RE: Restore QSPL to get back spool files -- MIDRANGE-L

Why not just print and at the same time, convert 
the spooled files to images and shove them to an 
image platter?

John Brandt
iStudio400.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Damato [mailto:jdamato@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 3:36 PM
To: 'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'
Subject: RE: Restore QSPL to get back spool files


> Brad Jensen:
>By now most everyone on the AS/400 should 
>have a COLD system, it doesn't make any sense 
>to spend millions creating reports and then 
>turn them into paper, which is dead-end 
>storage. Converting them to PDFs and then
>having some on this drive and some on 
>that is not even a half-way solution. A 
>COLD/ERM archive gives you instant search 
>and the ability to transform the data into 
>other uses. There are a lot of good COLD systems
>for the AS/400, and even a bad COLD system 
>is a hundred times better than paper.

I think the need to save reports as reports is overstated.  It annoys me
that we run systems where week-end or month-end reports, or invoices or
receipts or order documents must be saved after they are generated.  Very
few of the reports or system generated spool files really need to be saved
as intact documents.  If you're going to need to retrieve week-end or month
end reports the closing data should be saved in tables (files to us AS/400
folks) as closed/locked data.  You should be able to rerun the reports from
closing data as of the time of close.  We used to capture our stock ledger
files at each month end so that existing report programs could be run across
these closing snapshots instead of trying to save the right month end
reports.  Likewise, orders/receipts/invoices/etc. should be written as data
in tables so that order/receipt/invoice reprints can be run.  Saving reports
in COLD with blank spaces and headings and data as text is inefficient.  I
think COLD type systems should be reserved for situations where you're
legally required to capture the true report at the moment in time.

>Of course, scanned imaging systems are a lot more exciting.

I'm still looking for a printer with a combination document handler and
paper feeder so that reports can be printed and immediately passed to a
scanner for image retention and OCR.  Or maybe a printer/scanner/shredder.

-Jim

James P. Damato
Manager - Technical Administration
Dollar General Corporation
<mailto:jdamato@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

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