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Home Blogs NickLitten's blog Another big list of as400 technical, practical ques
tions and just plain brain teasers
Another big list of as400 technical, practical questions and just plain brain te
asers
Posted on: 26 July 2012 By: NickLitten
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So, last night I was nosing around in the dim dark corners of an old network sha
re on my homeserver. I stumbled across an old TXT document from the late 90's, I
think. It was sitting in a text file called "AS400 brainteasers" -it's obviousl
y old (look at the as400 model numbers question).
It was fun to scan through these questions and answers. I got a about 98% right.
.. there were a couple where I dropped the ball and I blame that on the vintage
questions and my fading senility...
Test yourself and see if you can be classed as an AS400 specialist:
AS400 Questions
What is the Configuration of the AS/400 system on which you have worked?
System E35(Model 9406), 24MB main memory, 3.2GB of HD and supports 49 terminals
(7 Port).
How many terminals can be connected to a port?
7 terminals
What do the terms CUA and SAA stand for?
Common User Access Systems Application Architecture
What are the communication protocols supported by AS/400?
AL40004 APPC (Advanced Program to Program Communication) BSCEL (Binary Synchrono
us Link)
ASYNCH (Asynchronous Communication)
RETAIL
TCP IP
FINANCE
SNUF SNA Upline facility
INTRA Intrasystem communication.
What are the different ways of connecting a terminal to a system?
Twinnax, Workstation, ASCII and OS/2 Workstation.
Why AS/400
Everything
an Object.
es used in
What is SAA ?
Systems Application Architecture (SAA) is a collection of selected software Inte
rfaces, Conventions and Protocols that will provide a consistent framework
across the System/370, AS/400 and PS/2.
What are the different AS/400 rack models supplied by IBM?
9402, 9404 and 9406.
What are the different high-level languages available on AS/400?
RPG/400, CL/400, BASIC, PL/1, C/400, PASCAL, FORTRAN/400 and RM/COBOL-85, COBOL/
400 etc..
What are all the IBM Mid range machines prior to AS/400?
S/38, S/36, S/34, S/32 &S/3.
What is the Operating System on AS/400?
OS/400.
What are office tasks available on AS/400?
Office Vision/400 & PC Support/400.
What are the graphic utilities available on AS/400?
BGU & GDDM.
OS/400
What is DDM ?
Distributed Data Management is a function of the OS/400 that allows an applicati
on program or user on one system to use database files stored on remote system.
What are the facilities available on AS/400 for self-learning?
on-line education, Q&A Database and Help.
What is an Object?
An object is any thing that exist in and occupies space in storage and on which
operation can be performed.
What are the different types of Objects available in the AS/400?
Libraries, Folders, Files, Programs, Combined definitions, Queues, User Profiles
.
How are the objects stored in AS/400?
All objects are stored on AS/400 in a single level storage. In this method all o
bjects are referenced by one virtual address which is translated into a physical
address whether it is an auxiliary storage or main memory.
What is a library in AS/400?
A library in AS/400 is an object that serves as a repository for other objects.
Name few IBM supplied libraries?
QGPL, QTEMP, QUSRTOOL, QSYS, QRPG & QCBL.
What is a library list?
A list that indicates libraries used for the process and the order in which it h
as to be searched. System identifies it in *LIBL.
How many libraries can be there in a library list?
Total 40 (15 system and 25 application).
Where is the system part of the library list stored?
In SYSVAL (QSYSLIBL)
What is a Folder?
A Folder is a named object that is used as a directory for documents and other f
olders. Folders can be filed with in another folder.
What are the different Application Development Tools available on AS/400?
SEU, RLU, PDM, SDA, QUERY
DATABASE FILES
What are the different definition levels in Data Description specifications ?
File level, Record level, Field level, Join level, Keyfield level, Select/Omit l
evel.
What is difference between Source Physical File and Physical File ?
A Source Physical File contains the source for the various objectscreated. This
file has a specific structure. A Physical File contains data, and the record for
mat can be different for different physical files.
What is the difference between Physical and Logical files ?
Physical file contains data, where as Logical file serves as a access path to da
tabase.
What is an access path ?
The order in which the database fields are organized for processing in the progr
am.
What are all the different types of access paths ?
Arrival sequence access path, Keyed sequence access path.
How many record formats can you have in a Physical file and in a Logical file ?
Physical file can contain only one record format, Logical file can contain more
than one record format.
What is a field reference file ?
A field reference file is a physical file which contains no data, contains field
description. this is used as a reference file by other physical files.
What is the default value for the number of increments for the physicalfile ?
Three.
When is the DFT keyword in PF used for?
To specify the default value it a field.
What is Multi-format logical file ?
Logical which uses fields from two or more physical files.
What is dynamic select ?
Selection and omission of LF records performed during processing, instead of acc
ess path is maintained. This can be used when key access path does not exist.
What is the Select and Omit criteria in logical file ?
This is used to specify rules for the Selection/Omission of records from a Physi
cal File.
Can fields be concatenated at the logical file level ?
Yes, by using CONCAT keyword.
When would the ALL keyword be used ?
Use with Select or Omit, to select/omit records.
What is a Join Logical File, Can it be used for Update ?
Logical file that combines more than one physical file.Update is not possible th
rough JLF.
How many files can be joined at a time, What is the max. no. of files ?
At a time you can join two files. The max. no. of files is 32.Only one primary f
ile and the remaining are secondary files, The primary file and at least one sec
ondary file must be physical files.
Is it possible to join the same file to itself ?
Yes.
What is FCFO, FIFO, LIFO in Database environment ?
These are file level keywords which are used to access the records in the order
FCFO : First Changed First Out
FIFO : First In First Out
LIFO : Last In Fist Out
If a file layout is changed, how do you generate new PF and retain data?
Copy the file and change the structure of Physical file, later copy old file wit
h drop option.
What is the overhead on logical file ? How can it be improved ?
Maintaining access path and storage space. We can improve the performance by usi
ng *DELAYED, *REBUILD keywords to enhance the speed.
How can the sign of a numeric be ignored when sequencing a logical file ?
By specifying the record level keyword UNSIGNED.
If a field references a field that has an EDTCDE or an EDTWRD keyword specified,
can the EDTCDE or EDTWRD from the referenced field ignored ?
Yes, by using DLTEDT keyword.
What does the keyword UNIQUE mean ?
Records with duplicate key values are not allowed.
State three different methods of maintaining access paths ?
Immediate, Rebuild & Delay.
DISPLAY FILES
What are the different types of keywords in display files ?
File level, Record format level, Field level.
What is the maximum number of records you can specify in a display file ?
1024.
How can a screen field that has changed since the last output operation be detec
ted ?
Attach the MDT attribute to the field, to detect whether field has been changed
as a result of user input.
What would be the effect on the field where reverse image, underline and highlig
ht display attributes are active ?
The result is same as if you had specified ND.
What is the use of DSPATR(MDT) keyword ?
Sets on the modified Data Tag of the field. This Data Tag detects whether the fi
eld has been changed as a result of user input.
If DSPATR(PC) and CSRLOC were specified for a format, which keyword would have p
riority ?
CSRLOC gains priority.
Can error messages as a result of a COMP, RANGE or VALUES keyword be overridden
?
Yes, through CHKMSGID keyword.
SUBFILES
What is a subfile ?
Subfile is a group of records of same record format and can be read from or writ
e to the display in a single operation.
What are the contents of subfile ?
Subfile Record Format, Subfile Control Record Format, Relative Record Number, Su
bfile Record Number, Associated Subfile Keywords.
What are the two record formats that a subfile contains ?
Subfile record format(SFL), and subfile control record format(SFLCTL).
What is SFLPAG and SFLSIZ ?
SFLPAG : it is an attribute which specifies the number of records that can be di
splayed in a screen.
SFLSIZ : it is an attribute which specifies the number of records can be stored
in the subfile.
What is the maximum number of subfiles that can specified in a display file ?
512
The maximum number of subfiles that can defined in a RPG program for one display
file is ___ .
24
The maximum number of subfiles that can be active for a single file is____ .
12
What are the different opcodes used for file operation on a subfile in a RPG Pro
gram ?
READ, READC, CHAIN,UPDAT and WRITE
Can more than one subfile record be displayed on one line ?
Yes, by using SFLLIN keyword.
How do you specify the number of records to roll in a subfile ?
Use SFLROLVAL keyword in DDS along with the number, which specifies the number o
f records to scroll at a time.
How will you display a particular page in subfile ?
Move a valid relative record number(RRN) in the field specified using SFLRCDNBR
keyword in DDS.
How to pick up the changed records every time in a subfile after the first chang
e made ?
Seton SFLNXTCHG keyword indicator and update the subfile record.
What is the use of the SFLEND keyword ?
By specifying this keyword, the Bottom/More message could be displayed at end of
screen.
How do you toggle between single line and multi-line display of a particular rec
ord in a subfile ?
Using SFLDROP keyword.
Explain the difference between defining Subfile and Message-subfile ?
A subfile record is defined by SFL keyword, whereas a message subfile is defined
by SFLMSG keyword.
Can a single screen format occupy a screen area above and below a subfile format
?
Not possible.
How can a program be prevented from failing over when READC is performed on an e
mpty subfile ?
Check indicator placed in position LO, which will be seton if EOF if reached.
*PARMS contains the number parameters passed to this program from the calling pr
ogram.
Specify heading information/TITLE.
Specify to begin on a fresh page/EJECT.
To control line spacing/SPACE.
Records to be inserted from other files at the point where it is specified/COPY.
QO30229What is the maximum no. of times multiple occurrence DS can occur in a pr
ogram ?
AO30229 9999.
QL30230 What is the difference between *LIKE and *NAMVAR ?
AL30230 *LIKE defines the variables as in database.
*NAMVAR is used to define variables as data area.
QL30231 How is embedded SQL used in RPG ?
AL30231 /EXEC SQL
+ SQL statements
+ -------------------+ -------------------/END EXEC
QS30232 What are all the compiler directive statements ?
AS30232 /TITLE, /EJECT, /SPACE, /COPY.
Q6L4002 Name the different ways by which RPG source program can be entered ?
A6L4002Interactively with SEU, In batch by using either OS/400 or Spooling funct
ions.
Q6O3003During input operation which indicator position is seton if the record is
locked ?
A6O3003Position 56 - 57 (LO).
Q6O5004 What is the record lock status value ?
A6O5004Status value is 01218.
MISCELLANEOUS
QO30240 How do you combine two record formats in RLU ?
AO30240 Using CLC.
QO30241 How do you split record formats in RLU?
AO30241 Using CLR.
QO20242 What is the use of SDA?
AO20242 Screen Design Aid is used to create display files interactively.
QO40243 How do you define overlapping fields in SDA ?
AO40243 They can be defined through condition indicators.
QS40244 Mention different ways of specifying user help.
AS40244 Through SDA and Panel Group.
QS30245 To which member type does help text for panel belong ?
AS30245 PNLGRP
QO20246 Can Printer files be externally described or program described ?
AO20246 Yes.
QS20247 What are the valid file operation codes for a PRINTER file ?
AS20247 WRITE, OPEN, CLOSE, FEDO.
QS50248 If you use INDARA keyword for a program-described PRINTER file, what wil
l be the result ?
AS50248 You will get run-time error.
QL50249 What is PRTCTL, and where will you define it ?
AL50249 The PRTCTL (Printer Control) option allows you to change forms control i
nformation and to access the current line value within the program for a program
-described PRINTER file.
PRTCTL option will be specified on a F specifications continuation line for the
PRINTER file.
Q8S2001 What is the function of RLU ?
A8S2001To design & prototype a report.
Q8S2002 What are the three types of keywords associated with printer file?
A8S2002File level, Record level & Field level.
Q8S2003 What are the three line types in RLU ?
A8S2003Report line, Filler line & Sample line.
Q8O1004 Which option number is used to invoke RLU ?
A8O1004Option 19.