Easytrieve Plus

Plus vs Classic: Why the Split Mattered

Classic Easytrieve solved batch reporting elegantly but could not address every 1990s requirement: Db2 tables as sources, online inquiry screens, distributed batch on UNIX, and tighter integration with enterprise schedulers. CA investment produced Plus as a superset: Classic-compatible core plus new statements, runtime services, and compile options. Shops kept Classic proc names and libraries while new development adopted Plus STEPLIB concatenations. Migration projects today rarely choose Classic-only compilers; they move Plus 6.x or early 11.x sources forward to 11.6 maintenance levels.

SQL FILE in Plus Programs

Plus SQL FILE declarations let developers treat query results like sequential files: define columns as fields, write JOB logic with IF and accumulators, and emit REPORT output without exporting to an intermediate flat file—though many shops still materialize extracts for audit. Early Plus required explicit SELECT/INTO style grammar; 11.x release notes describe simplified automation while preserving backward compatibility for older SQL FILE blocks. Beginners should read both the FILE statement tutorial and Db2 access patterns at their site: authorization, plan bind, and SQL error handling remain DBA concerns even when Easytrieve syntax looks concise.

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* Illustrative SQL FILE pattern (verify against 11.6 Language Reference)
FILE EMPSQL SQL
  SELECT EMPNO, LASTNAME, SALARY
    FROM EMP
   WHERE DEPT = 'D01'
JOB INPUT EMPSQL
  IF SALARY GT 50000
     ADD 1 TO HIGH-COUNT
  END-IF
REPORT HIGH-EARNERS
  LINE EMPNO LASTNAME SALARY

Exact SQL FILE syntax varies by release and database. Never copy tutorial examples into production without matching your Language Reference and testing EXPLAIN plans with DBAs. Migration from Plus 6.x SQL files to 11.6 should include row-count compares and null-handling checks—subtle SQL dialect or cursor behavior changes surface only at runtime.

Online SCREEN Activities

Plus SCREEN processing supports interactive applications: map fields to screen layouts, validate input on BEFORE-SCREEN or AFTER-SCREEN hooks, branch with PF keys, and display messages through standard online facilities. Batch purists may never touch SCREEN code, but insurance and order-entry portfolios often mix batch REPORT programs with online Easytrieve maintenance screens. Migrating SCREEN modules to 11.6 requires testing terminal sizing, attribute bytes, and message classes—not just clean compile listings.

• INITIATION — program startup for online environment setup.
• BEFORE-SCREEN / AFTER-SCREEN — validation and defaulting around display cycles.
• PF key handling — function key assignments documented per site standards.
• Screen field definitions — parallel to batch DEFINE with display attributes.

$functions and Expression Power

Plus expanded built-in functions for dates, strings, conversions, and system values—reducing custom PROC clutter. Functions appear in IF conditions, assignment statements, and REPORT masks. Categories on this site (date, string, math, system) map to Language Reference appendices. Migration note: function names and parameter counts occasionally change; a Plus 6.x program calling a retired alias may compile with warnings or fail until updated to the 11.6 spelling.

Release Lines: 6.x, 11.x, and 11.6

Veterans reference Plus 6.x manuals and Advantage branding; current Broadcom TechDocs center on 11.6. Between those eras, options tables, PARM keywords, WORKFILE support, module sizes, and reserved word lists evolved. The broadcom-versions and version-differences pages on this site organize release numbering for migration planning. Rule of thumb: identify your production compile FMID and maintenance level, then read release notes back to that baseline—not forward from Classic alone.

Cross-Platform Plus

Plus marketing emphasized environment-independent FILE syntax where possible—sequential files on UNIX paths versus DD names on z/OS, but similar JOB and REPORT logic. Organizations with hybrid pipelines compile the same source on z/OS for authoritative payroll and on Linux for downstream file transforms. Portable design still requires platform-specific JCL or shell wrappers; the language does not erase operating system differences in paths, code pages, or sort products.

Compile and Runtime Under Plus

Plus compile steps invoke EZTPA00 or site-specific program names with PARM controlling listings, debug maps, and compatibility modes. SYSPRINT receives diagnostics; SYSOUT or SYSLMOD receive object and load modules depending on compile-and-go versus link-edit promotion policies. Plus runtimes expect correct STEPLIB concatenation and options table values for buffer sizes, abend exits, and sort delegation. Upgrading Plus without updating the options table produces mystifying runtime behavior even when compile succeeds.

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PARM DEBUG(PMAP DMAP) LIST FILE NODATA
* Plus compile PARM — trim DEBUG before production promotion
FILE TRANS   FB(200 5000)
JOB INPUT TRANS
  PERFORM VALIDATE-Routine
REPORT DAILY-SUMMARY

DEBUG options expand listing volume for migration troubleshooting. LIST FILE documents FILE statement expansion; NODATA suppresses data area listings when portfolios are huge. Your site standards may mandate additional keywords—follow operations compile profiles, not tutorial snippets alone.

Migrating Plus Source to Broadcom 11.6

Plus migration is the common case for CA-era shops: inventory 6.x and early 11.x members, convert options tables, update procs with EZOPTBL, run compile-all sweeps, fix reserved words, retest SQL and SCREEN modules separately from batch REPORT jobs. Parallel-run financial compares remain the gold standard for sign-off. Link child pages—deprecated syntax, new reserved words, compatibility—for detailed checklists; this Plus overview orients you on which features exist so you know what to test.

Explain It Like I'm Five

Easytrieve Plus is the bigger toolbox that came after the original Classic set. It has the same hammer and nails for paper reports, plus new tools for talking to databases (SQL), talking to people on green screens (SCREEN), and working in different kitchens (UNIX or Windows). When your company updates to the newest Broadcom kitchen, most Plus recipes still work—you just check the new cookbook for renamed tools and bigger oven settings (REGION and options).

Exercises

1. List three Plus features your portfolio uses (SQL, SCREEN, $functions, etc.).
2. Find your production Plus compile PARM and explain each keyword.
3. Draft test cases for one SQL FILE program including empty result and null columns.
4. Compare a 6.x Application Reference section title to its 11.6 TechDocs equivalent.
5. Write one paragraph explaining Plus vs Report Generator naming for a new hire.