In This Issue. The Enhanced Editor in QMF 11.2: Highlights. 1st Quarter 2016 Edition

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Madeleine Bruce
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1 1st Quarter 2016 Edition In This Issue The Enhanced Editor in QMF 11.2 From the Developers: QMF for TSO/CICS access to DB2 LUW and access data using 3-part names The Enhanced Editor in QMF 11.2: Highlights Many of us have used QMF for some time and have become accustomed to the editor panel shipped with the product. Many have found that they can allocate a TSO dataset ("ALLOC FI(DSQEDIT) NEW UNIT(SYSDA)") and use ISPF to edit QMF queries and procs giving us the ability to copy lines, move, etc. However, there is no interaction between QMF and ISPF. Now, it s a new day. QMF has added an Enhanced Editor with the following new features and functions: An ISPF-based editor extension for QMF queries and procedures with ISPF editor commands e.g. copy, move, insert, delete, etc. Action bar and command level interface Execution of QMF commands from within the editor (run, save, etc.) PF Key usage 1-24 and swapping between ISPF and QMF PFK options Preview of data (small sample for verification and viewing) Query building assist (list columns, values within columns and more) Control color coding of elements of an object: syntax, errors, etc. Syntax checking Describe and save objects from a single panel

In order to setup the enhanced editing functions, we have added two global variables that need to be set to the values as shown below: DSQEC_EDITOR=EE DSQEC_EDITOR_PVIEW=1 Note: A QMF admin can block

2 2 This newsletter will introduce you to how the editor is invoked and many of its new features. The standard editor is still available as well as the simple but effective ISPF interface should the new one prove to be more than you wish to use (Figure 1). In order to setup the enhanced editing functions, we have added two global variables that need to be set to the values as shown below: DSQEC_EDITOR=EE DSQEC_EDITOR_PVIEW=1 Note: A QMF admin can block the use of Preview by setting DSQEC_EDITOR_PVIEW=0 and making it a global that cannot be changed by others. There is more regarding the preview option later on in this newsletter. Figure 1: Three ways to edit QMF queries and procs Once the variables are set, when you invoke the edit function you will see this screen (Figure 2). To save your global variable values across QMF sessions use the SET GLOBAL command to set the value of DSQEC_USERGLV_SAV to 2 or set it from the panel displayed when you issue the SHOW GLOBAL command. Figure 2: Invoking the Enhanced Editor primary user panel

3 Now that you have this new function, there are some very important aspects to consider such as the use of SAVE and SAVE AS as shown in Figure 3.

If you have not updated the object data or attributes, the edit session will end without saving.

3 3 Now that you have this new function, there are some very important aspects to consider such as the use of SAVE and SAVE AS as shown in Figure 3. The QMF Enhanced Editor automatically saves the QMF object data and associated attributes at the end of the edit session if you have updated the data or an attribute. If you have not updated the object data or attributes, the edit session will end without saving. If the object has a name, the object and any associated attributes, such as comments or share option, are saved back to the database. QMF temporary storage is updated to display the object data. A confirmation prompt will be displayed if your QMF CONFIRM profile option is set to YES. Figure 3: Saving QMF objects using the new editor If the object has no name, the object data is NOT saved back to the database, although QMF temporary storage is still updated to display the object data. Any other associated object attributes cannot be saved and are ignored. The menu bar gives you access to new functions such as the ability to run an object directly from the editor under TSO as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4: New options available with the menu bar The prefix area provides new line commands as shown in Figure 5 Figure 5: New options with the prefix area

4 The following primary edit commands are new commands that have been added for the QMF Enhanced Editor or existing ISPF commands that have been modified to behave differently for QMF objects as

4 4 The following primary edit commands are new commands that have been added for the QMF Enhanced Editor or existing ISPF commands that have been modified to behave differently for QMF objects as shown in Figure 6. Copy and Move The copy and move primary commands can be used to copy and move QMF objects of the same type into the data currently being edited. Note that moved objects are copied and then erased from the database. A confirmation prompt will be displayed if CONFIRM=YES is set in your QMF profile. Figure 6: Primary commands within the Enhanced Editor Use the A (after) or B (before) line command or the AFTER or BEFORE keyword, along with a label to specify the location where the copied or moved data is to be placed in the data being edited. All the copied object data records are read from the database. The attribute values of the copied object are NOT copied from the database. The attributes of the edited object remain unchanged. Color settings Under the Settings action bar (Figure 7) we see a number of items of interest. Figure 7: Color settings

5 5 Let s begin with the color settings by entering a 2 and pressing enter (Figure 8). Figure 8: Color setting options We can see why the SELECT and WHERE keywords were assigned the color RED and what happens when we specify a value on a WHERE clause such as SALARY < in Figure 9. The user may control the colors as they see fit. When faced with a complex SQL statement it can come in very handy such as when using a sub-select and more. Figure 9: Color setting results

6 6 Format settings The user also has control over format settings as shown in Figure 10 (option 3 from the settings action bar). Figure 10: Format settings The Preview option A preview of a query s results may be specified by taking option 3 from the action bar, pressing PF21 (shift + PF9), or entering PREVIEW on the command line. A subset of the results set are shown in Figure 11. Settings option 4 provides the user with some control over the size of the PREVIEW area. Preview is very handy just to take a quick look at the results of a query without running it and extracting the entire result set. The user can examine a few rows without having DB2 perform a large amount of work only to have the user cancel it and start over. Figure 11: Invoking the preview option

7 The Query Assist feature Query assist offers many ease of use options such as: This extremely useful feature is activated when the user selects an owner, table name, column name, or column value

7 7 The Query Assist feature Query assist offers many ease of use options such as: This extremely useful feature is activated when the user selects an owner, table name, column name, or column value from a SELECT statement in an edited QMF query. This can be done by positioning the cursor and pressing Enter, or preferably by selecting the identifier or value using a mouse. When a table name is selected, the editor determines the name of the owner and displays a scrollable list of table names and comments that are associated with the owner in the preview area. When a column name is selected, the editor determines the name and owner of the parent table and displays a scrollable list of column names and comments from the table in the preview area. In Figure 12 we demonstrate the editor s ability to list columns in a table. Where a table may have a multitude of columns or rather unusual column names, such an assist may prove invaluable in creating queries with ease knowing the column names are accurate and helping the creator avoid misspellings. There are many new options and functions available to you with the Enhanced Editor. Figure 12: The query assist feature

8 8 In summary, the Enhanced Editor is designed to provide extensions to the query or procedure writer s usage to make building such objects easier, take less time, and provide assistance via the following capabilities: ISPF style edit functions (lines, move, copy, etc.) Combined ISPF and QMF PF Keys for a wide range of options Query assist functions Action bar, PF Key, and command line interfaces QMF add-in capabilities (run query/proc from the editor) Syntax checking Check for matched parentheses Automatic formatting options Preview of data Prompts for tables, columns, values for validation of what the user is looking to include Color coding of elements of queries (SELECT, WHERE, etc.) Housekeeping (rename, describe, save, etc.) Extensive HELP

9 9 From the Developers: Accessing DB2 LUW QMF Classic and DB2 LUW and DB2 iseries and WHAT??? In case you didn t know or maybe forgot, since QMF Version 3, QMF Classic can CONNECT to DB2 LUW and DB2 iseries databases (in addition to remote DB2 for z/os databases). The full power of QMF Classic reporting and analytics in online or batch mode works just fine to remote DB2s. As long as the remote DB2 is defined in the local DB2 for z/os communications database (CDB) and the local DB2 for z/os is setup as a requester itself, QMF Classic can be a requester right along with it! From QMF Classic, QMF users can issue the CONNECT command to take users to any of the remote databases supported by DB2 for z/os. Users will have all QMF commands currently available to them within a local DB2 for z/os database at any remote site. Accessing data via a 3-part name In addition, QMF Classic supports DB2 three-part name access to databases defined in the local DB2 for z/os CDB. QMF commands such as DISPLAY, DRAW, EDIT TABLE, PRINT TABLE, EXPORT TABLE and of course, SQL itself, provide specific support for DB2 three-part name access. Note that QMF Classic three-part name support does *not* require a full QMF catalog installation to be performed. There are two simple install jobs to bind some QMF Classic database packages and you now have three-part name access to the remote database. CONNECT and three-part name support from QMF Classic. If you haven t tried it, give it a whirl! The World of DB2 Are you a member? Great information and free. You can subscribe by going to: And there is a QMF page with these newsletters and more found at: For more information about QMF, go to If you have questions or comments about QMF, contact Blanca Borden, WW QMF Marketing Manager, at blanca@us.ibm.com IBM, the IBM logo, DB2, and z/os are trademarks of IBM Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Query Management Facility, QMF, and IMS are trademarks of IBM corp. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available at

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