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Performance Improvements at Point Of Sale - A Guide to Getting the most out of your 4690 System.

It is clear that many of the IBM 4690 POS applications could use an overhaul. But who has the time? And where would one start?

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How do I do a QConnect trace?

There are two major ways to do a trace.  You can begin a trace at a particular point in a terminal operation or you can begin tracing from the moment QCONNECT begins execution.  Both methods are described in this discussion.  Case 2, described below is not available if the terminal you are attempting to trace does not use a CDIFILE.xxx configuration file.  See Case 2 for details.

CASE 1: Tracing beginning at a point within the application transaction some time after the terminal has booted and is executing the application.

  1. At the keyboard, place the keylock switch in "Ex" position.
  2. Using a calculator, divide today's date by 17.
      Example: July 15, 1998 -> 071598/17 = 4211.647
  3. Ignoring the remainder, key in the whole number in the following sequence:
      S1, 00xxxx, S2 where xxxx is the whole number you calculated in the previous step
      Example:
      For the July 15th date, enter:
      S1,004211,S2
  4. If this number is correct, the screen gives no indication. If it is in error, an error message is displayed.
  5. Following an error-free entry, key the following sequence:
      S1,999,S2 (this initiates the trace function)
  6. You will be prompted for trace options. Always choose the following:
      basic, verbose, ioproc, serial, and log to file.  In addition, trace any other IO devices you think may be involved in the specific error you are trying to capture.
  7. Turn the keylock back to the "R" position and attempt to duplicate the problem you are trying to capture.
  8. When the error condition has been captured, turn the keylock back to the "Ex" position and turn off tracing either by powering off the terminal or using the following key sequence:
      S1,999,S2 -> Then, enter "0" at each prompt.
  9. Turn the keylock back to the "R" position.  Your terminal should now be operating normally and tracing should be disabled.
  10. Copy the file TRDMP.TRC from the root directory of the Store Controller and save for analysis.

CASE 2: Tracing from the moment the emulator begins execution.

  1. Go to the store controller and edit the file, ADX_UDT1:CDIFILE.xxx  where xxx is the ID or number of the terminal you wish to trace or is "000" (the default CDIFILE)
  2. Modify the last line in the file which is labeled with the "tracing" tag.  Use the comments in the file or instructions from QVS personnel to determine the options to use. Always use option "L" to cause a disk log file to be created on the controller.
  3. Boot the terminal.  You will notice that it will be running slower and should show a blinking "tr" indicator on the screen.
  4. Run the application through the condition you want to trace.
  5. If possible, run an operation or two past the failure point you are tracing just to assure that the failure will be logged.
  6. Power down the terminal.
  7. Edit the CDIFILE you had modified and remove the trace options you had added.  Note the "tracing" tag should show null data ("")
  8. Copy the file TRDMP.TRC from the root directory of the Store Controller and save for analysis.
  9. Reboot the terminal.  Tracing should be disabled.
 
© 2012 QVS Software, Inc.