Designing checkpoints
Design your checkpoints at critical points in your program so that data can be easily reconstructed. Do not change the contents of files between the time of a checkpoint and the time of the restart.
About this task
In a program that uses disk files, design the program so that you can identify previously processed records. For example, consider a disk file that contains loan records that are periodically updated for interest due. If a checkpoint is taken, records are updated, and then the program is interrupted, you would want to test that the records that are updated after the last checkpoint are not updated again when the program is restarted. To do this, set up a date field in each record, and update the field each time the record is processed. Then, after the restart, test the field to determine whether the record was already processed.
For efficient repositioning of a print file, take checkpoints on the file only after printing the last line of a page.