The workbench has three version levels: the test version, the production version, and the historical version.
The purpose of these versions is to allow a user to work with the production version of a program, while the developer of the program develops it further in its test version, until the tested version can be released as extended production version at a future point in time. Thereby the historical version is the backup of the last production version.
As long as the function 'Release Version' has not been used, all modules exist as test version only.
The Test Version:
All modules currently edited are first saved as test version. Only modules of the test version can be processed with the debugger. A module of the production version can be edited, but only be modified as test version.
The Production Version:
By means of the function 'Release Version' under the menu item 'Object' a program is converted from its test version to the production version. When doing so, the user can choose whether or not an already existing production version is to be saved as historical version. The test version will be deleted.
A production version can be recalled by means of the function 'Recall Version'. Thereby the historical version is activated as production version. To be able to do so, there must not be any module of the program as test version.
When generating the production version, the current usage relations are entered into the Data Dictionary. This usage information can be easily retrieved by means of DOMAIN.
The following relations are concerned:
- MODULE CALLS DBPROCEDURE
- MODULE CALLS MODULE
- MODULE USES COLUMN
- MODULE USES QUERYCOMMAND
- MODULE USES TABLE
- DBPROCEDURE CONTAINS PARAMETER
- TRIGGER CONTAINS PARAMETER
- USER USES MODULE
- USER USES DBPROCEDURE
The Historical Version:
The historical version always contains the previously valid production version and serves as backup copy.
When calling SQL-PL for the first time, the default setting is the TEST version. The user can switch between the different versions by modifying the version setting in the SET menu. If the version is set to TEST, at runtime the modules and programs are always looked for in the order of test version, production version. By this means only the modified modules are kept twice which, together with the unchanged modules of the production version, form the current test version.
The desired version can also be specified when selecting a program list or module list which allows quickly changing from a list of the production version to a list of the test or historical version. For better handling it is possible to display lists merged from the production and test version, since these module lists exactly reflect the modules that have been called for testing. For this purpose one uses the version identification 'WORK'. Similarly, the programs or modules of all versions are displayed, when the version identification 'ALL' has been specified.
Further particulars of the versions of a program are described in connection with the different functions.