FLAM-VSAM/ISAM
Beside the many different kinds of sequential file types (FB, VB, PO, …) version 4 of FLAM for mainframes supports so-called Key(ed) Sequential Data Sets (KSDS) by which individual records can be randomly accessed by key. For doing so, FLAM accepts a key at the interface, uses this value for locating the appropriate segment within the compressed and optionally encrypted data, and returns the requested record. Beside reading and writing records FLAM also supports changing, inserting, and deleting of records if the FLAMFILE itself is a VSAM data set. With this feature huge data sets can be scanned very fast for individual records by which means fast retrieval of archived contents can be implemented.
Benefits
- Random access to logical units (records) by reading/writing/changing/inserting/deleting in index-sequential FLAMFILEs via key of the original record
- Access with subsystem (z/OS) in combination with VSAM-KSDS with modifying applications
- Alternatively easy integration of an API that is implemented like an I/O system
- Runtime is usually reduced by the compression rate 5 - 10 because less time-costly I/O operations are required
- CPU time is reduced, too, despite compression
- Number of hierarchy levels is increased
- The KSDS can include more records
The product
- Find/change/delete/insert in VSAM-KSDS-FLAMFILEs on record level via key of original record
- Compression, encryption, and signature of the data directly at access
- Can be activated as subsystem transparently to the application