FTAM/9000 Programmer's Guide

34 Chapter 1
HP FTAM/9000 Overview
Overview of FTAM Concepts
• If you use cp to create a new copy of an FTAM-related file, a
corresponding shadow file will not be created. Subsequent FTAM
access to the copy will use default VFS attributes, which may or may
not apply.
• If you use chmod or chown to change the HP-UX permissions or
ownership of an FTAM-related file, the new attributes may conflict
with the attributes stored in the corresponding shadow file.
Subsequent FTAM access to the file may have unexpected results or
cause inconsistencies.
• If you use rm to remove an FTAM-related file, the corresponding
shadow file will not be removed.
Shadow files that are inadvertently severed from their corresponding
actual files remain as clutter. Furthermore, they could potentially
interfere with future FTAM operations on files that have the same name
as the original actual file.
Regimes
An FTAM transaction is built by calling FTAM functions in steps (or
nested state sequences) called regimes. A regime is the period during
which you can issue a specific set of FTAM functions. The regime
determines the activities that can occur at a given time and therefore,
creates the rules (protocols) for the FTAM state machine.
Regimes are nested, in the following order. Applications must pass
through outer regimes to gain access to the inner ones. They must also
exit the regimes in proper order, leaving the inner regimes to gain access
to the outer ones.
• FTAM Regime
• File Selection Regime
• File Open Regime
• Data Transfer Regime