Screen Design Aid

Screen Design Aid (System/34 and System/36) (SDA) is a utility for the IBM System/34, System/36, System/38, and AS/400 (iSeries) midrange computers.

This article refers to the S/34 and S/36 implementations of SDA. S/38 and AS/400 use a different SDA with different syntax and characteristics. See the AS/400 article for more about these midrange computers.

SDA stands for Screen Design Aid. Programmers can use SDA to create menus, display formats, or WSU skeleton programs.

IBM midrange computers utilize display stations to present information and to accept information and control from computer operators. A display station is an input/output device consisting of a monitor and a keyboard.

S/34 and S/36 applications usually involve the operator to a critical degree, whether accepting the bulk of input through display stations or controlling them. Computer programs may utilize unformatted or formatted input, and this is where SDA applies.

An important challenge for harnessing the power of a midrange computer is interacting with an online user and providing ease of use. So what if your customer file has a million records... can your computer operator find the right one quickly? Concepts such as ISAM (Indexed Sequential Access Method) have been around since the early days of computing. Using a display format, with colors, blinking fields, command keys, and scrolling functions, an operator can quickly adjust to advanced programs and become more effective.

From any menu, type SDA and press Enter.

Option 1 from SDA is to design a menu. Two different displays are used. On the first display, build the menu by typing the displayed menu text. The System/34 convention describes fixed-format and free-format menus. In a fixed-format menu, describe each menu item in 30 characters or less. In a free-format menu, lay out your menu exactly as you want it to appear. Press Cmd9 when you are done.

On the second display, type the commands, procedures, or OCL associated with each menu item you are using. Many S/3X programmers use option 24 for sign-off, but this is not required. Press Cmd9 when you are done.

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