NonStop Operation Intelligence – The Power of Sorting

Updated: Dec 29, 2022

I remember a conversation with a group of colleagues about 10 or 12 years ago on predicting the company values of Google and Microsoft. While all of us were impressed with Google’s growth in Search power at that time, the common consensus was that Google Search Engine was a “one trick pony”, and just couldn’t possibly compete against a well established company like Microsoft with the ubiquity of its Windows operating system and Office tools. Well, we were wrong. We underestimated how the power of search has literally changed not only how we look for information, but in how we acquire knowledge.

“Finding the information quickly when you need it”

Similarly, quite often we take for granted the simple power of sorting in the GUI world. But when one operates in the green screen terminal world of NonStop, its absence quite often hinders one’s productivity in accessing information. But did you know that you can harness the power or sorting and many other GUI features in NonStop by using a software tool like TOP (The Operations Pack)?

The Operations Pack (TOP) A productivity tool distributed by TIC Software as a training tool to help train the next generation of NonStop Operation Staff

Here is a simple Use Case on the NonStop:

Look for File information

Here is a typical file listing using FILEINFO or FUP INFO.

Now imagine you have to look for specific items in a very large subvolume with many, many files, like:

All the files that were modified in December 2016
All the File code 101 (EDIT) files
The largest files in the subvolume etc.

It is not so easy, is it?

"NonStop information via Point-and-Click”

But with a GUI tool like TOP that has the ability to sort on columns, all these information is just one click away.

Click “Last Modified” Date to sort

All the files that were modified in December 2016

Click file “Code” to sort

All the File code 101 (EDIT) files

Click “EOF” to sort in descending order

The largest files in the subvolume

Now that was easy!

Isn’t it amazing that a simple thing such as sorting can make such a big difference in usability. Everyone is already familiar with used to a Windows GUI based on point-and-click. Imagine what a GUI product like TOP can do for your team’s productivity? With TOP, you can now have a strategy to train a new and young team of operation staff to be productive on NonStop!

Want to see more?

There are many other benefits a GUI can bring to a NonStop operation environment. Learn more about the Power of GUI with TOP in this short video:

Contact TIC Software to learn more about TOP. Email sales-support@ticsoftware.com

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Phil Ly is the president and founder of TIC Software, a New York-based company specializing in software and services that integrate NonStop with the latest technologies, including Web Services, .NET and Java. Prior to founding TIC in 1983, Phil worked for Tandem Computer in technical support and software development.