We are looking into moving applications and FOCUS databases from MVS to Linux. Yes, we could download flat files and write a MODIFY to create a FOCUS database on Linux, does anyone else have another way to do that is more eloquent?

Rhonda,

That actually works the best and is the safest. There is a fairly recent post on moving a FOCUS database from Unix to Windows. The technique is the same. Check it out.

Here is the link. It was MVS to Windows.

http://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/...1057331/m/5581019192

There is an import command in Focus for Unix (called "IMPORT") that you might want to look into. You ftp the focus and master files from MVS to Lynx, issue some settings, then Focus will import the focus files for you. It should be in the documentation for Focus for Unix. I used it many years ago for importing from VM to AIX ... it turned out to be a real time saver.

Rhonda,

We did this a lot for our customers. We even created a set of procedures to automate the process.

Thanks for the recommendations and links to documentation. I was wondering if the IMPORT command/utility on the Unix platform was still intact.

I concur, you need to avoid issues of EBCIDC to ASCII conversions. Have fun.

Rhonda,

Another word. If you have many files to move from MVS to Linux, we can help. We have some FOCEXECs that do just that. They analyse the MASTER on the MVS; create HOLD files (either from individual segments or from full hierachy paths); FTP the HOLD files to Linux (we did this with Windows, but it is the same); recombine the transferred files into FOCUS files on Linux. If you have IMS files, they can also be imported to Focus files from MVS to Linux.

So we run the MVS procedure on MVS, then run the Linux procedure.

It saves a lot of time and prevents headaches.

Thanks again for the responses. They are all very helpful and has given us options.

Daniel, have you been nicking my code, I wrote the same thing 6 years ago.

Read the Master, extract each segment, FTP to (for me PC), and reload.

Waz,

Well, we also have here a much more sticky problem. It is called Hebrew. As you (probably) know, Hebrew is written right-to-left. However, numbers are written left-to-right. And some of our customers have fields with mixed data: Hebrew, English, numbers and special characters. Then the code pages are different. Not the same even on M/F.

We have fun!

I never thought I would say it, but thank [insert your god here] i work in an english society.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Waz,

Danny,

I have a whole new respect for you.