Reading the Diagram

Reading the diagram downwards from the top, you can see how each object can consist of other objects. Horizontal lines show one-to-one relationships, and vertical lines show one-to-many relationships. For example, a job consists of (one or more) tasks. Reading it from the bottom upwards (or from right to left) shows you what objects must exist before you can define the objects that contain them. For example, you must define an external set before you can define an export task.

When you are designing a new job, you will normally work top-down, deciding what tasks the job is to execute, and so on. When you come to use the USoft Definer to enter the details, you will work bottom-up, defining each element to be used at a higher level. As you get more familiar with USoft Batch, you will gradually build up a whole library of building blocks (external sets, tasks, and jobs) that you can use over and over again in different combinations.

Whatever approach you take, the procedure you follow will always include the following steps:

·	To define a job, specify which tasks belong to it.

If the job contains variables, specify an input parameter set that describes them. If the job returns output, specify an output parameter set.

·	To define a task, specify whether it is an action, import, export, or SQL task or a nested job.

·	To define an action task, specify the action(s) that the task must execute.

·	To define an import task, specify which Import SQL statement(s) it is to perform, and the external set that it uses. If the import task contains virtuals, define them.

·	To define an external set, specify the SQL statement that describes the data, and specify what the set elements are, or have them computed.

·	To define an export task, specify the external set it uses.

·	To define a SQL task, specify the SQL Task Statements it uses.

As with other USoft Developer applications, The USoft Batch extension to the USoft Definer consists of a number of database objects (tables), which are displayed in separate windows. These windows allow you to query, edit and delete the contents of the corresponding database tables.