Add image catalog entries

Thank you for taking the time to submit your request. After careful consideration, we know that we cannot deliver your requested enhancement soon, so it is being declined. Although there is a work-around available, we agree that this does have value, so we will add it to an internal list for us to keep in mind for the future.

The CAAC has reviewed this requirement and recommends that IBM not implement this request. A dynamic work-around exists.

Background: The COMMON Americas Advisory Council (CAAC) members have a broad range of experience in working with small and medium-sized IBM i customers. CAAC has a key role in working with IBM i development to help assess the value and impact of individual RFEs on the broader IBM i community, and has therefore reviewed your RFE.

For more information about CAAC, see www.common.org/caac

Nancy Uthke-Schmucki - CAAC Program Manager

.IBM recognizes that the work-around provided may not be of sufficient usability for everyone, and that having an option on the WRKIMGCLG screen to fill the Image Catalog could provide a clearer solution. As such, we have decided to change the status to ???Uncommitted Candidate" to put it on our team's active list of enhancements to consider for our future plans.

Adding the ADDVRTVOL parameter to the CRTIMGCLG command is a rather strange sequence as at that point the directory normally doesn't exist so it is empty. While I understand the sequence can be altered by first creating the directory, storing the files in it and then creating the image catalog… it seems not logical to me.

Also the sequence of creating an image catalog, filling it with the files, deleting it again with KEEP and recreating it again is not logical.

Such examples are bad cases of a proper user experience in my opinion. The logical sequence to me is to create the image catalog, fill it with files and press some function key on the work with image catalog entries that prompts for the type (*ISO, *BIN and *ALL) and calls the QVOIFIMG API.

To begin with the RFE will be used for the discussion of possibly adding the call QVOIFIMG API from the wrkimgclge panel when working with a catalog.
A new RFE should be opened to deal with the comment regarding the image types of *ISO, *BIN and *ALL. This a separate issue that should have its own discussion.

First, The ADDIMGCLGE command is geared towards adding just one image to catalog and would prove costly to re-write. That is what the QVOIFIMG API was written. It process the current files in the directory and calls ADDIGMCLGE for each one found.

However, The QVOIFIMG API interface was not the only solution provided to this problem. The CRTIMGCLG command was changed to add the *DIR value to the ADDVRTVOL parameter along with adding the IMGTYPE parameter values of *ALL, *BIN, and *ISO. A very easy work around would be to Delete your Image Catalog keeping the images (DLTIMGCLG IMGCLG(TEST) KEEP(*YES)), followed by a CRTIMGCLG specifying ADDVRTVOL(*DIR) and the IMGTYPE parameters. Just one note regarding option 4 to delete an image catalog from the Work with Image Catalogs panel defaults to KEEP(*NO) and cannot be changed in V7R3M0 or earlier. A change was delivered in V7R4M0 to prompt the KEEP parameter after taking option 4.

Please let me know if this work around is sufficient or if you'd like us to pursue the possibility of adding the a call to the QVOIFIMG API from the Work with Image Catalog entries panel.

Question: Did you also run in the issue described below?

The api QVOIFIMG API has for the type of files to be added *ISO, *BIN or *ALL as possible values. The fact that IBM i iso image are available as *,UDF files makes using this API unnecessary complex. In some cases the IBM i iso images are also in the zip format. Unloading those to IBM in the image catalog directory and unzipping them there, makes using *ALL only possible after you cleanup everything first.

Greetings Rudi

Either IBM could enhance the command, or you can write your own that will call the API. That's what I did and it works well. It's only a few lines of code too.

Jason

This is a great idea, the add image catalog entry command could be enhanced in the same way as the create image catalog was in 7.2. Namely, that you can specifically that all BIN or ISO files in the IMGCLG directory all added to the Image Catalog