═══ 1. Welcome to Personal AS ═══ Welcome To The World of Personal AS! The world in which data is organized and retrieved in exactly the way you want it to be. The world in which you can create your own application, to suit your own requirements, or use the ready-made solution that Personal AS offers. Personal AS is a decision-support software product specifically designed for desktop computing in business. The latest version, Version 3, fully exploits the OS/2* Workplace Shell and OS/2 features such as 32-Bit Addressing, Multitasking, Dragging and Dropping, and Dynamic Data Exchange. Personal AS can be used as either: An individual product installed on a standalone computer Or A multi-accessible product for use in a Local Area Network environment From one workstation, you can have a single connection to an individual system, a departmental system, a corporate system, and a world-wide system. In this way, you can create data using Personal AS installed in your machine, then transfer the data across to Local Area Network users. You can then send the data to a mainframe computer and allow many users world-wide to use that data. It can be run under either: The Operating System/2* (OS/2) Presentation Manager* environment Or The Disk Operating System (DOS) Windows** environment To see the next section, double-click on: The Customizable Solution. ═══ 2. The Customizable Solution ═══ Personal AS - The Customizable Solution Consider the following applications, which were created with the specific data needs of very different organizations in mind. To read more about these examples, double-click on their titles: o The Drill View application - A graphical interface for data retrieval and display o Structured Information Retrieval - An easy-to-use application for fast access to data from different sources o A Management Information System - An application to integrate workstation components, using Personal AS as the interface. Are your data requirements unique to the complexities of your business organization? Would you like to create applications like these, tailored exactly to your own requirements? Then Personal AS is the application for you. To see the next section, double-click on: The Ready-made Solution. ═══ 2.1. Example 1. The Drill View Application ═══ Example 1. The Drill View Application The Drill View application uses a graphical interface. Data is accessed by dragging graphic representations of the type of information required, and dropping them onto a map to indicate the source of the information. The small dots by the area names indicate the availability of further information. The four icons at the bottom of the screen are used to specify the type of information required: o The chart icon is used to display a chart o The report icon is used to display a report o The magnify icon is used to display the source data o The drill icon is used to drill down to the next geographic level To gain further information, the user has to simply move one of the four icons, and place it over a dot at an area. For example, to see the states in the USA, the user must place the drill icon over the dot by US States. To see the result for yourself, double-click on the drill icon beneath US States in this picture: To see a chart of the results for Colorado, place the chart icon over Colorado. To see the result for yourself, double-click on the chart icon covering Colorado in this picture: The Drill View application has a graphical interface that could be used, or adapted for use, by many different applications. For example: o A car sales group that has branches in several different countries, and which requires similar types of information, from its different branches, on a regular basis. o A financial organization that could drill down for information on different sectors in the financial markets. o A school that has an organizational chart as the top layer, and then drills down for academic years and subjects. With its impressive drag and drop activation, Drill Down shows how a static picture can be brought into life, and used as a simple interface from which to display real data. To see the next example of a customized application, double-click on: Structured Information Retrieval. ═══ 2.2. Example 2. Structured Information Retrieval (SIR) ═══ Example 2. Structured Information Retrieval (SIR) Structured Information Retrieval (SIR) is an easy-to-use application that gives its users fast access to data, including data from Personal AS, DB2/2, DB2 and SQL/DS. Its interface is less graphic than that used in the Drill View application, but its strength lies in its ability to hide the complexity of querying data. In SIR there are four areas of data to select from: Once inside a category, the various data analyses are controlled by the user specifying condition criteria: When the conditions are defined, the pushbuttons at the bottom of the window can be used to: o View the results of the query o Chart the results of the query o Report the results of the query o View the current Selection o Change to another category of analysis o Cancel to quit from the application SIR is an example of how Personal AS has been customized to simplify the data retrieval process for its users. Users can retrieve data without the need to know table names, column names, or the details of where the tables are stored. Complex SQL joins and aggregations can be performed without the user knowing anything about it ! Yet despite this, it maintains a high degree of user flexibility and control. To see the next example of a customized application, double-click on: A Management Information System. ═══ 2.3. Example 3. A Management Information System (MIS) ═══ Example 3. A Management Information System (MIS) The Management Information System (MIS) is an example of a graphical user interface for management information, and demonstrates how various workstation components can be integrated using Personal AS as the user interface. From the MIS initial window, there are three routes available to the user: Connectivity This allows the user to connect to other computers, such as an S/390, a remote LAN, or a Local LAN. Management Reports This allows the user to view pre-prepared business information. By simply selecting on one of the four icons that represent Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, and Accounts, all the relevant reports, charts, diagrams, and information are displayed. Local Applications This choice allows the user access to any tools or packages that are available to them. By simply selecting on one of the icons, access is given to applications such spreadsheets, metafiles, OS/2 graphic displays, or any OS/2 commands. To go to the next part of this section, double-click on: Personal AS - The CustomizableSolution . ═══ World Map with Drill Icon ═══ Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the text. ═══ USA Map with Chart Icon ═══ Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the text. ═══ 3. The Ready-made Solution ═══ Personal AS - The Ready-made Solution Does the following business definition apply to you? Your decision support requirements are quite straightforward - you need rapid access to data, and the ability to display it professionally and accurately - and all this to be at your fingertips. Then Personal AS is the application for you. To give you an indication of this, consider how one organization found Personal AS to be the ready-made answer to their business requirements. The organization - the fictitious Sundial Time Corporation - has a manufacturing plant for three products, with an annual turnover of $50 million. Double-click on this title to see how Personal AS is used during A day in the life of Sundial Time Corporation. Sundial Time Corporation uses Personal AS as a ready-made solution to their business needs. It uses the extensive data features of Personal AS to capture its data, analyze its data, and present it in a professional and revealing way. Could your business requirements be answered by such a powerful decision support application? Then Personal AS is the application for you. To see the next section, double-click on: Introducing the Personal AS Objects. ═══ 3.1. A Day in the Life of Sundial Time Corporation ═══ A Day in the Life of Sundial Time Corporation It's the end of the business quarter and the Chief Executive Officer is reviewing corporate figures. After reviewing the corporate figures, the Chief Executive Officer observes the following: o Product 1 manufacturing slowed down. The chart shows that during 1993 only 1600 units of Product 1 were manufactured, whereas in 1989, 2000 units were manufactured. During the last four years, production slowed at an annual rate of ten percent. o Salaries have grown during the past business quarter. This chart shows that salaries grew by two percent during the first and second business quarters of 1992, and remained unchanged for the third quarter. During the last quarter of 1992, there was a further one percent growth in salaries. o Sales in the North East region are not performing as well as the South East region. The report was produced from data created with Personal AS Business Planning. The report shows the sales volumes for each of the products in both regions. The South East region performed especially well with Product 3. o However, Product 3 sales in total have declined. The surface chart shows that total sales for Product 3 have continued to decline over the last few years. o Product 4 launch may have potential date slippages. The Gantt chart, created with Personal AS Project Management, shows that some project activities may be delayed, thus causing date slippages. The Chief Executive Officer instructs senior executives at Sundial Time Corporation to investigate these problems further. They are to report back their findings. The executives will then present suggestions and recommendations to the Board meeting at its annual Corporate Strategic Review. The annual Corporate Strategic Review is a corporate planning process that assesses the business competitor marketplace, and involves consideration of technological and economic trends, and long-term planning and forecasting. The executives access the corporate database to search for the data they need for their analyses. They use Personal AS to focus on the information required. To see how the Product 1 team uses Personal AS, double-click on: Product 1 Management. ═══ 3.1.1. Product 1 Management ═══ Sundial Time Corporation - Product 1 Management The Product 1 Management team first reviews performance factors, such as labor, materials, and other expenses, to see if these factors are affecting unit production of Product 1. Using a Personal AS query, the team combines two data tables called Product and Sales, and extracts the relevant information to produce a report of the results. To see how the Human Resources team uses Personal AS, double-click on: Human Resources Management. ═══ 3.1.2. Human Resources Management ═══ Sundial Time Corporation - Human Resources Management The Human Resources team investigates how many salary increases occurred in each department during the reviewed business quarter. To do this, the relevant corporate data is extracted to produce a final report, showing the total number of increases by department. The report shows that seventeen percent of the employees in the Research and Development department had salary increases during the reviewed business quarter, whereas in the Executive Staff department, only seven percent of the department's employees received salary increases. To see how the Sales team uses Personal AS, double-click on: Sales Team. ═══ 3.1.3. Sales Team ═══ Sundial Time Corporation - Sales Team The Sales Team looks at the sales data from the corporate database to compare the sales between the North East and South East regional branches. Using Personal AS Business Planning, the team reviews the sales data for each sales branch from both regions. A detailed report is then submitted to management. To see how the Product 3 team uses Personal AS, double-click on: Product 3 Management. ═══ 3.1.4. Product 3 Management ═══ Product 3 Management The Product 3 team uses Personal AS Statistics to run a series of quality control studies to identify quality deficiencies. The team uses the Pareto method to identify where the major problems lie, and display a Pareto chart to visualize the data. The Pareto method is typically used to rank problems in decreasing order of importance. The percentage curve shows how many defective items account for a given percentage of the total number of defects. For example, the chart shows that in order to eliminate fifty percent of the problem with Product 3, the defects identified in the first seven units of Product 3 should be removed. To see how the Marketing team uses Personal AS, double-click on: Marketing Team. ═══ 3.1.5. Marketing Team ═══ Sundial Time Corporation - Marketing Team Following a thorough market evaluation, and with surveys and charts, the Sales/Marketing team discovers the new potential marketing opportunities for Product 1 sales, and decides to meet with the appropriate manager to discuss the possibility of increasing the manufacture of Product 1 units. The Product 1 Manager instructs the DP department to develop an application that would show the capacity and workload analysis of the Product 1 manufacturing process. They agree to present the results at the annual Corporate Strategic Review. To see how the Product 4 team uses Personal AS, double-click on: Product 4 Project Management. ═══ 3.1.6. Product 4 Project Management ═══ Sundial Time Corporation - Product 4 Project Management The Product 4 Project Manager reviews the project progress and activities. At the same time, the Project Management team is instructed to provide an update of all estimated dates and schedules given by subcontractors, to compare the source of the possible date slippage. The team uses Personal AS Project Management to track the project, creating a pie chart to show the area that has the greatest potential delay of resources. To see the next section, double-click on: The Annual Corporate Review. ═══ 3.1.7. The Annual Corporate Review ═══ Sundial Time Corporation - The Annual Corporate Review Your organization can use Personal AS tools not only to interpret existing corporate data and produce effective presentations, but also to help you with long-term planning and forecasting. For example, at the annual Corporate Strategic Review of Sundial Time Corporation, directors present the business cases that support the decisions they take and their future outlooks: o Using Personal AS Business Planning, the Corporate Planning Director presents the annual five-year business plan, which includes the following plan items: o The Product 1 Manager reports the results of the workload and capacity analysis. Based on the application developed by the DP department using Personal AS Builder, a chart is presented showing the levels of workload and capacity for each production process of Product 1 units. The chart shows that the level of workload of Production Process 3 is absorbing most of the current capacity. Therefore, if management decides to increase the number of Product 1 units, it would be necessary to review the current resources for Production Process 3 in order to avoid bottlenecks. To go to the next part of this section, double-click on: The Ready-made Solution. ═══ 4. Introducing the Personal AS Objects ═══ Introducing the Personal AS Objects Personal AS is an object-oriented decision-support application. It uses objects to help you perform your business tasks. The following is a list of the decision areas that Personal AS supports. Double-click on any of the small pictures for a more detailed description of the objects involved. Managing Data With Personal AS Table, you can store, arrange, change, add, delete, and check the validity of your data. Presenting Reports With Personal AS Report, you can present your data in detail or summary report form, depending on your requirements. Presenting Business Charts With Personal AS Chart, you can prepare charts for effective presentations. Making Complex Data Enquiries With Personal AS Query, you can select and combine data, and present results in reports and charts. Automating Tasks With Personal AS Procedure, you can turn tasks that are performed regularly in your organization into an automated process. Communicating with Mainframe AS With Personal AS Command, you can work with AS Command tables that are processed on the mainframe computer. Making Calculations With Personal AS Calculator, you can customize the calculator settings to include more sophisticated functions besides the traditional desktop operations provided. To see the next section, double-click on: Introducing Personal AS Builder. ═══ 4.1. Personal AS Table ═══ Managing your own data effectively using Personal AS Table Personal AS business decisions can be made using a wide range of data sources, one of which is Personal AS Table. Personal AS Table is more than just a simple table editor. It includes advanced data entry and display facilities that make the storage and display of information quicker and easier than other traditional data-entry methods. This view of the empdata table shows four columns and twelve rows of employee information. With Personal AS Table you can scroll across and down a table to see more columns and rows, and you can change values in a table simply by typing over the previous values. Using Personal AS Table, you can: o Design your table according to the type of data you want it to contain. You can decide how many columns you will have in your table, their name, display order, and the type of data they can contain. You can choose which columns are the key columns to order the rows in your table. o Name the columns you want to always keep in view. When you fix columns in your table, they are always displayed on your screen, and are not scrolled out of sight when you scroll across the table. This view of the empdata table has the Name column fixed: o Access data from other sources. For example, you can copy host AS, DB2 or SQL/DS data, and data from many other external sources, into a Personal AS table. o Directly update any column, row, or cell of a table. With Personal AS Table you can isolate any column, row, or cell in a table, and work on that specific area of the table without affecting any other. You can type information directly into the table by simply placing the cursor at the required place and typing. This could be a title or column name, or the data itself. o Check the data in your table, and choose a default value to be used if no value is entered. For example, you can choose a range of valid values, and use an expression check for the values in each column. o Display and distribute data. You can look at all of your table, or choose to look at just some of the columns and rows by choosing a subset. When you display a table, you can use a Table view to look at as many columns and rows as will fit on your screen. Alternatively, you can use a form view and look at one row of the table at a time. This is a form view of the empdata table. It is currently displaying the row for Mary-Lou Guajardo. A subset has been chosen. As you can see from the informationarea below the table, only 79 of the 200 rows in the table are available for display. When you select the arrow button next to the Division value, a list of valid values for Division is displayed. You can select one of these values to change the table. o Share data with other users. Once you have created or changed the data in your table, several users can use the table as a basis for charts, reports, and analyses. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 4.2. Personal AS Report ═══ Presenting data using Personal AS Report With a Personal AS Report, you can display numeric or character data in a chosen layout. The basic data can be presented or displayed in detail or summary form. You can even show the titles and column headings, without any of the report details: You decide the final layout of your report by choosing from a wide range of different layout options, and adding captions to clarify or highlight any parts of your report. You can create two types of reports, Detail and Summary, as shown in the following illustrations: The above illustration shows a detail report of data. You can also display totals if you decide to include them in your report. This illustration shows a summary report with the results of calculations, such as average and grand total. A summary report can also include subtotaling across and down the report. However, it does not show any details. You can use Personal AS Report to analyze your data, including calculating and displaying minimum and maximum values, totals and subtotals, percentages, averages, and standard deviations. With Personal AS Report you can: o Choose the columns of data that you want to present. The report you create is based on the data table you select. When you create the report, you can make further selections by choosing which columns to display in your report. o Calculate new data from your original data. You can use the data from existing columns to calculate values for new columns in your report. o Group your data both down and across the page. Regardless of the order of your original data, you can arrange the data in your report into meaningful groups for analysis. o Design the layout of your report. You can use color, outlines, and labels in the body of your report to highlight important points. o Set conditions. When you want to highlight specific values in your data, you can use expressions or arithmetic operations to select rows in your report. o Include variables in your report. You can use variables which are substituted for the current values, such as the current date or page number. o Customize your report to arrange various elements. You can separate the data from the headings in your report. o Exchange reports between Personal AS and host AS. You can use reports that were created using host AS, or transfer reports that you created using Personal AS to host AS. o Access data from other sources to use in your report. You can use data from external sources as the basis of your report. o Print your report in a variety of ways. You can print a report either portrait or landscape, and in any monospaced font that your printer supports. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 4.3. Personal AS Chart ═══ Presenting data with Personal AS Chart With Personal AS Chart you are provided with a wide choice of presentation methods, including three-dimensional displays, that both expand presentation alternatives and simplify interpretation. Charts are useful for showing economic trends, highlighting out-of-line situations, proportions, and much more. You can create each of the following types of chart using a variety of styles to suit your needs: Line chart Surface chart Scatter chart Bar chart Mixed chart Pie chart You can also perform tasks such as calculating and showing totals, averages, minimum or maximum values, cumulative values, and percentages (of all values, or of individual columns). Once you complete a chart, you can save in any of the following formats: o Personal AS Chart o OS/2 Metafile (.MET) o OS/2 2.0 Bitmap (.BMP) o OS/2 1.1 Bitmap (.BMP) o Zsoft Image Format (PCX.) o Tagged Image Format File (.TIF) o Graphics Interchange Format (.GIF) and use it with other OS/2 products, or use the standard OS/2 facilities to print or plot your charts. If you are a host AS user, you can either access charts in Personal AS, or transfer charts from Personal AS to host AS. Many charts produced by host AS can also be used by Personal AS. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 4.4. Personal AS Query ═══ Selecting and combining information with Personal AS Query A key requirement for any department is the ability to select from the mass of available data and present the information that directly affects them. With Personal AS Query, you can select and manipulate complex information and display it simply, for example in a Personal AS Chart or Personal AS Report, or save it in table in a particular order. A Personal AS Query can be based on a single table, a set of tables selected by name, or on a data structure diagram you have already created and saved. One of the most powerful features of Personal AS Query is the ability to combine tabular data from a variety of sources using different types of join, and produce results tailored to your information requirements. Personal AS Query uses a recognized set of standard join operations. When you create a query, the data you use is linked to it, not contained in it. Therefore, you can make changes or add data to your table, and the query you have created will always be based on the latest data. You can also save the results you get from the query in a data table. With Personal AS Query you can: o Choose the rows you require. You can define conditions to select specific rows of data to get the information you need. o Combine data from several tables. You can create a query based on data from several tables, as shown in the above illustration. o Display a data structure. Once you have selected the tables you want, a data structure diagram is displayed which is a set of linked table icons. You can see column details for each table in the data structure diagram. o View or change tables. You can view or change your data tables from within Personal AS Query. o Create new columns. You can create new columns to hold data, that are calculated by an expression you type in. o Summarize the data. You can use a query to perform summary calculations, such as finding the average salary of employees in each department. o Specify the columns you want to see. Once the query is complete, you can select the columns you want to see. You can either save the selections you made as part of the query, or simply use the selected columns to see a temporary view of the results. o Display the results of your query. Before you save the query you have created, you can check to ensure you selected the correct information. o Save a query and run it regularly. Each time you make changes to your data, you can run the query you saved, and get updated results. o Use a query directly for a chart or report. You can create charts or reports that are based on queries, without having to save the query as a results table. o Save the results of your query as a data table. If you save a query as a table, you can treat the table like any other. You can then send the data to other people in your organization in a different format, or use it to create a chart or a report. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 4.5. Personal AS Procedure ═══ Performing regular tasks with Personal AS Procedure In an organization, many decision-support tasks are completed regularly. You can use Personal AS Procedure to create and maintain graphical programs to automate tasks that you need to do regularly. For example, you can create a procedure to print a monthly report using the latest data in a table. The following procedure is used to copy a table to another, and then display it on the screen. It uses dialogs to ask the user the name of the table to be copied, and the name of the table it is to be copied to. You create a procedure by linking icons in the Procedure work space. You can drag icons from the main Procedure palette, or from outside Personal AS Procedure. These icons can represent Personal AS objects, and objects other than Personal AS including OS/2 and DOS executable files. The icons you can use in Personal AS Procedure are shown in the main palette. (Another icon, the Tack, appears in the work space only when you bend the links between icons.) You can customize the palette to include only the objects you want to use when you create procedures. When you use palette icons, you have to specify the names of the existing objects that they represent. You can name these in the palette or in the procedure work space. A procedure can contain a maximum of 100 icons. The actions performed in the procedure are determined by the links you make between the icons. For example, if you link a report icon to a printer icon, the action is to print the report, so the report is printed. You can double-click on an icon to view or change the object. Similarly, you can double-click on a link to confirm the kind of link it is. You can create a procedure with one or more chains of icons. Different chains can be started, joined together, or remain apart. You can take advantage of the multitasking facility in Personal AS Procedure by opening several objects simultaneously to perform several tasks. When you run a procedure, objects are normally processed from left to right, then from top to bottom. However, you can process the objects in a different order by using flow links. While the procedure is running, the objects being processed are emphasized so that you can follow the procedure's progress. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 4.6. Personal AS Command ═══ Communicating with AS using Personal AS Command Personal AS Command can be a very useful extension to host AS as you can use it to work with host AS Procedure command tables. A host AS Procedure command table contains AS commands that are processed one after another when you run the table. To use Personal AS Command, you must know host AS, and particularly host AS Procedure command tables. With Command you can copy a host AS procedure to your workstation, edit it, and save the changes by copying it back to the host, or you can store it as a new object on your workstation. Similarly, you can create command tables on your workstation and save them, then at a later date copy them to the mainframe. When there are commands stored on your workstation, you can exploit the printing and mailing facilities of Personal AS. You can include Command objects in a Personal AS procedure. In this way you can include the results from the processing of the command table on the host, in a procedure. This means that you can combine both the processing power of your personal computer and the host mainframe computer to which it is linked, to give you an even more powerful means of automating some of your regular office tasks. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 4.7. Personal AS Calculator ═══ Making calculations with Personal AS Calculator You can use Personal AS Calculator just like an ordinary desktop calculator, with the addition of several useful features, including: o Reciprocals and squares o Complex roots and powers o Parentheses and factorials o Trigonometric functions o Logarithms and inversions o Hexadecimal characters For example, with the inversion pushbutton you can find the natural number corresponding to a logarithmic value displayed in the results area, or the angle corresponding to a sine, cosine, or tangent value displayed. A tally roll is displayed when you use the extended functions of Personal AS Calculator. The tally roll keeps a line-by-line record of the numbers and operations you have performed, and their results. Your use of the memory function is also recorded. You can browse up and down the tally roll, to check what you have done, or to recover one or more of the recorded values for further use. You can also print the contents of the tally roll. You can use Personal AS Calculator with the basic functions or with the extended functions displayed. The following illustration shows the extended functions of Personal AS Calculator. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 5. Introducing Personal AS Builder ═══ Introducing Personal AS Builder Many organizations and industry sectors have very specific decision-support needs. Personal AS Builder provides a comprehensive set of programming tools specifically designed to address these needs. Application designers with specific requirements not served by a product, can use Personal AS Builder to design, prototype, and build applications which meet their own particular needs, very easily and quickly. Four components of Builder provide the ability to develop applications in controlled stages. Double-click on any of the small pictures for a more detailed description of the Builder components. The Menu Editor The Window Editor The Program Editor The Make Facility With Personal AS Builder you can build applications with varying degrees of complexity. You can build simple applications with a single window and a program using the Window and Program editors. This could then be compiled directly, without the need to use the Make facility. For example, you could use the process shown here to create a simple application, such as a desktop calculator: You can also design a more complicated application that uses many programs and windows, and uses the Make facility to compile them all together. For example, you could use the process shown here to create a complex application, such as a stock control application used in an international, multi-product, organization: With Personal AS Builder you can build 32 bit applications with the following features: o Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) enabled, either as DDE Clients, or DDE Servers, or both Clients and Servers o Drag and drop enabled o Personalized end-user interfaces o Support for a range of data file types, including: - OS/2 Metafile (.MET) - OS/2 2.0 Bitmap (.BMP) - OS/2 1.1 Bitmap (.BMP) - Zsoft Image Format (.PCX) - Tagged Image Format File (.TIF) - Graphics Interchange Format (.GIF) - Personal AS object o Supporting the Common User Access* (CUA*) and Systems Application Architecture* (SAA*) guidelines o Supporting the application programming interfaces (APIs) for the other Personal AS objects o Sharing data and common end-user interfaces with mainframe and other workstations o Supporting the exchange of data using host AS, including facilities for handling different file types o Linking existing applications written in "C" to the application's front-end user interface by using the Window and Menu facilities o Linking, via SQL, to DB2/2 and other databases o Including your own extensive help or on-line documentation, using the OS/2 Programmer's Toolkit. More Information about Personal AS Builder For a more detailed look at Personal AS Builder, double-click on: Personal AS Builder - more details. To see the section about the exchange of data with host AS, double-click on: Exchanging data with Host AS. To see some examples of applications that were desgined and built using Builder, double-click on: The Customizable Solution. To see the next section, double-click on: Personal AS and OS/2. ═══ 5.1. Personal AS Builder - More Details ═══ Personal AS Builder - More Details You can use Builder to create OS/2 Presentation Manager applications that may then be run freely on any system containing the Personal AS base product. Applications created using Builder can take advantage of links to any of the Personal AS objects, such as Personal AS Report and Personal AS Chart. You can also use your applications in a Personal AS procedure. Builder provides the powerful programming language Application System Language (ASL). ASL is an event-driven high-level language, possessing a wide range of built-in functions. It embodies many of the principles of object-oriented programming, and was extensively used to develop the facilities of the Personal AS product. It is designed to enable users to build applications that can conform to IBM's Common User Access (CUA) and Systems Application Architecture (SAA) guidelines with the minimum of effort. There are two distinct sets of tasks you can perform with Builder: o Creating the end user interface, or prototyping o Creating program code which actually does the processing When you choose to prototype, you can build an application in separate, though related, stages. You can generate code from a WYSIWIG interface, with which you design the interface by selecting controls from a palette, and then the code is generated automatically for you. Builder contains a debugger sample application which you can use to debug any application you are writing. You can use the debugger application to: o Walk through your compiled ASL application o Set break points in the executing ASL application o Query and modify any variables and objects in the application o Display the data and objects that are active in the current application. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 5.2. Exchanging Data with Host AS ═══ Exchanging Data with Host AS The AS object in Builder allows an ASL program to issue requests to host AS that both access data and process data. Builder supports access to: o Any AS table o Host tables (for example, VSAM) o Host relational tables (for example, DB2*) o Host CDI tables (for example, IMS) Builder also allows you to process host data by using: o AS commands (for example, data specifications, QMF* queries) o AS procedures o AS facilities (for example, Host AS Project Management, Host AS Statistics) Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 6. Personal AS and OS/2 ═══ Personal AS in the OS/2 Environment Personal AS fully exploits the advanced facilities of OS/2 Version 2. Listed here are some of the features of OS/2 that are used by Personal AS. Double-click on the titles to see more details about them. o Workplace Shell o 32-Bit Addressing o Multitasking o Dragging and Dropping o Dynamic Data Exchange o Application Protection o Help Facility To see the next section, double-click on: Accessing Data Tables. ═══ 6.1. Workplace Shell ═══ Workplace Shell Personal AS exploits the many advanced features of the OS/2 Workplace Shell, giving its users a standard and easy-to-use product. It uses an icon-driven interface that is fully customizable. This simplifies tasks, and as a result boosts productivity - experienced computer users can customize Personal AS to their particular needs and working methods, whilst novice users require less training to use the intuitive and standardized interface. When Personal AS is installed, it uses standard OS/2 concepts, such as: o A folder to store the shadows of all the object templates o A Profile notebook to hold the settings that are common to all the Personal AS objects o A folder to store the sample objects and data o Drag and drop within Personal AS, and across the entire OS/2 desktop o Contextual help available for all selected objects, entry fields, and menu choices. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 6.2. 32-Bit Addressing ═══ 32-Bit Addressing Personal AS can take advantage of the full potential of today's microprocessing technology - 386 SX processors and above, leading to enhanced performance. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 6.3. Multitasking ═══ Multitasking With OS/2 you can access, use, and manage information using multiple applications at the same time. For example, you could start to create a Personal AS Report whilst a Personal AS Chart was being drawn, and a Personal AS Procedure was executing. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 6.4. Dragging and Dropping ═══ Dragging and Dropping Using the OS/2 drag and drop feature, you can simply drag and drop icons across the operating system. For example, within Personal AS you can: o Drag a chart icon to a printer icon to print the chart o Drag a report icon to the mail icon to send the report to other users o Drag data from an object that is not part of Personal AS such as a spreadsheet, and drop it onto a Personal AS object icon such as query o Drag an open Personal AS Table icon to a Personal AS Chart icon to establish a Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) link. This means that every time the table is updated, the chart will be refreshed to display the new data. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 6.5. Dynamic Data Exchange ═══ Dynamic Data Exchange Personal AS supports Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). DDE allows the exchange of information between programs. If you establish a link between two objects, any change you make to the server object is reflected automatically in the client object. (A server object provides the information; a client object receives the information.) For example, Personal AS Table can act as a DDE server object for Personal AS Report. This means that if you establish a DDE link between the two, when you make a change to the table, the report can be changed automatically to show it. You can create a DDE link with objects other than Personal AS. For example, you could establish a DDE link from Excel** to Personal AS Chart. When the spreadsheet is updated, the chart could be redrawn automatically to show it. Personal AS supports the following DDE formats: PM Metafile, Bitmap, GIF, TIFF, DIF, DBF, PCX, PCIXF, CSV, and Text. However, some objects may be restricted in the DDE formats they can use. For example, Chart can act as a server for graphical formats, whereas Report cannot. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 6.6. Application Protection ═══ Application Protection When you are using Personal AS and other applications at the same time, OS/2 prevents the loss of your work because no single application can crash the entire system. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 6.7. OS/2 Help Facility ═══ Help in Personal AS Personal AS has taken advantage of the extended OS/2 online help facility, and has provided help for: o Each menu bar choice o Each pull-down choice o General help for each window o Contextual help for each selectable item o Task oriented help for each object Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 7. Accessing Data Tables ═══ Accessing Data Tables with Personal AS There are many ways you can use Personal AS to access and manipulate data. You can access a wide range of data, such as DB2/2* data, SQL/DS* data, AS/400* data, DB2* data, host AS data, and other data formats through host AS. You can also access a wide range of data exchange formats, such as: o Integrated Exchange Format (PC/IXF) o Data Base Facility (DBF) file format o Data Interchange Format (DIF) The access to data depends on the environment in which you are running Personal AS. Double-click on any of the following headings for an illustration of using Personal AS in different environments: o Personal AS - the Standalone Solution o Personal AS in a Local Area Network o Personal AS linking to AS/400 o Personal AS and SQL o Personal AS and Host AS When you use data exchange formats you can either exchange data between one database and another, or access and use the data in any of these databases or formats to create a chart, a report, a business plan, or a statistical analysis. For example, you can exchange data by copying a Personal AS table to a host AS table. This means that whenever you want to access data from external data sources, you do not have to copy the data before you start creating a chart, report, business plan, or statistical analysis. You can use a file directly in data exchange format without having to import it into Personal AS before you create your chart or report. You could, for example, create a chart by using data held in your Oracle** database. Personal AS would access the database through host AS using the Customized Data Interface feature, save the chart specification, and represent it as an icon. When you select the chart icon, Personal AS recognizes the data source you used as a basis for your chart, and creates the chart for you. In this way, you can create charts, reports, plans and analyses by directly accessing data, whether it is from DB2/2, AS/400, host AS, DB2, or SQL/DS, without having to change the format of the data. To see the next section, double-click on: Introducing Other Personal AS Products. ═══ 7.1. Personal AS - the Standalone Solution ═══ Personal AS - the Standalone Solution When Personal AS is installed on a standalone computer, it can make full use of information that is available from other sources. For example, Personal AS can exchange data with: o DB2/2. You can access SQL data stored in a DB2/2* database, and present it in a report, chart, or use it with other Personal AS objects. o OS/2 File system You can exchange data with other PC products such as: - Products that use Comma Separated Variable (CSV), or Flat (FLT) file format - Products that use DBF file format (dBASE** and Lotus 1-2-3**) - Products that use DIF file format - Products that use PC/IXF format Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 7.2. Personal AS in a Local Area Network ═══ Personal AS in a Local Area Network Through a Local Area Network (LAN), you can use Personal AS to access data from various departments and locations. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 7.3. Personal AS Linking to AS/400 ═══ Personal AS Linking to AS/400 With AS/400* PC Support/400 (Program Number 5738-PC1), you can link to an AS/400 using Personal AS to: o Access data from AS/400 files o Store data in AS/400 files o Store data in SQL* tables on the AS/400 o Store data in shared folders on the AS/400 that are defined as virtual drives on your workstation For example, you can access business data, such as orders, accounts receivable, and stock control, that are kept on the AS/400 system. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 7.4. Personal AS and SQL ═══ Personal AS and SQL You can use Personal AS to: o Access data from DB2/2* (SQL*) tables and views o Store data in DB2/2 tables o Access and store data in DB2/2, SQL/DS*, and OS/400* tables in databases on remote Distributed Relational Database Architecture * (DRDA*) servers. (To access a remote DRDA server, IBM SAA* Distributed Database Connection Services/2 (DDCS/2) (Program Number 5621-226) also needs to be installed in the machine running DB2/2.) For example, you can create a Personal AS chart from data held as DB2 tables, selecting only those rows and columns of data you require in your chart. You can use Personal AS with DB2/2 to access and store data in SQL tables on the AS/400*. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 7.5. Personal AS and Host AS ═══ Personal AS and Host AS Host AS is a decision-support software product for the IBM* System/370* and IBM System/390* computers running within MVS/XA* and MVS/ESA* operating systems using TSO/E, or within VM/SP, VM/XA*, and VM/ESA* using CMS. Like Personal AS, host AS provides functions such as data management, reporting and charting facilities, as well as project management, business planning, statistical analysis, and linear programming. Thus, Personal AS and AS can work with each other by exchanging tables and other objects. With Personal AS, you can link to host AS and use external data in the VM or MVS environment by accessing data: o From host AS tables o From SQL/DS* or DB2* tables o Through an AS Customized Data Interface (CDI). A CDI is a software program which you write to provide AS applications with additional input data in either the MVS or VM environment. This allows AS to access any data which is available on your mainframe, including data from database management systems which are not directly supported by AS. o From VSAM files o From ISPF tables o From APL files o From QMF* queries Similarly, you can copy Personal AS tables into: o Host AS tables o SQL/DS or DB2 tables o ISPF tables Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8. Other Personal AS Products ═══ Providing Solutions with Other Personal AS Products When your business requires more complex analyses for your decision-making process, you can perform tasks with other Personal AS products. Note: THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS ARE CURRENTLY ONLY AVAILABLE FOR USE ON PERSONAL AS VERSION 2. Double-click on any of the small pictures for a more detailed description of each object. Personal AS Project Management Personal AS Project Management can help you schedule and manage the progress and performance of projects Personal AS Statistics Personal AS Statistics can help you perform forecasting and statistical analyses, presenting the results in either a tabular or graphical form Personal AS Business Planning Personal AS Business Planning can help you make business forecasts and develop multidimensional plans for your organization To see the next section, double-click on: Personal AS - The International Solution. ═══ 8.1. Personal AS Project Management ═══ Personal AS Project Management Projects come in many forms. At one end of the scale are large corporate projects, such as building a new factory or developing a major new product. These are clearly recognized as projects and are controlled by a professional project manager. At the other end of the scale are small departmental projects, such as planning the work activities and resources within a small department that may be controlled by a manager or professional who does not have formal project management training. The common element in all types of project work is a set of activities that must be performed, schedules to be attained, and resources that can be allocated. For effective performance, project managers need to understand the exact status of their project, identify changing situations, and apply changes that have minimum impact on project objectives. Project Management is a tool for planning and controlling a project to assist managers to meet business objectives on time. The following is a list of the main features of Personal AS Project Management. To see more information about each one, double-click on its title. o Visual Front End o Optional Resource Chart on Gantt Chart o Comparative Analysis o Navigation Maps o Calendars o Displaying your Project Data o Fractional Resources o Autoscheduling and Rescheduling o Standard Reports and Charts To return to the section about Personal AS products, double-click on: Other Personal AS Products. ═══ 8.1.1. Visual Front End ═══ A Visual Front End You can manage your project, from beginning to end, using a visual representation of a project's components, as shown in the following illustration: Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.1.2. Optional Resource Chart on Gantt Chart ═══ Optional Resource Chart on Gantt Chart You can display a resource chart below your Gantt chart. This follows the same time scale as the Gantt chart, and shows what resource are available and how resources are allocated for a maximum of two resources in your project. You can choose whether to display the chart as a histogram or a line chart, and select whether to show actual values, or summarization values corresponding to either the maximum, minimum or average value. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.1.3. Comparative Analysis ═══ Comparative Analysis You can define bar items for your Gantt chart using any two date columns in your activity table. As the project progresses, slippage can automatically be calculated from a previously-stored baseline schedule, and you can create a comparative chart of the baseline against schedule. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.1.4. Navigation Maps ═══ Navigation Maps for Logic Diagrams and Gantt Charts If your project is quite large, your Logic diagram shows only a section of it. You can use a navigation map to see the location of your current Gantt or Logic diagram with respect to broader project views, and move it using your mouse. After you enter the activities in your project, define the relationships between them and perform an analysis, you can display your project graphically as a Logic diagram, or a Gantt chart. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.1.5. Calendars ═══ Calendars You can define workload periods using Calendars. You can use up to 16 Calendars per project. The Calendars form a Calendar set, which is represented graphically as a Calendar chart. You can change the time scale of the Calendar chart, and also tailor the chart by changing the colors, the thickness of the bars, and shading patterns. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.1.6. Displaying your project data ═══ Displaying your project data You can produce charts and reports that use your project data. You can also use Project Management objects in Personal AS Procedure. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.1.7. Fractional Resources ═══ Fractional Resources You are not limited to integral resources. This means you can use one shared resource to be divided across several projects, or you can check the availability of shared resources within a single project. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.1.8. Autoscheduling and rescheduling ═══ Autoscheduling and rescheduling You can schedule your project using the information entered the last time you performed scheduling. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.1.9. Standard reports and charts ═══ Standard reports and charts A number of standard reports and charts are provided to help you complete your project. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.2. Personal AS Statistics ═══ Personal AS Statistics Business professionals frequently need to analyze data, search for possible trends, and gather preliminary information. They also need to be aware of seasonal variations, or indicators for managing manufacturing processes. Statistics is a high-function data-analysis and forecasting tool designed to meet this need. Statistics can be used by two particular types of people: o Business professionals who need to analyze business information The basic methods will satisfy the statistical needs of most business professionals. o Corporate Statisticians The advanced methods are designed to satisfy the more common needs of professional statisticians working in a business environment. Personal AS Statistics provides more than fifty different statistical methods. Each method has comprehensive on-screen contextual help. Statistics provides a series of navigational route maps that help you identify the most appropriate method for the particular data you want to analyze. Each item on the route map is a push button to give instant access to the relevant function. Double-click on any of the push buttons for more information about the methods. For information about using Personal AS Statistics and host AS, double-click on: Exchanging data with Host AS To return to the section about Personal AS products, double-click on: Introducing Other Personal AS Products. ═══ 8.2.1. Exploratory methods ═══ Exploratory Methods The exploratory methods provide a good starting point for previously unexamined data. You can use descriptive statistics to help you summarize your data by finding the average, the dispersion, and the range. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.2.2. Relations ═══ Relations You can use two types of analysis in Relations: Correlation and Regression. Correlation measures the degree of association between variables. For example, you have sales figures for the different products and you want to see if there is any association between them. You can use Regression methods to assess whether two or more variables are related and to determine the nature and extent of this relationship. You can then use any model that you produce to predict the value of a variable for known values of the other variables. For example, when you change the price of a product, you might want to know how prices for that product affect its sales. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.2.3. Model Fitting ═══ Model fitting Model fitting methods include time series and regression methods. In the business world, you frequently collect data at fixed intervals of time. For example, you might collect sales data on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. You can use time series analysis to build models, find forecasting formulae and make predictions using such data, as shown in the following illustration. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.2.4. Tests ═══ Tests You can perform significance tests on samples of data. You often want to compare samples to see whether the populations they represent can be considered similar in some respect. Statistics provides fifteen such tests. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.2.5. Distributions ═══ Distributions Distributions allow you to see the probabilities and other characteristics pertaining to specified distributions and remove the need to look up separate statistical tables for this task. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.2.6. Quality Control ═══ Quality Control These are statistical quality control techniques allowing you to monitor processes to make sure they remain in statistical control. Additional statistical quality control charts available are: o Cusum, which is a method where a cumulative sum is plotted against time to detect changes in a process mean. o Pareto, which is a technique used to rank items in decreasing order of size. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.2.7. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) ═══ Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) You can use Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) techniques to break down the total variation in a set of data into its possible sources. For example, suppose you conduct an experiment to determine the effect of four environmental factors on the speed of typing. The environmental factors comprise four different levels of background noise, three brands of typewriters, three levels of lighting, and two room temperatures. You have four factors, with levels of four, three, and two. You want to look at the effect of each of these factors. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.2.8. Exchanging data with Host AS ═══ Exchanging data with Host AS Statistics allows you to run statistical analyses directly against external data such as Host AS tables, so you do not need to import the data. You can also run statistical analyses using more than one table. In addition, the results of statistical analyses can be stored for future use, or integrated with other Personal AS applications. The range of methods and flexibility of result presentations make Statistics an ideal solution for both statisticians and business professionals. To return to the previous section, press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.3. Personal AS Business Planning ═══ Personal AS Business Planning Planners and managers need to identify market trends and understand the effects of price increases, rising interest rates, raw material cost fluctuations, demographic buying trends and many other factors that can influence planning activities throughout an organization. Personal AS Business Planning is a powerful tool that can help business professionals make projections and analyses and monitor closely an organization's resources. Typical uses for Business Planning are to plan finances, anticipate future business and volumes, estimate costs, and forecast profit. The following is a list of the main features of Personal AS Business Planning. To see more information about each one, double-click on its title. o Multidimensional Structures o Flexible Results Display o Powerful Modeling Language o Flexible Data Source o Self-generating Plan Items o Flexible Time and Total definitions o Automatic results consolidation To return to the section about Personal AS products, double-click on: Other Personal AS Products. ═══ 8.3.1. Multidimensional Structures ═══ Multidimensional Structures Personal AS Business Planning is a multidimensional planning tool. You can use it to create plans that consolidate the results of up to four extra dimensions, in addition to plan items and time. Each dimension in the plan exists as an independent hierarchy. For example, you can have a geographic dimension that shows the hierarchy of your company's sales outlets: For each dimension in your plan, Business Planning automatically consolidates the results through the different levels in the hierarchy. For example, in the geographic dimension illustrated above, it would consolidate the results of the South East and the North East areas, then the Total Company. In plans with more than one additional dimension, the results are also automatically consolidated across each dimension. You can look at the results of each independent dimension within your defined hierarchical structure, as the following illustration shows: Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.3.2. Flexible Results Display ═══ Flexible Results Display There are several methods you can use to display the results of your plans: o You can change the dimension elements that are displayed, including plan items and time o You can change the orientation of the rows and columns o You can display summary results which show particular levels and elements of a dimension o You can make a report of the entire plan o You can present a selected combination of the results of your plan in a chart Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.3.3. A Powerful Modeling Language ═══ A Powerful Modeling Language A model is established as a set of statements that define the relationship and calculations between the items in your plan. The statements include conditional logic, advanced mathematical functions, intrinsic financial functions and system variables. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.3.4. A Flexible Data Source ═══ A Flexible Data Source The data that the model needs to execute its statements can be provided in two ways. You can insert it in the model, as shown below: Price = 30 Sales = Compound (100,10) Alternatively, you can use data tables you have created previously. These may be tables that were created using Personal AS Table, or tables that were created using a different product. Provided that the data table follows the correct format, Business Planning is able to read and use the information they contain. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.3.5. Self-generating Plan items ═══ Self-generating Plan items Plan items are the variables in your plan. They are used in the model to produce the results and can be shown in the results display. You can define plan items automatically by referring to them in your model. Business Planning automatically generates any plan items that you use in the model and which are not already defined, giving them default attributes for display and totaling. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.3.6. Flexible Time and Total Definitions ═══ Flexible Time and Total Definitions Each of your plans will cover a time scale using a particular type of time interval. For example, you may choose hours, days, weeks, months, years, or any other self-defined scale. You can choose whichever time interval best suits your business requirements. In addition to a flexible time definition, Business Planning provides for both regular and irregular totals. Business Planning will automatically insert regular totals across the time scale, according to the interval you have specified. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.3.7. Automatic Results Consolidation ═══ Automatic Results Consolidation Business Planning automatically consolidates the results for each level in each of the dimensions of the plan. First it uses the model to calculate the results for the lowest levels in the dimension hierarchy, then it automatically consolidates the results for the remaining levels. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 8.3.8. Exchanging plans with Host AS Business Planning ═══ Exchanging plans with Host AS Business Planning You can either use external host AS data in your Business Planning plan, or import a host AS model and results table. ARTWORK Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 9. The International Solution ═══ Personal AS - The International Solution Personal AS can be used in many countries, in several national languages. If your organization is multinational, your users in other countries can take advantage of Personal AS tools in their national language. The following national languages are supported by the Personal AS family of products. For details of the products available, double click on the national language. o French o German o Italian o Japanese o Spanish o US English OS/2 code page 850 is required for each language except Japanese, which requires a Double Byte Character Set (DBCS) code page. To see the next section, double-click on: Installing Personal AS. ═══ 9.1. French Personal AS ═══ French Personal AS The Personal AS products that are available in French are: o Personal AS o Business Planning o Project Management o Statistics Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 9.2. German Personal AS ═══ German Personal AS The Personal AS products that are available in German are: o Personal AS o Business Planning o Project Management o Statistics Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 9.3. Italian Personal AS ═══ Italian Personal AS The Personal AS products that are available in Italian are: o Personal AS o Business Planning o Project Management o Statistics Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 9.4. Japanese Personal AS ═══ Japanese Personal AS The Personal AS products that are available in Japanese are: o Personal AS o Business Planning o Project Management o Statistics o Builder Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 9.5. Spanish Personal AS ═══ Spanish Personal AS The Personal AS products that are avaiable in Spanish are: o Personal AS o Business Planning o Statistics Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 9.6. US English Personal AS ═══ US English Personal AS The Personal AS products that are avaiable in US English are: o Personal AS o Business Planning o Project Management o Statistics o Builder Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 10. Installing Personal AS ═══ What You Need to Install Personal AS Double-click on any of the following section titles for more information about installing Personal AS: o Hardware requirements o Software requirements o Compatibility considerations To go back to the beginning of this book, double-click on: Welcome to Personal AS. ═══ 10.1. Hardware Requirements ═══ Personal AS Hardware Requirements The minimum machine to run Personal AS is a Personal Computer or IBM PS/2*, with a 386 SX processor, appropriate display, graphics adapter, and mouse. o The recommended machine to run Personal AS is a Personal Computer or PS/2 with a 486 processor, appropriate display, graphics adapter, and mouse. o The recommended memory, in addition to OS/2 requirements, is 8Mb. o The disk space requirement for Personal AS is 8Mb. This increases proportionally to the amount of data stored within applications. o All printers supported by OS/2 2.0 are supported by Personal AS Version 3. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 10.2. Software Requirements ═══ Personal AS Software Requirements Personal AS Version 3 requires OS/2 Version 2.0 plus servicepak 6055 or later. For DBCS languages: OS/2J is required for the Japanese verison of Personal AS. For AS/400 connection, IBM PC Support/400 Version 2.1.1 must be installed on the AS/400 and the workstation. IBM SAA Distributed Database Connection Services/2* (DDCS/2*) must be installed for Distributed Relational Database Architecture * (DRDA*) access to DB2, SQL/DS*, and OS/400* relational data without the need for Application System. DDCS/2 requires OS/2 Extended Services. For access to DB2/2 data, DDCS/2 Version 2.0 is required. To do this, all database products must be at the level providing DRDA support; for DB2 this is Version 2.3, and for SQL/DS this is Version 3.3. For full exploitation of host AS with IBM Personal AS Version 3, host AS Version 3 Release 2 should be installed. For host connectivity via CPI Communications, host Application System Version 3 Release 2 is required. For host AS Version 2 Release 2, and Version 3 Release 1, the new functions of the AS object (session variables, get next row, and go to top) will be rejected as not supported. Relevant Program Temporary Fixes (PTFs) must be installed to ensure compatibility (PTF numbers to be announced at their time of availability), and the appropriate OS/2 communication software must be installed on the Personal Computer. Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ 10.3. Compatibility Considerations ═══ Personal AS Compatibility Considerations Applications developed on IBM Personal Application System Version 2 will run on IBM Personal Application System Versions 3. However, the reverse is not true - applications developed on IBM Personal Application System Version 3 will not run on IBM Personal Application System Version 2. Current users of IBM Personal Application System Version 2 who use the Schema function will find equivalent function in the Query object within IBM Personal Application System Version 3. IBM Personal Application System/2 Version 3 is designed to exploit the strengths of OS/2 Version 2.0 in the area of performance, including 32 bit addressing and the use of the high performance file systems (HPFS). Press the Esc(ape) key on your keyboard to return to the previous text. ═══ ═══ Trademark or service mark of IBM Corporation in the United States of America or other countries. ═══ ═══ Trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. ═══ ═══ The Menu Editor allows you to create the menus used for menu bars and specify mnemonic and shortcut key sequences for each menu entry. Also, if you have the OS/2 Programmer's Toolkit, you can create help text with the editor for any or all of your menu entries. ═══ ═══ The Window Editor allows you to create a graphic interface to "paste" buttons, menu bars, text entry or display fields and other window controls onto your application windows. Any menus that are defined can be connected to the menu bar (a list of available menus). The window control features such as maximize window, minimize window, scroll vertically, and scroll horizontally are defined for each of your application windows. ═══ ═══ The Program Editor allows you to write and edit AS Language code for your application. If you use the Window and Menu editors to design your windows and menus, you can use the Program editor to automatically generate skeletal source code for the controls, menu bar entries, and their characteristics. The Program editor also provides syntax checking, code formatting, and syntax help windows to help you create programs. ═══ ═══ The Make Facility allows you to manage the programs, windows, and menus that you have designed for an application. You can also use Make to compile selected files from your library (when creating an application in stages). ═══ ═══ Trademark of the Oracle Corporation. ═══ ═══ Trademark of Borland International, Inc. ═══ ═══ Trademark of the Lotus Development Corporation.