HP 3000 Manuals

HP System Dictionary XL Gen. Ref. Vol. 1

Version Status 

Each version is assigned to one of three statuses, whose characteristics
are described below.

Test Status 

System Dictionary automatically assigns Test status to each version when
you create it, and this status is intended for use with unproven versions
of resource definitions.  It is the least restricted of all the statuses,
and you may assign it to more than one version in a domain at the same
time.  You can modify dictionary occurrences in test versions, while you
cannot modify those in other statuses.  Therefore, you can assign Test 
status to any version.

Production Status 

Production status is assigned by you and is intended for the version
driving a production system.  You can only read occurrences of this
version.  Only one version per domain can have Production status at any
one time.

Archival Status 

Archival status is also assigned by you and is intended for use with
versions that have previously been production versions and need to be
maintained in the dictionary for historical reference, or as insurance
against current production versions that may not function properly.
Archival status is similar to Test status in that you may assign any
number of versions at one time.  Archival status is similar to Production 
status in that you can only read occurrences in an archival version.

Figure 4-3 shows domains that include a possible set of versions.


          Figure 4-3.  Version Examples 

Changing Version Status 

You may change the status of an existing version from one status to
another, but you can set a version to only one status at a time.  To
ensure that no other user is operating in a version when you change that
version's status, the dictionary must be open in Exclusive Update mode
during that time.

Versions and Restructuring 

All dictionary occurrences, regardless of the domain and version they are
located in, use the same dictionary structure, because there is only one
dictionary structure.  This is an important consideration when you
customize the System Dictionary structure after placing resource
definitions into the dictionary.  When you assign a version to either
archival or production status, it is considered frozen, protecting its
occurrences from modification.  However, when you change the dictionary
structure, all occurrences in archival and production versions are
restructured like the occurrences in test versions.  Adding a definition
(for example, an attribute) does not cause any problems, as all existing
archival information is still saved.  If you delete a definition from the
structure however, it is also deleted from all versions, including
archival versions, thereby destroying their ability to provide accurate
historical reference and backup capability.  You should consider
restructuring carefully, and possibly make a copy of the dictionary
before restructuring.

Audit Trail 

A chronological record of status changes is maintained for each version
to provide an effective audit trail of system rollover.  You can retrieve
the following information:

 *  Every status change a version has undergone since its creation, and
    the date and time of each change.

 *  Every version that currently has a particular status.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation