Stat 6.1 - User Guide

Schema Objects

Quest® Stat® supports locking, archiving, and migrating schema object definitions on Oracle® databases and on Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005/2008.

NOTE: Oracle and SQL Server database schema objects include a set of predefined true/false parameters that are executed before the definition of the object is captured in Stat. You can change the true/false values of these parameters in the Schema Object Parameters Maintenance table. For more information, see the book, Stat System Administration, Chapter 4, “General Maintenance Tables.”

Stat supports certain schema object definitions for generic application environments running on Oracle databases. If you are running your generic application on a supported Oracle database version 9i or higher, you can lock, archive, and migrate schema objects. For Oracle 8i databases, you can lock schema object types, buy you cannot archive or migrate them. Stat currently supports the following schema object types:

Although you cannot archive or migrate Oracle 8i schema object types, you can archive and migrate the SQL database scripts that create and alter the schema object definitions. After migrating a database script (which in Stat is treated as a file object), you or your database administrator can run the script and deploy the schema object definitions in the target environment.

The following schema objects may be archived from and migrated to Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 databases:

Object Locking and Reservations (Generic Applications)

Object locking is an important part of any change management practice since it coordinates all of the efforts of developers and prevents work from being overwritten. Stat supports logical locking of data objects and file objects in the Quest® Stat® Repository, which means that the lock shows up in the Stat application, but developers can still go directly into their application environments and make changes to the object even if the lock on the object isn’t theirs. As long as the developers use a CSR to modify objects, the coordination of development is maintained.

Understanding Object Reservations and Locks

Locks and reservations are issued to the developer assigned to the object, regardless of who actually requested the lock. That person may or may not be the assigned developer. This is a security measure determined by user class rights.

A lock indicates that the assigned developer has exclusive change/edit rights on the object. A reservation indicates that the object is currently locked by another developer and you are waiting for the object to become available. Once the object becomes available, Stat converts the reservation to a lock and notifies the holder of the new lock via email. Remember, the holder of the reservation is the developer assigned to the object in the CSR. If you request the lock but are not the assigned developer, you will not receive an email when the reservation turns into a lock.

All objects can be logically locked in the Stat Repository, but only by one user at a time.

The Object Locking Process

The object locking process has up to three phases.

When you associate an object with a CSR, Stat automatically requests a lock for that object in the designated environments. Stat checks if there are existing locks or reservations on that object. If a lock or reservation exists, Stat issues a tentative reservation. If not, it issues a tentative lock. The lock or reservation remains tentative until you save the CSR.

Immediately after associating objects with a CSR, you should save your work. Upon saving, Stat checks for existing locks or reservations. If a lock or reservation exists, Stat issues a full reservation. If not, it issues a full lock.

The longer you wait to save your CSR, the greater the likelihood you will lose your place in the queue for that object. For example, while you have a tentative lock on an object, another user could add that same object to a CSR and receive a tentative reservation. If the second user then saves his or her CSR before you do, that user receives the full lock for that object, and when you save your CSR, you receive instead a full reservation.

When Stat issues a full lock, it automatically archives a “pre-change” version of the object to the Stat Repository. Archiving objects is discussed in depth in the next chapter.

The third phase is the conversion of reservations into locks. Stat releases an object lock when the status of the CSR changes to a closed-type status, or when the developer manually unlocks the object or the object is reassigned to another developer. After unlocking an object, the Stat Central Agent then determines if there are any pending reservations on the object. If reservations on the object have been given to more than one user, these reservations are handled in chronological order, based on the time each lock was requested. The Stat Central Agent converts the first reservation in line into a lock and performs any applicable object archiving.