Selecting and viewing data as a spreadsheet

When you have connected to the database, or loaded the csv data into the CICS® PA plug-in, you can select and view all, or a subset of, the data, as a spreadsheet in the CICS PA Sheet view.

If the data is not yet loaded into the CICS PA plug-in, follow the steps in the task Connecting to a database to connect to a database, or Loading csv data in the CICS PA plug-in to load csv data , before continuing.

Displaying data from a database

A database can contain a very large amount of data. When you have connected to a database you must first define the date and time range for the data you want to analyze. You click the Dates tooltip icon The Dates tooltip icon in the Overview view to display the "Restrict analysis time period" dialog and select the date range to analyze as shown in the following screen capture.

A screen capture of the Restrict analysis time period dialog showing start and end dates for the analysis.

When you have selected the date range and clicked OK, a list of the Applids in the date range is displayed in the Overview view. When you select one or more Applids, the resulting data is shown in the Sheet view. You can use the filter fields to filter for specific Applids or Transaction IDs, by entering part or all of the required string. Note that wild cards are not supported in these filter fields. You can refine the data further by selecting one or more Transaction IDs in the Overview view. An example screen capture is shown below, showing 12 records for Applid IYCYZC22 and Transaction ID CWBG, in the selected date range.

A screen capture showing 12 records for Applid IYCYZC22 and Transaction ID CWBG, in the date range.

You can use the Tree view to see the structure of the data in the database. The data is structured in date, time, Applid, and Transaction ID order.

A screen capture showing the Tree view with data in Date, time, Applid and Transaction ID order.
In the Tree view you can select a single transaction ID, a single time period, or a single date period. When you make a selection the data is displayed as a spreadsheet in the Sheet view. The Sheet view is described later in this topic.

Displaying csv data

The first time you click a file in the Project Explorer view, the CICS PA plug-in performs an analysis of the data. The analysis might take a few seconds to complete. When the analysis is complete, a plus icon (an arrow on Linux®) displays next to the file. Clicking the icon, and subsequent icons, expands the file and displays the file contents in the following cascading order:
  • Start date
  • Start time
  • APPLID
  • Transaction ID

In the following screen capture, the file sample.csv in the folder Old CSV files contains data summarized by start date and time, and using various time intervals. The start time 03:55:00.000 contains an APPLID, APOC3C1, containing two transaction IDs.

A picture of the Project Explorer view showing a folder expanded to show a csv file and all expanded branches.

In the Project Explorer view you can select a single transaction ID, multiple transaction IDs, a single time period, multiple time periods, a single date period, multiple date periods, or any combination. When you have made a selection you can display the data as a spreadsheet in the Sheet view by right-clicking the selection and clicking Sheet view. The Sheet view is described later in this topic.

Viewing the performance history for a single data element

To view the performance history for a single element of data, perform the following steps:
  1. In the Sheet view, select the data element you want to view.
  2. Right-click the selection and click Performance history and select one of the analysis types in the pop-up menu. For more information see the Analyzing data topic.

Viewing the performance history for multiple data elements

To view the performance history for multiple elements of data, perform the following steps:
  1. In the Sheet view, highlight the first item of data you want to view by left-clicking. This can be a transaction ID, application ID or a time period.
  2. Select subsequent items of data using the Shift or Ctrl keys.
  3. Right-click the selection and click Performance history and select one of the analysis types in the pop-up menu. For more information see the Analyzing data topic.

The Sheet view

You can display some, or all of the data as a spreadsheet in the Sheet view. The data in each column can be sorted by clicking the column name, and the columns can be repositioned in the spreadsheet as required. From the Sheet view you can select one or more transactions for more detailed analysis, and view the new selection in a new Sheet view or in one or more of the graphical views.

The Sheet view is shown In the following screen capture. The view tab shows that the source for the data is the database connection called PA Database, and that the selected data consists of 495 records. The information line below that tab shows the selection criteria, in this example, the Applids that are selected and the date range.

A screen capture showing the Sheet view containing data from a database

The Sheet view shows all the data fields in the selected data source, however because of the amount of data, it is not always easy to identify out-of-line situations. By making use of the sort facility or selecting different Applids or Transaction IDs, you can reduce the data selection for further analysis.

When you have selected a subset, right click the selection, click Performance history, and select one of the report options to analyze the data further.

For more information on analyzing data, see the related link.