Compare

The expected input data format for the comparison (the data format of the left file and right file) is the standard USoft XML format used also by most of the USoft 9.1 export and import routines. For details on this format, see the "USoft XML specification" in USoft Definer Help. Here is an example snippet of this data format:

  <Accredited_Persons>

    <PERSON ID="177" FAMILY_NAME="Haynes" FIRST_NAME="Deborah"/>

    <PERSON ID="112" FAMILY_NAME="Smith" FIRST_NAME="John"/>

  ...

The output data format (the data format of the "diff" file) is in the standard USoft XML format and contains DML instruction tags. For details on this format and on DML instruction tags, see the "USoft XML format" section in USoft Definer Help.

DML instruction tags are <Insert/>, <Update/>, <Delete> child elements that indicate data manipulations required to bring a repository A, from which the right file was drawn, to the same state as a repository B from which the left file was drawn.

A "diff" file produced by USoft Delivery Manager is a mix of the standard USoft XML format and the format with-processing-instructions, because:

•A newly introduced record (INSERT) is not marked by an <Insert> element. Rather, it simply appears in the "diff" file as flat data. This produces the same effect on import of the "diff" file.

•A dropped record (DELETE) is marked by a <Delete> element as specified for the XML-format-with-processing-instructions.

•An updated record (UPDATE) is marked by an <Update> element only if the update does not affect a record's primary key. The update of MAX_AGE in the following example record appears with an <Update> element because MAX_AGE is not in the primary key. In this format, only primary key columns and updated columns appear in the XML:

<TOUR DESTINATION="AUSTRALIA" TOUR_TYPE="ISLAND SUNTANNER" MAX_AGE="75">

<Update MAX_AGE="65"/>
</TOUR>

By contrast, the update of DESTINATION appears as follows, because DESTINATION is in the primary key:

<TOUR DESTINATION="TASMANIA" TOUR_TYPE="ISLAND SUNTANNER" NUM_DAYS="12" MAX_AGE="" 

  DESCRIPTION="Exclusive sailing adventure to the Great Barrier Reef&#10;"/>

<TOUR DESTINATION="AUSTRALIA" TOUR_TYPE="ISLAND SUNTANNER" NUM_DAYS="12" MAX_AGE="" 

  DESCRIPTION="Exclusive sailing adventure to the Great Barrier Reef&#10;>

    <Delete/>

</TOUR>

Delivery Manager compares data by application, where application is either a USoft application (USD, USTESTER, USAUTH, USERVICE, UDELIVER) or an application that you have defined yourself. USoft applications map to USoft tool names:

Output files have the .diff.xml extension:

To perform your own comparisons, call the Compare data files action. This action requires that you specify the left file, right file and output file explicitly.

Also, you must specify the application name and a database account (a repository). This is necessary because there must be a basis for comparing records. This basis is each record's primary key column value, or combination of primary key column values, as defined in the repository you specify.

In the context of releases, the following Delivery Manager actions perform comparisons between the current release and the previous release automatically:

In addition, the Release script action, if called with the option "Include physical tables upgrade script = Yes", produces a create-tables script based on the comparison of current-release metadata and previous-release metadata: