Automatically updating Notes Databases

[Joe]

Currently when I get a new file from my mainframe and I want to update
the appropriate database in Notes I delete all the documents and
import the new file to update the database. Now there must be a way
for me to somehow take my new mainframe file and update the Notes
database with only the documents that changed, I just haven't been
able to find any documentation on how to do this. Does anyone have
any ideas? I can get away with my current method however when we
start dealing with large databases we'll need a better solution.

[Thomas Steckner]

>Now there must be a way
>for me to somehow take my new mainframe file and update the Notes
>database with only the documents that changed, I just haven't been
>able to find any documentation on how to do this. Does anyone have
>any ideas? I can get away with my current method however when we
>start dealing with large databases we'll need a better solution.

You can, but not using Notes by itself. There's a package available for about
$400 from Granite Software called ZMerge that will do this for you. Runs
under Windows, OS/2, and most recently under NT.

Unfortunately, the Notes db I have which documents the product doesn't have
their address, phone number, or e-mail address. There is a CompuServe ID for
an individual on one of the help screens, though: 76200,406.

I hope this helps,

Tom Steckner
The PSC Group
(416)364-4275

P.S. I have no connection with Granite Software - I just happened to use it
once and it worked very well.

[Richard Gill]

In article <48gs3q$h...@ionews.io.org>, Joe <joe...@io.org> wrote:
>Currently when I get a new file from my mainframe and I want to update
>the appropriate database in Notes I delete all the documents and

>import the new file to update the database. Now there must be a way

>for me to somehow take my new mainframe file and update the Notes
>database with only the documents that changed, I just haven't been
>able to find any documentation on how to do this. Does anyone have
>any ideas? I can get away with my current method however when we
>start dealing with large databases we'll need a better solution.
>

Z-Merge from Granite Software does exactly what you want.

--
Dick Gill di...@gp.com
Gill & Piette uunet!gandp!dick
1568 Spring Hill Road, McLean, VA 22102 (703)761-1163
Growing old is the only way to live a long time. Dad 1906-

[trev...@sfo.com]

> joe...@io.org (Joe) writes:
> Currently when I get a new file from my mainframe and I want to update
> the appropriate database in Notes I delete all the documents and
> import the new file to update the database. Now there must be a way
> for me to somehow take my new mainframe file and update the Notes
> database with only the documents that changed, I just haven't been
> able to find any documentation on how to do this. Does anyone have
> any ideas? I can get away with my current method however when we
> start dealing with large databases we'll need a better solution.
>
>
>>>>

Best solution is to buy an add-on product. It is possible to do it in native Notes but is is slow and
cumbersome. Involves importing mainframe data into a separate DB and running a macro which uses
DBLookup for each field to transfer data to the target DB. It is not pretty and can be very slow if you have a
lot of fields.

Consider the following products:

1. ZMERGE from Granite Software - built specifically for this type of import/export task, very fast; handles
rich text fields too, cheap $695 I think.

2. WIT API Toolkit from Application Partners - general purpose API engine which runs on the server and
performs actions defined in a Notes control DB to move data/documents into, out of & between Notes
database. Enables you to develop a lot of tasks which would normally involve C programming using the
Notes C API by just filling in Notes forms. More expensive than ZMERGE but has more functionality.

3. Notrix from Percussion Software - built to transfer information between Notes and other
RDBMS systems including flat files;standard product uses ODBC to talk to the RDBMS and you can get
special drivers for Oracle, Sybase etc. Has event scheduler which can be used to automate the data
transfer so that the Notes databases can be loaded overnight, over weekends etc. Notes-centric - runs as
an add-in server task on the Notes server. Can be linked to middleware products like Information Builders
EQA/SQL or Sybase MDI products to link to legacy systems like IMS, DB2 on the mainframe or Teradata,
Tandem, Dec machines. $3750 for basic product and then $3750 for each database driver if you need it.

4. Infopump from Trinzic Corp.- very similar in functionailty to the Notrix product except that it is not so
Notes-centric. It runs on its own server and uses a SQL Server database to hold its meta data and event
scheduling information. Will interface to Sybase MDI if you want a true enterprise wide gateway to
mainframe legacy systems etc. Price is about $25,000 I think.

5. Replic-Action from Casahl technology - same people who did the NotesSQL product for Lotus. Very
similar to Notrix; Notes centric, relies on ODBC to talk to most standard RDMS. Basic premise is to extend
the replication concept out to relational databases.Fairly new o the market. Price approx. $10,000

6. Lotus InfoPump - I know very little about this product. Has just been released by Lotus and from the
press annoucements it seems very similar to Notrix and Repli-Action.

My recommendation (Which is worth what you paid for it <grin>):

A. ZMERGE if you want a quick and cheap solution to import/update Notes DBs from large text files.

B. Notrix, Replic-Action, InfoPump if you want a more industrial strength and automated method of
updating your Notes DBS. (Note. these products work fine with your "standard" RDBMS like Oracle,
Sybase, MS SQL Server which support ODBC etc but other products like IMS, DB2, RDB, Non-Stop SQL
may need a more expensive middleware box to provide ODBC access to the data)

Trevor Laws

[Mark Ramos]

trev...@sfo.com wrote:

>> joe...@io.org (Joe) writes:
>> Currently when I get a new file from my mainframe and I want to update
>> the appropriate database in Notes I delete all the documents and
>> import the new file to update the database. Now there must be a way
>> for me to somehow take my new mainframe file and update the Notes
>> database with only the documents that changed, I just haven't been
>> able to find any documentation on how to do this. Does anyone have
>> any ideas? I can get away with my current method however when we
>> start dealing with large databases we'll need a better solution.
>>
>>
>>>>>

>Consider the following products:

>1. ZMERGE from Granite Software - built specifically for this type of import/export task, very fast; handles
>rich text fields too, cheap $695 I think.

>My recommendation (Which is worth what you paid for it <grin>):

>A. ZMERGE if you want a quick and cheap solution to import/update Notes DBs from large text files.

Trevor and all,

Thanks for the nice comments. ZMERGE pricing:

ZMERGE for Window 3.x $395
ZMERGE for OS/2 $495
ZMERGE for Windows NT $495
2-license pack (you pick platforms) $695
3-license pack (you pick platforms) $995

Evaluation/Upgrade copy is available @
ftp.worldcom.com/lnotes-l/demos/zmrgeval.zip

Regards,
Mark Ramos