Data Dictionary MOD009101

Access

• Customizer → System Customizer → Data Dictionary

Information

• In this module you can
  • create new data items
  • edit existing data items
  • edit data table header data
  • edit relations of a data table

Module Variants

Data Table

Update System Customizing

Caution

• If system customizing changes are made to data tables or data items (e.g. new data items are created, data item parameters are changed), the Tools → Restart PLANTA service menu item must be executed in order to make the changes visible.
  • Note: If you click on the menu item, all open client connections (sessions) are closed. During restart, new client connections are not possible. This does not apply to changes made to I-texts, e.g. changes to the DI name or adjustment of value ranges (also of the VR type).
  • Before restarting the service, the target directory must be deleted so it can be created anew upon server restart in order to make sure that the POJO classes contained in it, which are responsible for the meta data of the data dictionary, are generated anew.

Set column name Button

Information

• Clicking on the Set column name button starts the following action:
  • It is checked whether the SQL ID is set for all real data items.
    • If not, the SQL ID is set for the corresponding data items. The entry is composed of the "DI" text and the ID from the DI field.
      • Example: If you create data item 100001 and click on the Set column name button, the following value will be entered in SQL ID: DI100001

Relations

Information

• Data tables are linked to each other via relations. The logical correlation of the PLANTA software data thus depends on these relations.

Procedure

• Right-click on the data table header.
• Select Insert → Relation.
  • A new relation record is inserted.
• Define relation and relation parameters like, e.g., Deletion code, Relation type, Create implicitly.
• Save.

Details

• By clicking on the link in the Index data field, the corresponding data table is displayed instead of the one that was just opened.
• By clicking on the link in the Ident from DI data field, the corresponding data item is marked in the Data Dictionary module.

Data Items

Standard Data Items

General Rules

• Usually standard data items must not be changed. Exceptions:
  • DF lengths are usually changed for alphanumeric data items. Here, it is distinguished between different DI classes:
    • DI class = 0 Classic alphanumeric data item
      • The DF length value must not be larger than the DB length value since these DIs are physically saved in the database in the size of the DB length.
      • The DB length must not be increased.
    • DI class = 15: International text (I-text)
      • These data items behave in the system like alphanumeric DIs but they are saved in the database as 4 byte numeric DIs. The values of these data items can be saved in the available languages. Their DF length can easily be increased to 80. To do so, simply adjust the DB length. 
  • Data item names that differ from the standard throughout the system can simply be overwritten.
  • Assignment of individual value ranges to standard DIs

 Caution

• Since all changes made to the standard data items will be overwritten in an update, such changes should be documented (individual ICOU) and be made subsequent to the update  or be treated with the new PLANTA conflic management procedure.

Note

• The standard DIs deactivated by PLANTA must not be reactivated by customer users since such DIs are very likely to be removed in one of the releases following the deactivation. If a customer user tries to activate such a DI anyway, a warning message is displayed.
• The deactivated data items are displayed grayed out in the Data Dictionary module.

Create Individual Data Items

The creation, modification, and deletion of data items in data tables of the Q1B and Q2B schemas may only be carried out by PLANTA. The only exception is data table DT400, which can contain custom DIs as well.

Notes

• If individual data items are required for data tables of the Q1B or Q2B system databases, an individual data table with relation to the corresponding system database data table must be created.
• Creating and changing is allowed in the application database data tables (Q4-Q7).

Procedure

• Open the Data Dictionary module.
• Select the required data table from the listbox.
• Right-click on an existing DI and select Insert → Data item.
• Enter the name in the Name field and the column type (in window 2) and save.
  • As a result, the number of the new DI will be generated automatically and some fields, like e.g. DB type, DF type, PPMS type, and other fields, will be filled automatically depending on the column type (data type). 
• For real data items (data items with Virtual parameter = ):
  • Define a Python ID in the DI Python ID field.
  • Allocate an SQL ID in the SQL ID field (usually the automatic number receives the suffix “DI”, e.g. DI100001)
    • By clicking on the Set column name button (in the header area of the module), SQL IDs can be created automatically for all created DIs at once.
  • Allocate the number ascending to the number of the previous DI in the DB Pos. field. Please make sure that this field does not remain empty.
  • Activate the Activated checkbox.
  • If no DB length and DF length were specified when the column type was set, please fill them now.
  • Save.
    • As a result, the following message will be displayed: Due to your changes to DT412, your database must be adjusted. Please select the appropriate ./xx_*.sql file (depending on the database system) and run the content on your database.
    • Caution: If other DIs are created in the same session, the schema update information is no longer displayed. The text file, however, is extended by the other DIs.
  • Check the text file created by the schema update and run it on the database. For this purpose, see the next chapter Creating a Data Item in the Database.

Create New Column(s) from the Database in PLANTA

Information

• This function serves to create columns which only exist in the database but not as a DI in PLANTA data tables.

Procedure

• Open the Data Dictionary module.
• Select the required data table from the listbox.
• Click on the Create new column(s) as DI(s) button.
• The Create Data Items module will be opened. Here, all columns of the current data table which are available in the database but not in PLANTA Project are displayed.
• Activate the Apply checkbox for the columns which are to be created as DIs.
• Click on the Adopt selected data items button. As a result, the required columns are created in the PLANTA data table.

Note

• If there are no columns on the DB which do not exist as DIs in PLANTA, the No new data items available on the database message is displayed.

Create Data Items in the Database

Note

• The new Schema Update function replaces the Create data item (in the database) function from the context menu. That is why this context menu command has been removed.

Actions on Data Items

Context menu

• By right-clicking on the required data item and selecting the corresponding command from the context menu, the following actions can be carried out for data items:
  • Insert Data Item
  • Insert automatic number
  • Define Incarnation/Fetch Exit
  • Edit Data Item
  • Edit Exit
  • Edit Format
  • Adopt DIs in Data Area

Insert Data Item

Procedure for inserting a data item, see here.

Define Automatic Number Generation for Data Items

Information

• For particular data items of a data table you can define whether an automatic ID with this DI is to be generated in the application.
• automatic IDs
  • Automatic IDs (automatic numbers) are not entered manually but they are generated by the system according to a particular rule.
  • An automatic ID will only be created when all foreign key DIs of the record and, if available, all mandatory data fields are filled with valid values.
• Manual IDs
  • are allocated by the user him/herself.

Procedure

• Right-click on the data item which is to receive automatic numbers and select the Insert → Automatic numbers command.
• Define and save the parameters for automatic number generation.

Note

• An automatic number must be part of the primary key.

Insert Exit

Automatic Creation of Fetch Exit Data Items

Exits

Create target data items and their corresponding exits automatically

• Open the Data Dictionary module.
• Right-click on the required source data item and select the Define incarnation/fetch exit command
• The Define Incarnation/Fetch Exit module will be opened.
  • Fill the data fields as follows:
    • DT for exit of the CO DIs of the incarnation / Fetch DT: data table from which a data item value is to be fetched.
    • DI for exit of the CO DIs of the incarnation / Fetch DI: data item the value of which is to be fetched to the target data item.
  • When opening the module, the following fields are automatically filled with the data table and the DI from which the context menu command was executed.
    • DT of the incarnation / Source DT: data table in which the source DI is located.
    • ID DI of the incarnation / Source DI: data item of the source data table via which the fetch data table is referenced to fetch the required value.
• Click on the Create fetch exit
  • The target data item is automatically created in the target data table which contains the exit (which is the source data table at the same time).

Automatic Creation of Incarnations and their Subordinate Data Items

Incarnations

Create Incarnation Automatically

• Open the Data Dictionary module.
• Right-click on the required data item (ID data item) and select the Define incarnation/fetch exit command
• The Define Incarnation/Fetch Exit module will be opened.
• Fill the data fields as follows:
  • DT for exit of the CO DIs of the incarnation / Fetch DT: Data table from which the name for a CO data item of the incarnation is fetched via exit.
  • DI for exit of the CO DIs of the incarnation / Fetch DI: Data item from which the name for a CO data item of the incarnation is fetched via exit.
• When opening the module, the following fields are automatically filled with the data table and the DI from which the context menu command was made.
  • DT of the incarnation/ Source DT: Data table in which the incarnation is created.
  • ID DI of the incarnation / Source DI: ID data item of the incarnation
• Click on the Create incarnation button
  • The CO data item with the corresponding exit and
    • the incarnation data item will
    • be created automatically.
• Save.

Edit Data Item

Procedure

• Right-click on the required data item and select the Edit data item command from the context menu.
• Open the Data Items module in which separate data item parameters can be defined and edited.
  • The Data Items module can be opened by clicking on the link in the DI data field of the required DI as well.

Edit Exit

Procedure

• Right-click on the required data item and select the Edit exit command from the context menu.
• Open the Exits module, in which separate exit parameters can be edited.

Edit Format

Procedure

• Right-click on the required data item and select the Edit format command from the context menu.
• Open the Formats module, in which separate format parameters can be edited.

Adopt DIs in Data Area

Procedure

• Enter the number of the required data table in the DT field or select it from the listbox.
• Mark the data items that are to be included in the data area.
• Right-click on one of the data items and select the Include Data Items in Data Area context menu command.
  • As a result, only marked data items are copied.
• The Select Data Area module is opened automatically.
  • A new data area is created automatically.
    • If instances of the Data Areas module are still open, they will be read and inserted automatically.
      • If the data items are to be added to another already existing data area, a new record can be created in Window 1 by pressing F4.
      • Afterwards, enter the ID of the required data area in the DA field.
    • The value in the DDI field is automatically set to the ID of DI of the corresponding data table.
    • The data items selected before are displayed in window 2.
    • Click on the Include data item in data area button.
      • The data items are included in the data area.
    • Save.

Caution

• Although data items from different data tables can be combined arbitrarily, errors in the visualization may occur if the combination does not make any sense due to the relation.