User Guide - Search for items

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: A description of the various search methods available in CAST Imaging.

Current view search

Info

The search option is limited to the current view.

The current view search option allows you to search an item in the Current view andthen highlight them in the view. It can be accessed by clicking the Search icon:

When clicked, the search panel will be displayed, listing all items currently displayed in the view:

User Guide - Using the Add Linked Objects feature

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: this page describes how to use the Add Linked Objects feature.

Introduction

The Add Linked Objects function enables you to display objects in the view which have a link (respecting the appropriate filter parameters you have chosen), to the object or objects you select in the view. In this way you can rapidly identify what other objects would be affected if you were to modify an object in your application.

User Guide - Using the Annotate - Sticky notes feature

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: this page describes how to use the Annotate feature.

Introduction

The Annotate / Sticky notes feature allows you to add detailed documentation to a view and also to specific objects or nodes. This is in addition to tags or comments that you can add to your views:

Adding Annotations / Sticky notes using the UI

Info

In all views/modes, you can:

add one Annotation / Sticky note per object/node or group of nodes
add one Annotation / Sticky note per view/application

In ≥ 2.19.1

To add an Annotation to an object or a view, first select the object, then use the left hand menu item, Sticky notes > Annotate View/Object.

User Guide - Using the Method view

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: this page describes how to use the Method view.

Introduction

It is possible to drill down to a “method view”. This special view shows all the methods that are linked between classes and provides additional actions such as:

view source code
method information
add caller/callees

At Object level, clicking on an edge/link between classes will show a tooltip with the list of methods involved. Classes with no related methods will have a tooltip with the message “No associated relationship”. The tooltip displays two types of relationship information:

User Guide - Viewing source code

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: this page describes how to view an object’s source code

Introduction

It is possible to view object source code direct in CAST Imaging. Source code is available in objects/links after a drill down from Level 5:

Click to expand

Info

To view the source code of objects/links in CAST Imaging, a one-time configuration process is required first - see Configure the source code viewer.

Viewing source code

Objects

Right click the object after a drill down from Level 5 and choose Show source code:

User Guide - Working with inserts or comments

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: this page describes how to work with inserts/comments.

Introduction

It is possible to add multiple inserts or comments to the view when working in any level or the object nodes view, to annotate a view, or perhaps to highlight specific nodes**.** This feature is known by different names in different releases and consequentially has differing behaviour as explained below.

≥ 2.12.x

The feature is known as Inserts. Both text and shapes can be inserted:

User Guide - Working with custom links

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Note

This information is valid only for ≥ 1.7.x releases of CAST Imaging.

Info

Summary: this page describes how to work with custom links add them to the Level 5 view.

Introduction

Links between objects in CAST Imaging are derived from the imported Application analysis data. These links are static and cannot be edited. However, it is possible to create additional custom links as follows:

between custom Object type nodes
from custom Object type nodes toObject type nodes resulting from imported Application analysis data
from Object type nodes resulting from imported Application analysis data to custom Object type nodes

The following rules exist with regard to which objects can be linked:

User Guide - Working with custom Object type nodes

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: this page describes how to work with custom Object type nodes and add them to the Level 5 view.

Introduction

To allow as much flexibility as possible, custom Object type nodes can be added to Level 5 - these custom object type nodes are in addition to the object type nodes resulting from the imported analysis data. Links to and from these custom objects can also be created:

User Guide - Properties panel

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

The Properties panel is available at any levelin all Scopes and Views. It can be accessed by right clicking an object and choosing the Properties option in the contextual menu:

Info

The Properties panel can also be accessed using the keyboard shortcut ALT+P.

It displays information about the selected object:

At Object level, more detailed information is provided:

Click to enlarge

Configure option

Info

Available in ≥ 2.14.
Only available to users with the ADMIN or SUPER ADMIN role.

The Configure option lets you add custom properties to the global search, directly from the Properties panel for an object (available at Object level). See Admin Center - Search panel for more information.

User Guide - Working with tags

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Use the option in the left hand panel (see User Guide - GUI - Menus and Icons) to add specific tags to specific items (objects) - these tags can then be used as a search term to find items of interest more quickly. Tags can be added in the following features at Objects node level view:

Info

Tags can also be associated to Applications in the User Guide - Application to Application dependencies scope from 2.8.0-funcrel, however, these tags are kept separate to tags added at Objects level.

User Guide - Understanding Links

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Links between objects are displayed as follows:

Link type

Description

Direct link

These are direct links between two objects. This is shown in the Object level view with a narrow grey line as shown in the image below. The arrow head denotes the direction of the link, i.e in the image below, the Java Method getQueue is directly accessing the Java Method generateQueueName object. The link type is shown above and below the link. In the example below this is an Access Execute link:

User Guide - Using the Focus option

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Note

Available in CAST Imaging ≥ 2.14.

The right click contextual menu option called Focus is available at Objects level in all scopes when any of the following are right clicked:

single isolated objects
grouped objects (whether grouped packages such as Java Classes or auto grouped items (pentagon shape) displayed via the right click Children + Caller/Callee option)
multiple objects or multiple grouped objects

Choosing Focus will display a dedicated view (with vignette) containing the items previously selected:

User Guide - Using the Path Finder feature

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: information about the Path Finder feature introduced in CAST Imaging ≥ 2.9.

Introduction

Debugging is challenging when the path between elements is unknown. Developers may have difficulty isolating the root cause of an issue or understanding how data flows between the elements involved. This lack of visibility can prolong the debugging process and impede efficient resolution. The Path Finder feature helps developers to quickly navigate through large code bases, see the relationship between elements to evaluate the effects of their modifications and find chances for code reuse and optimization. This leads to faster debugging and effective resolution.

User Guide - Using the Call Hierarchy feature

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: information about the Call Hierarchy feature introduced in CAST Imaging ≥ 2.12.

Introduction

Navigating through a large codebase is time-consuming, inefficient and prone to oversight as developers may need to manually search for method or function usages.

Call Hierarchy helps developers understand the flow of code execution by displaying the callers and callees of a selected element. By examining the call hierarchy of a particular element, developers can assess the potential impact of making changes to that element. They can determine which parts of the codebase rely on the selected element and understand the ripple effects that modifications may have on other components. They can identify methods or functions that are frequently called and extract them into reusable components or libraries.

User Guide - Technical object information

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Technical information about how CAST Imaging classifies certain objects.

Mainframe - COBOL

COBOL Programs are defined as follows:

COBOL Transactional Program:
- called/calling any Transactional object
- where an EXEC CICS Statement is used more than once
- called by a COBOL Technical Program object only (not Batch)
COBOL Batch Program:
- called by JCL job
- called by a COBOL Batch Program only (not by a COBOL Technical Program)
COBOL Technical Program:
- called by a COBOL Batch program and a COBOL Technical Program at the same time
COBOL Program:
- when not a COBOL Batch Program nor a COBOL Technical Program

User Guide - Using the Highlight options

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Info

Available in ≥ 2.15
The options Highlight Callees Graph and Highlight Path were available in previous releases of CAST Imaging as Show Callee and Show Path. In addition a new option called Highlight Callers Graph has been implemented and added in the contextual menu with the other two options. These three options are enabled on all scopes and levels in Imaging. See User Guide - GUI - Menus and Icons.

The Highlight options function as follows:

User Guide - Using the Get Start and End points feature

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Info

Summary: Information about the Get Start and End Points feature introduced in CAST Imaging ≥ 2.17.

Introduction

Assessing the impact of a change can be a time-consuming task, as it requires:

Evaluating the cascading effects
Identifying affected areas and components
Evaluating the potential risks and benefits

To streamline this process, the start points and end points feature helps developers by providing a comprehensive view of all linked “start points and end points” for the selected element. This view helps determine the extent of necessary regression testing. Additionally, understanding an element’s end points and start points is valuable for integrating it into larger connections and identifying suitable interactions for seamless operation.

User Guide - Working with items in the view on Documentation - V2

User Guide - Search for items

Current view search

User Guide - Using the Add Linked Objects feature

Introduction

User Guide - Using the Annotate - Sticky notes feature

Introduction

Adding Annotations / Sticky notes using the UI

In ≥ 2.19.1

User Guide - Using the Method view

Introduction

User Guide - Viewing source code

Introduction

Viewing source code

User Guide - Working with inserts or comments

Introduction

≥ 2.12.x

User Guide - Working with custom links

Introduction

User Guide - Working with custom Object type nodes

Introduction

User Guide - Properties panel

Introduction

Configure option

User Guide - Working with tags

User Guide - Understanding Links

User Guide - Using the Focus option

User Guide - Using the Path Finder feature

Introduction

User Guide - Using the Call Hierarchy feature

Introduction

User Guide - Technical object information

Mainframe - COBOL

User Guide - Using the Highlight options

Introduction

User Guide - Using the Get Start and End points feature

Introduction