User:Nkchuank/sandbox

IvanDoc System
Developer(s)	Ivandoc Software Services
Initial release	May 23, 2011
Stable release	V5.0 / May 29, 2012
Written in	IBM RPG III, RPG IV
Operating system	IBM i / AS400
Type	Documentation generator
License	Proprietary
Website	http://www.ivandoc.com

IVANDOC SYSTEM

IvanDoc System is an auto-generator of cross-referencing technical documentation on any application software running in the IBM i / AS400 operating system. Even though the technical documentation is created and generated by programs in the IBM i / AS400 operating system, its various types of technical documents are assessed and viewed vide web browsers and are cross-referenced vide HTML hyperlinks.

Three main processes of IvanDoc System

First process: Scanning and data collection for the contents of documentation.

Firstly, being an auto-generator of technical documentation, IvanDoc System runs in the IBM i / AS400 operating system to scan^[1] all the objects of the business application to capture data from them. These object data^[2] are technical information about the architecture of the application software and are used by IvanDoc System to create and auto-generate various types of technical documents about the application software. Beside the objects, IvanDoc System can scan^[3] the source code of the application software to auto-generate and produce more types^[4]^[5] of technical documents.

Second process: Construction of technical documents with insertion of HTML hyperlinks.

The capability to cross-reference from one location of a technical document to a particular location of another technical document or vice versa, is now made possible with the use of HTML hyperlinks if the technical documents are written in HTML files or web pages.

IvanDoc System is a unique documentation generator that has been created to add this feature of cross-referencing vide HTML hyperlinks, into the technical documentation about any business application software running in the IBM i / AS400 operating system.

To provide meaningful cross-referencing among various types of technical documents, IvanDoc System has been engineered to insert HTML hyperlinks into the technical documents during their construction. These technical documents are actually static web pages, written by programs in IvanDoc System in HyperText Markup Language (HTML). However, at this point, these technical documents are not ready to be viewed vide web browsers as they are still residing in source physical files ^[6] in the IBM i / AS400 operating system.

Third process: FTP transfer of technical documents to browser-based operating system.

Thirdly, IvanDoc System facilitates the FTP transfer of these documents from the IBM i / AS400 operating system to any popular browser-based operating system where they can be assessed and viewed vide web browsers. Because the number of these documents or HTML files is usually huge and to ensure that not a single document is missed, IvanDoc System has the mechanism to keep track of which documents have been successfully transferred and which have not.

All are economically repeatable.

As all the three main processes of IvanDoc System are automated ^[7], they can be economically repeated to update ^[8] the technical documentation whenever it is out-dated by substantial changes which have been made to the application software.

IvanDoc Documentation

cross-referencing technical documentation

automatically generated by

IvanDoc System

automatically written in

HTML

(1) can be viewed vide

major web browsers like Internet Explorer or Google Chrome in non-mobile PC operating systems in desktop or laptop computers.

(2) can be viewed vide

popular web browsers in Android operating system in smartphones or tablet computers, or Safari in iOS.

to be used by

IBM i/AS400 application developers like programmers, system analysts or designers.

to be used as

software analysis^[9] / change impact analysis tool for IBM i/AS400 applications, and for other purposes.^[10]

sample set

This sample set ^[11] was generated and produced as a final result of IvanDoc System's three main processes on an IBM i / AS400 business application and some of its source code. At that time, the application in a UAT environment had the following numbers of objects;

Types of AS400 objects	Number^[12] of objects
physical files	12,325
logical files	2,793
display files	3,344
printer files	4,423
non-CL programs like RPG, COBOL or other than CL programs	13,828
CL programs	6,532
data areas	not recorded
user-created commands	not recorded
(fields)^[13]	166,134

This sample of IvanDoc Documentation has 126,761 HTML files residing in various folders as shown in the table below;

Name of folder	Number of HTML files	Size on disk
HTMLCLP	6,514	27.6 MB
HTMLCLS	8,336	77.0 MB
HTMLCMD	532	2.08 MB
HTMLDA	8,347	34.6 MB
HTMLDB	12,325	101 MB
HTMLDB1	3,004	86.8 MB
HTMLDB2	4,558	94.8 MB
HTMLDB3	1,882	74.2 MB
HTMLDB4	869	121 MB
HTMLDF	3,252	64.4 MB
HTMLDFS	2,497	50.3 MB
HTMLLF	2,792	65.6 MB
HTMLLIB	64	26.1 MB
HTMLPF	12,306	164 MB
HTMLPPF	4,423	72.3 MB
HTMLRFS	3,386	35.7 MB
HTMLRPG	12,910	56.3 MB
HTMLSRC	14,542	2.31 GB
HTMLXW	1,829	235 MB
HTMLXX	3,242	448 MB
HTMLXY	31	36.4 MB
HTMLXZ	19,119	77.7 MB
RB20100922^[14]	126,761	4.21 GB	The above 22 folders are residing within this main folder, RB20100922.

This unique technical documentation, having been created in the IBM i / AS400 operating system and whose contents originate from the IBM i / AS400 application software, but whose technical documents are able to be viewed only in browser-based operating system, where cross-referencing among the various types of technical documents can be achieved with the help of HTML hyperlinks, is called “IvanDoc Documentation”.

Unlike technical documentation in the IBM i / AS400 operating system where IBM 'green-screens', spooled files^[15], object data stored^[16] in physical files^[17] and SEU^[18] / PDM are used, IvanDoc Documentation provides the IBM i / AS400 software developers, in search of the knowledge of the architecture of the application software, with the new experience of navigating through the technical documentation in browser-based environment, thanks to the HTML hyperlinks.

Toggle between IBM i/AS400 and browser sessions enables the IBM i / AS400 software developers to browse through IvanDoc Documentation while they are being logged in their IBM i/AS400 session.

Technical documents in IvanDoc Documentation

There are more than forty types^[19] of technical documents in IvanDoc Documentation. Each technical document of one type is linked to technical documents of other types by HTML hyperlinks. Each technical document is actually one HTML file and varies in size. Generally, the total number of technical documents or HTML files in IvanDoc Documentation depends on the size and complexity of the application software and the extent^[20] of the source code that has been scanned.

The various types of technical documents can be grouped into the following three categories based on the origin of their contents;

Category (1) : Those whose contents originate from the object data only.
Category (2) : Those whose contents originate from the source code only.
Category (3) : Those whose contents originate from both the object data and the source code.

Notes and references

^ (There are two phases of scanning. In the first phase, all the objects in the library list of the application software are scanned. The source code is scanned in the second phase.)
^ (object data, unlike user data or business data, are information about the object's type, properties and so on, and are retrieved using certain CL commands like DSPPGMREF and DSPOBJD in the IBM i/ AS400)
^ (scanning the source code is equivalent to reading the source code in source physical file)
^ (types of technical documents produced from IvanDoc System's scanning source code - the HTML reproduction of CLP/CLLE source code)
^ (types of technical documents produced from IvanDoc System's scanning source code - the HTML reproduction of RPGLE source code)
^ (source physical files are used by IvanDoc System to store HTML source code)
^ (The first and second processes are fully automated while the third process is not fully automated as it involves the establishment of FTP connection. For more information, the Operation Manual (to transfer HTML to PC after scanning) should be referred.)
^ (update - it is recommended that the old set of technical documentation is to be replaced with or overriden by the new set which has just been generated and produced. Selecting a subset of documents from the new set to update the old set usually takes time and effort and more prone to human error.)
^ (The main purpose is to serve as a software analysis tool, improving developers' productivity.)
^ (It serves as training materials and software documentation tool for IBM i/AS400 application developers. It has the potential to be a version control tool.)
^ (IvanDoc System was parameterised to generate the sample set for browsing in non-mobile PC operating systems in desktop or laptop computers. Browsing the sample set in a mobile operating system, may encounter long delay or Hang due to loading a relatively large HTML file. To reduce the sizes of HTML files, suitable for browsing in smartphones or tablet computers, will result in an increase in the number of HTML files, assuming that the total amount of contents in the documentation remains constant. For parameters controlling the sizes of HTML files to be generated, please refer to Operation Manual - To set up Control Parameters before Scanning.)
^ Those numbers were provided by IvanDoc System at the bottom of this technical document.
^ (Fields are not considered as objects but are object data from file objects and can be extracted using CL command DSPFFD.)
^ (This folder is called IvanDoc Directory.)
^ (spooled files)
^ (object data, having been retrieved and stored in physical files, can be processed by programs just like user data or business data)
^ (physical files)
^ (SEU as a source-code editor)
^ (sample and brief description of each type)
^ (While IvanDoc System scans all the objects of the application software in the first phase, the selection of the source code for scanning in the second phase, is not determined by it. For the selection of the source code for scanning, please refer to Operation Manual from (Doc to read 41) to (Doc to read 53A) )

External links

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Category:Documentation generators

[1] (There are two phases of scanning. In the first phase, all the objects in the library list of the application software are scanned. The source code is scanned in the second phase.)

[2] (object data, unlike user data or business data, are information about the object's type, properties and so on, and are retrieved using certain CL commands like DSPPGMREF and DSPOBJD in the IBM i/ AS400)

[3] (scanning the source code is equivalent to reading the source code in source physical file)

[4] (types of technical documents produced from IvanDoc System's scanning source code - the HTML reproduction of CLP/CLLE source code)

[5] (types of technical documents produced from IvanDoc System's scanning source code - the HTML reproduction of RPGLE source code)

[6] (source physical files are used by IvanDoc System to store HTML source code)

[7] (The first and second processes are fully automated while the third process is not fully automated as it involves the establishment of FTP connection. For more information, the Operation Manual (to transfer HTML to PC after scanning) should be referred.)

[8] (update - it is recommended that the old set of technical documentation is to be replaced with or overriden by the new set which has just been generated and produced. Selecting a subset of documents from the new set to update the old set usually takes time and effort and more prone to human error.)

[9] (The main purpose is to serve as a software analysis tool, improving developers' productivity.)

[10] (It serves as training materials and software documentation tool for IBM i/AS400 application developers. It has the potential to be a version control tool.)

[11] (IvanDoc System was parameterised to generate the sample set for browsing in non-mobile PC operating systems in desktop or laptop computers. Browsing the sample set in a mobile operating system, may encounter long delay or Hang due to loading a relatively large HTML file. To reduce the sizes of HTML files, suitable for browsing in smartphones or tablet computers, will result in an increase in the number of HTML files, assuming that the total amount of contents in the documentation remains constant. For parameters controlling the sizes of HTML files to be generated, please refer to Operation Manual - To set up Control Parameters before Scanning.)

[12] Those numbers were provided by IvanDoc System at the bottom of this technical document.

[13] (Fields are not considered as objects but are object data from file objects and can be extracted using CL command DSPFFD.)

[14] (This folder is called IvanDoc Directory.)

[15] (spooled files)

[16] (object data, having been retrieved and stored in physical files, can be processed by programs just like user data or business data)

[17] (physical files)

[18] (SEU as a source-code editor)

[19] (sample and brief description of each type)

[20] (While IvanDoc System scans all the objects of the application software in the first phase, the selection of the source code for scanning in the second phase, is not determined by it. For the selection of the source code for scanning, please refer to Operation Manual from (Doc to read 41) to (Doc to read 53A) )

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