Screen Design Aid (SDA) is the traditional IBM i green‑screen utility used to create and maintain display files (DSPF). These display files define the screens your RPG or COBOL programs interact with menus, prompts, data entry forms, inquiry screens, and more.
SDA gives developers a structured, interactive way to design screen layouts directly on the IBM i system, long before graphical IDEs existed.
Key Points About SDA
- Classic Green‑Screen Tool SDA runs entirely in a 5250 terminal session, using menus and function keys to build screen layouts.
- Used to Create DSPF (Display Files) You design fields, labels, constants, indicators, and screen attributes that your program will use.
- Interactive Layout Editing You can position fields visually on a grid, making it easier than hand‑coding DDS for display files.
- DDS Generator SDA produces the underlying DDS source code for the display file, which you can compile or edit manually.
- Still Relevant in Legacy Environments Many IBM i shops continue to maintain older applications built with SDA‑generated DSPFs.