The Year 2000 Problem

Two-digit key fields in flat files, DB tables, and other record streams specified as ASCII or numeric usually have no inherent time or date logic, and thus no allowance for post-Year 2000 recognition. Therefore, if your date data is not in a standard timestamp or four-digit format, it is not Year 2000-ready. Data in this condition, when combined with Year 2000 and later dates, will not sort, compare, convert, or allow your applications to run correctly. The Year 2000 problem therefore, is mainly data-based, and IRI provides ways to remedy the problem across all your enterprise platforms - from mainframe to UNIX to Windows.

CoSORT Solutions

CoSORT is fundamentally a data sorting utility; i.e. it collates records on one or more key fields based solely on user specifications and data. CoSORT does not imbue your data with meaning, but it will re-order character, numeric, time and date forms, etc., according to standard internal compare procedures. Therefore, if your data is not Year 2000-ready, it may not sort correctly. The CoSORT product offers several solutions.

Key Procedure

Using CoSORT's API, or through customization of its sorti (sorti.exe or formerly, cosort.exe) or sortcl (sortcl.exe) standalone front-end utilities, you can write a specialized key procedure (compare routine) to link with cosort.a (or cosort.dll) if such logic is required in two-digit numeric fields. Of course, you need no procedure if your year keys are already four-digits and are declared ASCII (default), numeric, or a given timestamp indicia.

sortcl Reformatting

CoSORT's Sort Control Language (sortcl) uses a high-level, mainframe sort-based syntax for multi-file/multi-format input to output data transformation. The language allows its script writers to map two-digit input fields to four-digit output fields, with padded "19" or "20" /DATA items, or through cross-addition of the values 1900 or 2000. This functionality can convert non-compliant data to compliant four-digit years, as long as you can identify a consistent location (fixed or floating) for this field data within your records.

Timestamp Recognition

If your date data are currently retained and declared in standard date or timestamp formats, CoSORT is equipped to process them with Year 2000 logic. CoSORT Versions 4.5 and above contain built-in support for several distinct day, date and timestamp formats, including: AMERICAN, EUROPEAN, ISO, and JAPANESE years. By making the appropriate designations in the sorti and/or sortcl interfaces, you will be able to process this data before and after the Year 2000 accurately. Version 6.2 users should also see the new feature below.

Custom Century Window

In CoSORT Version 6.2 and above, the resource control file (usu. cosortrc) can take any two-digit value for the parameter MINIMUM_YEAR to determine how the CS_Y2K_ASCII_JULIAN (yyddd) and CS_Y2K_ASII_YR (yy) data types will sort (and convert). For example, if MINIMUM_YEAR is set to 70, then all year field values less than 70 will be treated in the next millennium.

netCONVERT Solutions

Data file translations are necessary components of most remediation plans, requiring a solution for modification of date values in vast stores of existing data. netCONVERT is a file translation utility that provides both date expansion to three- or four-digit values and date contraction back to a two-digit value. At the same time, it can perform the cross-platform conversions required to move data between all the platforms in use. netCONVERT eliminates the need to hand-code the variety of conversion programs that may be needed throughout the life of the Year 2000 project.

COBOL File Descriptions

Data records are very complex, and detailed knowledge of their structure is required to properly translate them. netCONVERT reads the COBOL File Description for the file to be converted. With that knowledge, it can handle your most complex data records. Date remapping directives are required to define the date expansion methodology used for each application. These directives are in the form of comments in the COBOL FD, which may be added by your Year 2000 analysis tool or manually. In many cases, a single global date remapping directive is sufficient for the entire data file. netCONVERT is available for MVS, VM, and UNIX to meet your file conversion or dynamic bridging requirements wherever they occur. There are several benefits to this approach.

Dynamic Bridging

Initial conversion activities result in a mixture of compliant and non-compliant applications, which must, of course, continue to communicate with one another. netCONVERT can provide the dynamic bridging required to support this communication. Use it to expand the dates in data files being passed from non-complaint programs to compliant ones; and similarly, use it to contract dates when files are passed in the opposite direction. With netCONVERT, moving these bridging points as Year 2000 remediation efforts progress is simple and can be automated with scripts or batch jobs.

Archive Access

In some cases, large quantities of archive data exist, often stored on tape volumes. By using netCONVERT for just-in-time conversion of archive data, you can reduce the scope of your Year 2000 project, resulting in significant cost savings for the organization.

Duplicate Data Store

In some cases, the best approach to coexistence of compliant and non-compliant application segments involves maintaining a duplicate data store, with one set containing two-digit dates and an identical database with expanded dates. Any application segment then reads only the data store that matches its expected format. netCONVERT's bi-directional date conversion support allows you easily to create the duplicate, regardless of whether the original is created by a compliant or a non-compliant program.

Cross-Platform Bridging

Often, Year 2000 remediation efforts occur in conjunction with the migration of applications to smaller, more cost-effective platforms. In some cases, existing applications are recompiled for use on newer platforms with minimal change. In other cases, older applications are replaced by newer, compliant applications running on smaller platforms. In either case, netCONVERT provides the cross-platform translation services required to move complex data files across platform boundaries, simultaneously performing date expansion or contraction as necessary, on a continuous basis.