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Asked: 2024-10-12T05:36:39+05:30 In:

What is data area in AS400 and why do we use it. What are its different types?

Explain the data area concept and its usage in the AS400 applications. Please also mention the different types of data areas available in AS400.

How do we use data areas in RPG and CL programs?

How do we use data areas for sharing data between jobs or programs within the same job?

What are the commands used to create, change, retrieve, and delete data areas in the AS400 system?

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  1. Admin
    This answer was edited.

    Data Area is an object that stores data for access by any task executing on the AS400 system. The data area allows you to store a limited amount of data. Users can restore data area objects to their consistent state by using journal data areas in case of an issue.

    The data area is used to store and transfer data across jobs, including fields that are constantly modified, such as the next number, whether it be an order number, a check number, or a user number.

    Create a data area object using the command CRTDTAARA. Local and group data areas cannot be created using the CRTDTAARA command. While creating a data area object, we can also initialize it with some default values.
    CRTDTAARA DTAARA(TESTLIB/DTAARA1)
    TYPE(*CHAR)
    LEN(2000)
    VALUE('INIT')
    TEXT('Data area 1')

    Once the data area object is created, its type is *DTAARA, and the attribute is blank. We can create different types of data areas in the as400 system, such as,

    • Character (*CHAR)
    • decimal (*DEC)
    • logical (*LGL)
    • remote data area (*DDM)

    Points to remember:

    • The maximum length for the decimal data area is (24,9), and the default length is (15,5).
    • The character data area has a maximum length of 2000 and a default length of 32 characters.
    • For the Logical data area, the maximum and default lengths are 1.
    • A logical data region has a value of either ‘0’ or ‘1’, where ‘0’ represents off, false, or no, and ‘1’ represents on, true, or yes.
    • The starting value can be specified when the data area is created. In case you don’t specify, the default values will be ‘0’ for the logical data area, blanks for the character, and 0 for the decimal.

    We can use the following commands w.r.t the data area object.

    • RTVDTAARA: It is used to fetch the data area content in a CL variable and can only be called from a CL program and can not be invoked from an RPG program or command line.
      RTVDTAARA DTAARA(TESTLIB/DTAARA1 *ALL)
      RTNVAR(&VAR1)
    • CHGDTAARA: It is used to change the contents of the data area object.
      CHGDTAARA DTAARA(TESTLIB/DTAARA1 *ALL)
      VALUE('NEXTVALUE')
    • DSPDTAARA: Use the command DSPDTAARA DTAARA(libname/DTAARA1) to view the value stored in a data area object.
    • DLTDTAARA: You can use this command DLTDTAARA DTAARA(libname/DTAARA1) to delete the data area object in a specified library from the IBM I machine.