In the renaming cycle the BALTER utility routine checks solely whether the planned modifications are really only restricted to renaming.
The only BALTER statement permitted (apart from the END statement) in the renaming cycle is the REPORT statement. REPORT IS YES is set by default. All other BALTER statements are rejected and result in the BALTER run being aborted.
If REPORT IS YES is set, after the analysis phase BALTER starts the REPORT phase in which it outputs the analysis report to SYSLST (see section “Description of the analysis report (REPORT phase)”). In the analysis report BALTER lists all the changes which are made to record types, sets or keys during the renaming phase. The analysis report also contains the analysis record concerning error messages and warnings relating to illegal changes (see section “Description of BALTER messages”).
You should only use REPORT IS NO when it is certain that renaming can be performed successfully. If this is not the case, it is more difficult to diagnose errors in the schema.
You can only run BALTER successfully if you have already generated the new SIA and stored it in the DBDIR using BGSIA (see section “Generating a new SIA and entering it in the DBDIR with BGSIA”). Otherwise the BALTER run terminates with the message “BGSIA HAS NOT BEEN EXECUTED”.
BALTER determines the differences between the old and the new schema descriptions using the old and the new DBCOM or the old and the new SIA and checks whether only renaming has taken place. If restructuring of the user data would be necessary because database records (e.g. Set Connection Data) and tables (address lists, lists, SEARCH key tables, etc.) are to be modified, the renaming cycle is aborted with an error message. If required, you must then fall back on the status of the database before the renaming cycle.
Changes which do not involve modifications to database records or tables but which mean that existing data cannot necessarily continue to be used without adaption are permitted but a corresponding warning is issued. Such changes could be type changes or the grouping and splitting of items (see also section “Adapting user data”).