bdfg1m0aGeneral Information

Overview of TPFDF Benefits

TPFDF provides benefits to application programmer productivity and system management.

Application Programmer Productivity Benefits

Typically, in traditional database handling, there is no standard database organization. Therefore, there are no common routines for data retrieval, searches, sorts, or updates. Application programmers need to be aware of the size and location of data.

The TPFDF product enforces a standard for database organization. For example, it provides common routines to:

The TPFDF product provides high-level macros that act as an interface to these common routines. Application programmers only need to know the logical relationships of data, not the physical characteristics, to code these macros.

The TPFDF product also provides functions to allow C language programs to access TPFDF file structures.

System Management Benefits

The TPFDF product enforces a centralized database structure that provides many system management benefits. Because the definition of the database is centrally maintained, the database administrator can modify database characteristics without affecting application programs. This central maintenance, together with the utilities that the TPFDF product provides, means that the database administrator can:

TPFDF installations need a database administrator to install and manage the physical database. The database administrator communicates with both application and system programmers.

TPFDF Performance

The TPFDF product makes it possible to optimize application program performance. For example, it allows physical data to be organized to reduce direct access storage device (DASD) I/Os by:

The TPFDF product provides data collection tools for monitoring application program performance. These tools can highlight database designs that can cause performance problems (for example, excessive DASD I/Os). The database administrator can modify the central database definitions to optimize performance. One central change can improve the performance of many application programs without modifying them.

Application Program Portability

The TPFDF product makes it easier to integrate new and existing application programs. Typically, when adding an application program, there is some data that both the existing and new application program needs to access.

Often in a traditional database, the way the data is stored is not compatible between the two application programs (for example, the data is held in different block sizes). This requires the modification of each new program that accesses the data.

With the TPFDF product, programs do not need to be modified because of the way data is stored. Block size changes and any other physical database changes are transparent to the application.

Because TPFDF application programs are independent of the physical database, they are easier to enhance.

TPFDF Migration

The TPFDF product allows gradual migration from a traditional database:

This allows application programs that use the TPFDF product to coexist with application programs that use traditional database handling methods.