

To set the language in Studio

1. In the Design perspective, open the machine for which you want to set the language.

2. Open the Bindings list and right-click the NAV binding.

3. Select Edit Binding.

4. Open the Misc category and fill in the language parameter with the desired language code from Globalization Support Language Codes.

5. Save the change. New servers will use the language selected.

When a language is selected, a default character set is automatically used based on the language and the platform. Table D-1 summarizes the languages, their codes, and their character sets.

Table D-1 Globalization Support Language Codes

EBCDIC CP Name

Description

Base ASCII CP

Multibyte

AR8EBCDIC420

Arabic bilingual

AR8ISO8859P6

AR8EBCDICX

Arabic + Latin

AR8ISO8859P6

BLT8EBCDIC1112

Baltic multilingual

BLT8ISO8859P13

CL8EBCDIC1025

Cyrillic multilingual

CL8ISO8859P5

CL8EBCDIC1158

Cyrillic Ukraine + Euro

CLMSWIN1251

D8EBCDIC1141

Austria - Germany + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

D8EBCDIC273

Germany - Austria

WE8ISO8859P1

DK8EBCDIC1142

Denmark - Norway + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

DK8EBCDIC277

Denmark - Norway

NE8ISO8859P10

EE8EBCDIC870

Latin 2 multilingual

EE8ISO8859P2

EL8EBCDIC423

Greece

EL8ISO8859P7

EL8EBCDIC875

Greece

EL8ISO8859P7

EL8EBCDIC875R

Greece

EL8ISO8859P7

F8EBCDIC1147

France + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

F8EBCDIC297

France

WE8ISO8859P1

I8EBCDIC1144

Italy + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

I8EBCDIC280

Italy

WE8ISO8859P1

IW8EBCDIC1086

Hebrew

IW8ISO8859P8

IW8EBCDIC424

Hebrew

IW8ISO8859P8

JA16DBCS

Japan

JA16SJIS

Yes

JA16EBCDIC930

Japan

JA16SJIS

Yes

KO16DBCS

Korea

KO16KSC5601

Yes

S8EBCDIC1143

Finland - Sweden + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

S8EBCDIC278

Finland - Sweden

WE8ISO8859P1

TH8TISEBCDIC

Thai IS 620-2533 EBCDIC 8-bit

TH8TISASCII

TR8EBCDIC1026

Turkey

WE8ISO8859P9

WE8EBCDIC1047

Latin 1

WE8ISO8859P1

WE8EBCDIC1140

USA, Canada + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

WE8EBCDIC1145

Spanish + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

WE8EBCDIC1146

UK + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

WE8EBCDIC1148

International ECECP + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

WE8EBCDIC1148

Western Europe + Euro

WE8ISO8859P15

WE8EBCDIC284

Spanish

WE8ISO8859P1

WE8EBCDIC285

UK

WE8ISO8859P1

WE8EBCDIC37

USA + Canada

WE8ISO8859P1

WE8EBCDIC37

Canadian French

WE8ISO8859P1

WE8EBCDIC500

Western Europe

WE8ISO8859P1

WE8EBCDIC871

Iceland

NE8ISO8859P10

WE8EBCDIC924

Latin 9

WE8ISO8859P9

ZHS16DBCS

Simplified Chinese

ZHS16CGB231280

Yes

ZHT16DBCS

Traditional Chinese

ZHT16BIG5

Yes

E Examples

This section contains the following topics:

- COBOL Copybook Example

E.1 COBOL Copybook Example

Figure E-1 shows a COBOL copybook that illustrates arrays and nested arrays.

Figure E-1 Metadata Example in COBOL

Index
A  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  L  M  N  O  P  R  S  T  U  V

A

accessing VSAM data, 2.1

ADD

atomic data types, A.1

decimal data types, A.3

non-atomic data types, A.2

scaled data types, A.4

advanced data dictionary

See ADD

ALTER statement, B.1 arithmetic operators, B.2.2.1 array handling

modifying default, 4.2

normalized tables, 3.4.1

overview, 3.1

sequential flattening, 3.4.2

setting default, 4.1

setting policy, 4

table settings, 4.3

C

case rules, 2.2.3.2

commands, passing to database, 2.4.1.6

COMMIT, restrictions, 2.4.1.5

Comparison operators, B.2.2.2

CONCAT operator, 2.4.1.2

CREATE statement, B.1

cursor loops, restrictions, 2.4.1.5

D

data definition language, B.1

data dictionary tables, C.1

data dictionary views, 2.4.1.10

data dictionary, views, C.1.2

data source restrictions, 2.4.2

data types

ADD atomic data types, A.1

ADD decimal, A.3

ADD non-atomic, A.2

ADD scaled, A.4

conversion, 2.2.4.2

FLOAT, 2.4.1.8

VARBINARY, 2.4.1.8, 2.4.1.9

data, accessing, 2.1 data, non-relational, 3.1 database, locking, 2.2.6 databases, passing commands, 2.4.1.6 decimal data, packed, A.3 default, array handling, 4.1 DELETE statement, B.1.1, B.2.1 DROP statement, B.1

E

encrypted format login, 2.4.1.9

errors

ORA-02070, 2.4.1.3, 2.4.1.3, B.2.1

ORA-1002, 2.4.1.5

ORA-28506, C.1.2

ORA-6550, 2.4.1.2

F

FLOAT data type, 2.4.1.8

format login, encrypted, 2.4.1.9

functions, B.2.2.3, B.2.2.4

functions, unsupported, 2.4.1.1

G

gateways

data dictionary tables, C.1

pass-through feature, 2.2.2

restrictions, 2.4

SQL restrictions, 2.4.1

supported functions, B

supported SQL syntax, 2.2, B.1

GRANT statement, B.1 group functions, B.2.2.3

H

handling arrays

normalized tables, 3.4.1

overview, 3.1

sequential flattening, 3.4.2

hexadecimal notation, 2.2.4.1

I

import, array handling behavior, 4.2

INSERT statement, B.1.2, B.2.1

L

locking, database, 2.2.6

M

metadata

array handling behavior, 4.2

representing, 3.3

N

naming rules, objects, 2.2.3.1

non-relational data, normalizing, 3.1

normalizing non-relation data, 3.1

O

objects, naming rules, 2.2.3.1

ORA-02070 error, 2.4.1.3, 2.4.1.3, B.2.1

ORA-1002 error, 2.4.1.5

ORA-28506 error, C.1.2

ORA-6550 error, 2.4.1.2

P

packed decimal data, ADD, A.3

passing commands to database, 2.4.1.6

pass-through feature, 2.2.2

PL/SQL, 2.4.1.10

policy, array handling, 4

R

representing metadata, 3.3

restrictions

COMMIT, 2.4.1.5

data source, 2.4.2

gateways, 2.4

ROLLBACK, 2.4.1.5

SQL, 2.4.1

ROLLBACK, restrictions, 2.4.1.5 ROWID, 2.4.1.2

S

savepoint support, 2.4.1.3

SELECT statement, B.1.3, C.1.1

sequential flattening, 3.4.2

sequential view, 3.4.2

single table, 3.4.2

SQL execution, 2.2.5

SQL functions, unsupported, 2.4.1.1

SQL syntax, supported, 2.2, B.1

statements

ALTER, B.1

CREATE, B.1

DROP, B.1

GRANT, B.1

SELECT, B.1.3

select, C.1.1

UPDATE, B.1.4

string functions, B.2.2.4

T

transaction

capability, 2.4.1.3

integrity, 2.4.1.4

TRUNCATE statement, B.1

U

unsupported SQL functions, 2.4.1.1

UPDATE statement, B.1.4, B.2.1

V

VARBINARY data type, 2.4.1.8, 2.4.1.9

views, data dictionary, 2.4.1.10

VSAM data, accessing, 2.1

Oracle Legal Notices

Copyright Notice

Copyright © 1994-2016, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

License Restrictions Warranty/Consequential Damages Disclaimer

This software and related documentation are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and are protected by intellectual property laws. Except as expressly permitted in your license agreement or allowed by law, you may not use, copy, reproduce, translate, broadcast, modify, license, transmit, distribute, exhibit, perform, publish, or display any part, in any form, or by any means. Reverse engineering, disassembly, or decompilation of this software, unless required by law for interoperability, is prohibited.

Warranty Disclaimer

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is not warranted to be error-free. If you find any errors, please report them to us in writing.

Restricted Rights Notice

If this is software or related documentation that is delivered to the U.S. Government or anyone licensing it on behalf of the U.S. Government, then the following notice is applicable:

U.S. GOVERNMENT END USERS: Oracle programs, including any operating system, integrated software, any programs installed on the hardware, and/or documentation, delivered to U.S. Government end users are "commercial computer software" pursuant to the applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation and agency-specific supplemental regulations. As such, use, duplication, disclosure, modification, and adaptation of the programs, including any operating system, integrated software, any programs installed on the hardware, and/or documentation, shall be subject to license terms and license restrictions applicable to the programs. No other rights are granted to the U.S. Government.

Hazardous Applications Notice

This software or hardware is developed for general use in a variety of information management applications. It is not developed or intended for use in any inherently dangerous applications, including applications that may create a risk of personal injury. If you use this software or hardware in dangerous applications, then you shall be responsible to take all appropriate fail-safe, backup, redundancy, and other measures to ensure its safe use. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates disclaim any liability for any damages caused by use of this software or hardware in dangerous applications.

Trademark Notice

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Intel and Intel Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. AMD, Opteron, the AMD logo, and the AMD Opteron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

Third-Party Content, Products, and Services Disclaimer

This software or hardware and documentation may provide access to or information about content, products, and services from third parties. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind with respect to third-party content, products, and services unless otherwise set forth in an applicable agreement between you and Oracle. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates will not be responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to your access to or use of third-party content, products, or services, except as set forth in an applicable agreement between you and Oracle.

Alpha and Beta Draft Documentation Notice

If this document is in preproduction status:

This documentation is in preproduction status and is intended for demonstration and preliminary use only. It may not be specific to the hardware on which you are using the software. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind with respect to this documentation and will not be responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to the use of this documentation.

Private Alpha and Beta Draft Documentation Notice

If this document is in private preproduction status:

The information contained in this document is for informational sharing purposes only and should be considered in your capacity as a customer advisory board member or pursuant to your beta trial agreement only. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described in this document remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.

This document in any form, software or printed matter, contains proprietary information that is the exclusive property of Oracle. Your access to and use of this confidential material is subject to the terms and conditions of your Oracle Master Agreement, Oracle License and Services Agreement, Oracle PartnerNetwork Agreement, Oracle distribution agreement, or other license agreement which has been executed by you and Oracle and with which you agree to comply. This document and information contained herein may not be disclosed, copied, reproduced, or distributed to anyone outside Oracle without prior written consent of Oracle. This document is not part of your license agreement nor can it be incorporated into any contractual agreement with Oracle or its subsidiaries or affiliates.

Documentation Accessibility

For information about Oracle's commitment to accessibility, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program website at http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=docacc.

Access to Oracle Support

Oracle customers that have purchased support have access to electronic support through My Oracle Support. For information, visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=info or visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=trs if you are hearing impaired.