ACIF overview

ACIF is a batch utility that provides indexing functions, print data stream conversions, and AFP resource collection.

ACIF is a powerful tool for indexing the print data streams of ACIF application programs, EBCDIC data on z/OS® , unformatted ASCII data, and ASCII data containing printer control characters that is generated on multiplatform workstations.

ACIF indexes reports based on the organization of the data in the report. You can optionally convert line data print streams into AFP data. ACIF processes three input sources:
  • Indexing parameters that specify how the data should be indexed. You can create the indexing parameters when you define a Content Manager OnDemand application.
  • AFP resources required to view and print the data, if the data was created by an AFP application.
  • The print data stream.

The output of ACIF is either a fully composed AFP data stream or the original line data input. ACIF can convert line data input to AFP data, can produce an index file that Content Manager OnDemand uses to create index data for the database, and optionally, can collect resources into a resource group file.

ACIF produces a resource group file for AFP data. To create a resource group file, ACIF must have access to the resources required by the input data stream. During document retrievalContent Manager OnDemand stores the resources in cache storage or archive media and retrieves the resources associated with a specific document when a user selects the document for viewing.

ACIF indexes input data based on the organization of the data:
  • Document organization. For reports made up of logical items, such as statements, policies, and invoices, ACIF can generate index data for each logical item in the report.
  • Report organization. For reports that contain line data with sorted values on each page, such as a transaction log or general ledger, ACIF can divide the report into groups of pages and generate index data for each group of pages.
Before you can index a report with ACIF, you need to create a set of indexing parameters. The indexing parameters describe the physical characteristics of the input data, identify where in the data stream that ACIF can locate index data, and provide other directives to ACIF. Collecting the information needed to develop the indexing parameters requires several steps. For example:
  1. Examine the input data to determine how users use the report, including what information they need to retrieve a report from the system (indexing requirements).
  2. For line data, decide whether or not to convert the input data to AFP. If you plan to enhance the appearance of line data with fonts and bar codes or you need to compose a line data input file into pages, then you must convert the line data to AFP.
  3. Determine whether you need to generate page-level index information. There are two types of page-level information, and different ways to generate the information.

    Page-level information in the index file. ACIF can generate this type of page-level information whether or not the input data is being converted to AFP. This type of page-level information is essential for loading Content Manager OnDemand large objects. This type of page-level information is generated by specifying the INDEXOBJ=ALL parameter.

    Page-level information in the output file. This type of page-level information is used in the client to move to specific pages in a document. ACIF can only generate this type of page-level information when converting the input data to AFP. This type of page-level information is generated by specifying the CONVERT=YES and INDEXOBJ=ALL parameters, and by creating an index field with the TYPE=PAGE or TYPE=PAGERANGE option. For more information, see the discussion of TYPE=PAGE in INDEX.

    Note that page-level index information is not stored in the database, and therefore cannot be used to search for and retrieve documents.

  4. Examine the input data to determine the resource requirements. Determine the fonts and form and page definitions needed to view and print the data.
  5. Create parameters for indexing.
  6. Create parameters for converting line data input files to AFP.
  7. Create parameters for collecting resources for viewing and printing AFP data.
You can run ACIF on a Content Manager OnDemand library or object server or on System z on which the ACIF programs are installed.
  • When you run ACIF on a Content Manager OnDemand server, you can invoke it from the command prompt (by using the ARSACIF program) or from the Content Manager OnDemand data loading program (the ARSLOAD program). The information provided in this guide assumes that you will use the ARSLOAD program to process input data with ACIF. The ARSLOAD program retrieves the indexing parameters that are used to process the input data from the Content Manager OnDemand application.
  • To run ACIF on System z requires:
    • Print Services Facility (PSF) for OS/390® Version 4 Release 4 or later.
    • Content Manager OnDemand version of ACIF, which can be ordered without charge by customers who are entitled to Content Manager OnDemand.

Indexing

Indexing parameters include information that allow ACIF to identify key items in the print data stream, tag these items, and create index elements pointing to the tagged items.

ACIF uses the tag and index data for efficient, structured search and retrieval. You specify the index information that allows ACIF to segment the data stream into individual items called groups. A group is a collection of one or more pages. You define the bounds of the collection, for example, a bank statement, insurance policy, phone bill, or other logical segment of a report file.

A group can also represent a specific number of pages in a report. For example, you might decide to segment a 10,000 page report into groups of 100 pages. ACIF creates indexes for each group. Groups are determined when the value of an index changes (for example, account number) or when the maximum number of pages for a group is reached.

A tag is made up of an attribute name (for example, Customer Name) and an attribute value (for example, Earl Hawkins). Tags include pointers that tell ACIF where to locate the attribute information in the data stream. For example, the tag Account Number with the pointer 1,21,16 means ACIF can expect to find Account Number values starting in column 21 of specific input records. ACIF collects 16 bytes of information starting at column 21 and adds it to a list of attribute values found in the input.

ACIF creates an index object file when you index report files. The index object file includes index elements that contain the offset and length of a group. ACIF calculates an index element for every group found in the input file. ACIF writes the attribute values extracted from the input file to the index object file and if the input file is converted to AFP, to the (converted) output file.