New Level of Date Simulation Tool Now Available

Formula Consultants Incorporated is pleased to announce that Level 2R4 of AccommoDATE is now available for distribution. AccommoDATE is FCI's date simulation tool used to perform and simplify date testing requirements for applications development in the Unisys 2200 and ClearPath HMP/IX environments.

The AccommoDATE level 2R4 product release can be obtained via the FCI Support Center (see new Note of Interest number 11). As is standard with FCI policy, this release is provided at no additional cost to all AccommoDATE users with current maintenance contracts, as well as to users who are still in their initial warranty period.

AccommoDATE can assist businesses facing extensive date testing by enabling them to set a simulated date for program testing without having to reboot and without affecting costly production runs. It enables users who have a single system, or those who must use time on a production system, to test their software with different dates even when that system was booted with the current date. In other words, AccommoDATE lets you test batch runs, demand runs, and TIP transactions using a date other than the current system date.

AccommoDATE:

Does not require booting the system with a simulated test date

Is activated by a keyin from a system console

Enables testing of a variety of programs over a range of dates

Allows different programs to be tested simultaneously, each using
   different dates

Requires no changes to existing runstreams or programs

Allows programs to be placed directly into production after testing,
   without code modifications.

AccommoDATE level 2R4 is a minor enhancement release.

New Product Modification Element for HMP 8.1
The new Product Modification Element HMP81 has been introduced to support EXEC Level 47R2.

New Product Modification Element for HMP 9.0 and 9.1
The new Product Modification Element HMP9 has been introduced to support EXEC Levels 47R3 and 47R4.

New Product Modification Element for HMP 10.0
The new Product Modification Element HMP10 has been introduced to support EXEC Level 47R5.

Only AccommoDATE Note of Interest (NOI) number 11 and above are relevant to level 2R4. AccommoDATE corrections described by NOIs up to, and including, number 10 have been incorporated into the 2R4 release.

UCS object module execution must be supported. This includes support for extended mode by the Exec as well as installation of the LINK and URTS products. Be aware that UNISYS does not support an upward compatible LINK between System Base Releases. For example, it would not be possible to generate AccommoDATE under SB5 and install it under SB4.

The following table shows the System Base/HMP Levels and their associated Exec Levels which are supported in AccommoDATE. The SB7 PME should be used to install AccommoDATE under Exec level 45R2 in HMP 3.0. The HMP3 PME is compatible with HMP 3.0 only if UNISYS CHG #00006-70354-PCR is installed on your system. This change is already integrated in HMP 3.1.

We recommend creating or using an application group for AccommoDATE testing that is independent of your production application groups. This will prevent any problems in integrated recovery caused by mixing timestamps from various applications. An alternative to creating a unique application group is running your programs in test or training mode. This will prevent any use of production databases.

Release 2R4 is generated under HMP 8.0 and tested under 46R4, 46R4S, 47R1, 47R2, 47R3, 47R4 and 47R5.

Prior levels of AccommoDATE currently supported include 2R3. AccommoDATE level 2R2 will be supported through July 1, 2005.

Documents provided with release 2R4 include:

AccommoDATE Installation and Administrator Guide

AccommoDATE Level 2R4 Release Announcement

You may obtain general information about Formula Consultants, Inc. and its products at our website at www.formula.com. Once you register with the site and receive a userid and password, you can also download PCRs and Notes of Interest. Product documentation in PDF format is also available (Adobe Acrobat™ Reader required).

Effective with the release of AccommoDATE 2R2, the FCI Support Center (FCISC) is available for use. The FCISC is a 2200 host server software system that is accessible by using the standard UNISYS Remote Site Support (RSS) product. It allows you to send and receive data electronically to and from FCI. Refer to the AccommoDATE Installation and Administrator Guide for more information.

File 13 on your release tape contains PCRs, if any, that have been generated against this release, as of the date your tape was created. Include any of these corrections applicable to your site with the first build from this tape. AccommoDATE elements are a combination of basic and UCS elements so the PCRs are organized by AccommoDATE processor type (basic mode or UCS). These elements can be @ADDed following an @COMUS to enter the corrections into your local COMUS database. You should examine the file to determine which elements should be added to your build.

The elements README, CHGNUM-ALL, and ACMDT-NOIS are informational only and should not be @ADDed to your COMUS database.

The possible elements in File 13 are:

where:

version can be BASIC or UCS depending on the associated AccommoDATE element. The CHG numbers generated by COMUS must be entered at the ‘New Change number’ build prompt. These numbers can be entered individually, or @ADD the CHGNUM elements that apply to your build.

If you add UCS corrections, the UCOB and/or UC compilers must be installed. Another method of including UCS corrections is to copy updated object modules contained in this file. This is done by answering the build prompt, ‘Any replacement Object Modules to be included’, and specifying the filename into which the modules were copied.

File 13 of your release tape also contains Notes of Interest in the element called ACMDT-NOIS. Notes of Interest are field bulletins which we recommend reading prior to generating or installing AccommoDATE.

To learn more about this product, go to the AccommoDATE Product Page.

Click below to:
     Order an AccommoDATE Overview
     Order latest AccommoDATE release

To contact an FCI Sales Representative, call or fax us at:
Telephone:  (714) 778-0123 ext. 0
Fax:  (714) 778-6364
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send us a Web Mail message.