4. Specifying ignores

When you compare objects, you can optionally specify ignores and ignore changes.

An ignore is one or more fields that Object Comparison Tool is to ignore when comparing Db2® catalog records. Specify ignores when the source and target objects have differences, but you do not want these differences to result in changes to the target.

An ignore change is a specified change to an object that was previously reported in a compare result and that you want to ignore. Ignore changes are reported, but no SQL statements are generated for the changes.

Before you begin

If you want to specify an ignore change, you must have saved compare results. Optionally, you can define an ignore change specification in advance; see Creating ignore changes specifications.

About this task

When specifying ignores in Db2® Object Comparison Tool, you can define the ignores either in the Change Management (CM) database or in a data set. For more information about ignores, see Ignore fields (IBM Db2 Administration Tool for z/OS 13.1.0).

Procedure

To specify ignores to be used during the compare process:

On the DB2 Object Comparison Tool Menu (GOCMENU) panel, specify option 4, and press Enter.

The Specify Compare Ignores (GOC4) panel is displayed.

Figure 1. Specify Compare Ignores (GOC4) panel

Compare ----------------- Specify Compare Ignores ----------------------
Option ===>                                                                   
                                                                              
Ignore Fields Specification:                                                   
  Owner . .                                  > (? to look up)                  
  Name  . .                                  > (? to look up)                  
  Data Set:                                                                    
    Data Set Name . .                                                          
  Options:                                                                     
    Edit Ignore Fields Specification . . . NO  (Yes/No)                        
                                                                               
                                                                               
Ignore Changes Specification:                                                  
  Owner . . . .                              > (? to look up)                  
  Name  . . . .                              > (? to look up)                  
  Edit Ignore Changes Specification  . . . NO  (Yes/No)                        
  Display using a saved compare result . . NO  (Yes/No)                        
    Saved Compare Results:                                                     
      Owner . . . .                          > (? to look up)                  
      Name  . . . .                          > (? to look up)

Note: If Change Management is not enabled, only the Data Set Name and Edit Ignore Fields Specification fields are displayed.

Complete one or both of the following tasks, depending on the ignores that you want to use:
- Specifying ignore fields
- Specifying ignore changes

Specifying ignore fields

Procedure

On the Specify Compare Ignores (GOC4) panel, specify the following information in the Ignore Fields Specification section:
Figure 2. Ignore Fields Specification section on the Specify Compare Ignores (GOC4) panel
```
                                                             
Ignore Fields Specification:                                                   
  Owner . .                                  > (? to look up)                  
  Name  . .                                  > (? to look up)                  
  Data Set:                                                                    
    Data Set Name . .                                                          
  Options:                                                                     
    Edit Ignore Fields Specification . . . NO  (Yes/No)                        
 
```
- Specify one of the following sources that contains (or will contain) the ignore fields specifications:
  CM table
  
  Specify Owner and Name values for the ignore. This name identifies a row in the Change Management repository table . That row contains (or will contain) the ignore fields that you want to use for the comparison operation. You can specify either an existing name to identify an existing row in the table or a specify a new name to create a row in the table.
  
  Data set
  Specify a value for Data set name. The data set must adhere to TSO naming conventions and be one of the following types:
  
  A fixed-block sequential data set
  
  A member of a partitioned data set with a logical record length of 80 (RECFM=Fx,LRECL=80)
  
  The input must be in columns 1-72 of the ignore data set.
  If CM is not enabled, you must specify a data set. If both a CM table and a data set are specified, the information in the data set field is used.
- In the Edit Ignore Fields Specification field, specify whether you want to edit the ignore fields.
Press Enter.
One of the following panels is displayed:
- If you specified that you do not want to edit the ignore fields, the DB2 Object Comparison Tool Menu (GOCMENU) panel is displayed. You have completed specifying ignore fields. You can skip the rest of this procedure.
- If you specified that you wanted to edit the ignore fields and your source is a data set or an existing row in the CM repository table , the Specify Ignore Fields : Objects (GOCCI) panel is displayed. Skip to step 4.
- If you specified that you wanted to edit the ignore fields and your source is a new row in the CM repository table, the Insert Ignore (ADB2C22) panel is displayed.

On the Insert Ignore (ADB2C22) panel, create an ignore specification by completing the following steps:

Figure 3. Insert Ignore (ADB2C22) panel

 DB2 Admin ---------------- Create Ignore Specification ------------------ 12:25
 Command ===>                                                                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
 Owner . . . MYID     >   (Optional, default is USERID)                         
 Name  . . . MYIGNORE  >  (Required, ? to look up)                     
 Comment . .                                             >

Optional: In the Comment field, specify a description of the ignore.
Press Enter to insert a row into the Change Management repository table for this new set of ignore fields.
Exit (PF3) to display the Specify Ignore Fields : Objects (GOCCI) panel.

On the Specify Ignore Fields : Objects (GOCCI) panel, edit the ignore fields as needed by completing the following steps:

Figure 4. Specify Ignore Fields : Objects (GOCCI) panel

 Compare ---------------- Specify Ignore Fields: Objects ---------- Row 1 of 17
 Command ===>                                                  Scroll ===> PAGE 
 
 Valid line commands are:
  U - Update Ignore Fields 
 
 Select Object          Ignore Fields                                            Qualifier Name
        *               *                                                        *         *
 ------ --------------- -------------------------------------------------------- --------- ---------------
        GENERIC         None
        SYSCHECKS       None
        SYSCOLUMNS      COLTYPE,LENGTH,SCALE,DEFAULT,DEFAULTVALUE
        SYSCONTROLS     None
        SYSDATABASE     CREATOR,STGROUP,BPOOL,INDEXBP
        SYSDATATYPES    None
        SYSENVIRONMENT  APPLCOMPAT
        SYSFIELDS       None
        SYSINDEXES      None
        SYSINDEXPART    PQTY,SQTY,SECQTYI
        SYSKEYS         None
        SYSPACKAGE      None
        SYSPARMS        None
        SYSRELS         None
        SYSROUTINES     None
        SYSSEQUENCES    None
        SYSSTOGROUP     VCATNAME
        SYSTABLEPART    PQTY,SQTY,SECQTYI
        SYSTABLES       STATUS,LABEL                                             SYSADM   LRC*87  
        SYSTABLES       LABEL,CHECKRID                                           SYSADM   LRC*88
        SYSTABLES       AUDITING
        SYSTABLESPACE   None
        SYSTRIGGERS     None
        SYSVIEWS        None
        SYSVOLUMES      VOLID
        XMLMODIFIER     None

Tip: Use caution when specifying ignores. If possible, use the generic ignore field specifications. These specifications provide for some common sets of fields that are often intentionally different on source and target systems. For more information about generic ignores, see Generic ignores (IBM Db2 Administration Tool for z/OS 13.1.0).

Issue the U (update) line command for the appropriate object (catalog table or the generic object), and press Enter.

The Select Ignore Fields for object (GOCCIF) panel is displayed for the selected object:

Figure 5. Select Ignore Fields for object (GOCCIF) panel

GOCCIF --------- Select Ignore Fields for SYSINDEXPART ----- Row 1 to 18 of 22 

Valid line commands are:                                                       
 S - Select (add) field  U - Un-select  R - Repeat row                         

Select Fields                 Action   Qualifier Name                          
       *                      *        *         *                             
------ ---------------------- -------- --------> ----------------------------->
       AVGKEYLEN                                                               
       CREATEDTS                                                               
       DSNUM                                                                   
       EXTENTS                                                                 
       FREEPAGE                                                                
       GBPCACHE                                                                
       INDEXTYPE                                                               
       LEAFFAR                                                                 
       LEAFNEAR                                                                
       LIMITKEY                                                                
       OLDEST_VERSION                                                          
       PARTITION                                                               
       PCTFREE                                                                 
       PQTY                                                                    
       PSEUDO_DEL_ENTRIES                                                      
       RBA_FORMAT                                                              
       SECQTYI                                                                 
       SPACEF

Select the fields that are to be ignored by using the S line command, and press Enter.

You can further limit an ignore field to certain objects by specifying values in the Qualifier and Name columns with wildcard characters in any field. You can modify the qualifier and name of a field only when that row is selected. To apply multiple qualifier.name combinations to a field, issue the R line command to create additional rows for that field.
When you are done selecting the ignore fields, exit (PF3) back to the Specify Ignore Fields : Objects (GOCCI) panel.
Exit (PF3) back to the DB2 Object Comparison Tool Menu (GOCMENU) panel.

Specifying ignore changes

Procedure

On the Specify Compare Ignores (GOC4) panel, specify one of the following sets of information in the Ignore Changes Specification section:
1. If you want to use a defined ignore changes specification, specify the owner and name of the specification and whether you want to edit the specification in the following fields:
  Figure 6. Ignore Changes Specification section on the Specify Compare Ignores (GOC4) panel
```
Ignore Changes Specification:                                                  
  Owner . . . .                              > (? to look up)                  
  Name  . . . .                              > (? to look up)                  
  Edit Ignore Changes Specification  . . . NO  (Yes/No)                        
  
```
2. If you want to use a saved compare result, specify that you want to display the saved compare result and an owner and name for the result in the following fields:
  Figure 7. Ignore Changes Specification section on the Specify Compare Ignores (GOC4) panel
```
  Display using a saved compare result . . YES (Yes/No)                        
    Saved Compare Results:                                                     
      Owner . . . .                          > (? to look up)                  
      Name  . . . .                          > (? to look up) 
```
Restriction: You cannot specify both a and b; you can specify either an ignore changes specification or a saved compare result.
Press Enter.
Take one of the following actions, depending on which panel is displayed:
- If you specified that you do not want to edit or display the ignore changes, the DB2 Object Comparison Tool Menu (GOCMENU) panel is displayed. You have completed specifying ignore changes. Skip the rest of this procedure.
- If you specified that you want to edit the ignore changes specification, the Ignored Changes List (ADBPCICL) panel is displayed. Modify the specification as needed. See step 3 in Modifying ignore changes specifications.
- If you specified that you want to display the saved compare results, the Compare Report (ADBPCRR) panel is displayed. Select the changes that you want to ignore. See step 4 in Creating ignore changes specifications.

What to do next

Generate a compare batch job.