Life Cycle Introduction

Life Cycle is a tool within Data Express that keeps track of each modification applied to the file structure of your application, and prevents loss of information when these structural changes occur.

Note:
  • The Life Cycle is taken to mean exclusively the entering, into the database, of new data stores or modifications of the layout of existing data stores and not of modifications of the content that leave the file layout unaltered.
  • The algorithm used for the recognition of file modifications is based on the modifications of the sources (copybook COBOL and PL/I, SYSPUNCH, and DCLGEN) associated with the files. Direct-access DB2 files are the exception. The recognition of their modifications is based on the information contained in the DB2 system tables.
  • The Life Cycle feature of Data Express for z/OS also manages changes in the structure of distributed databases. To enable this feature, you use Distributed Loader to generate the IMPSRC file used as starting point for life cycle. For details see the Full Life Cycle Support topic in Getting Started with Distributed Data Stores.
Known Restriction
For DB2 tables with non-direct access, Life Cycle requires SYSPUNCH and DCLGEN to be partitioned data set (PDS) members, even though the cataloging phase supports SYSPUNCH and DCLGEN as sequential files. If you want to use Life Cycle and you have cataloged SYSPUNCH in a sequential file, you will need to delete it from the knowledge base and re-catalog it as a PDS member.