Re: journals

[Rob Dixon <rob.dixon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Katy

You don't say that the barcode labels are for, but presumably there 
would be a problem if any went missing. Do you need a history of which 
labels have been printed?

If there were no journaling, would it be possible to work out from the 
existing data what labels were required and what should be on them?

If yes, then the existing files should be being journalled (IMHO) and 
there is no need to journal the same data twice.

If yes, but the existing files are not being journalled, and the history 
is important, then it makes sense to journal them before printing them 
as journalling is much quicker and more reliable than printing.

If no, it may be an unusal way of doing things, but not too terrible.  
Personally I would write the label details to a file and then journal  
the changes.

As for the journal sequencing problem, I have used journalling since 
System /38 days and never had a problem, so something must be wrong with 
the setup.  Do you reset the journal sequence number ever?  if so this 
could cause your problems.


Rob Dixon


Katy Carter wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
>  
>
> I need opinions.  I have been an RPG programmer for 20 years.   I still see
> things I've never seen before but this one doesn't make any since to me.
>
>  
>
> I have been programming for a manufacturing company about 1 year now.   The
> company had some IBM guy to come in and develop the barcode label and place
> the record into production (MAPICS).    Before the label is printed it is
> first journaled into a journal with the journal receiver etc....,  then
> received from the journal and sent to a program that prints the bar code
> label.   
>
>  
>
> Now, I was always taught that journaling was only for backup and recovery
> purposes,  which I know what some people will say,  that he designed it this
> way incase there was a disaster and the records could be received but,
> wasn't there a better way to achieve this.   It appears to me that this way
> would be cumbersome,  eat up the DSAD of the machine and he is journaling
> the record first  and receiving it back before he prints the label.
> Shouldn't he have at least printed the label first before he journaled the
> record.   I just want your all's opinion about this design.  Maybe there is
> something I don't see here but the journal sequence goes haywire all the
> time and we have to reconstruct it.     EVERYBODY, ANYBODY GIVE ME YOUR
> THOUGHTS ON THIS?????
>
>  
>
>  
>
> Kathy Carter
>
> Application Developer
>
>  
>
>