HP 3000 Manuals

HP ALLBASE/4GL Developer Self-Paced Training Guide

Defining Variables 

You can now create a variable called product_status.  This variable is
set after a file access to indicate if a record exists or not. 

Menu Path 

To access this screen from the main menu: 

   1.  Select the Dictionary option.

   2.  Select the Storage Items option.

   3.  Choose Variables.

Description 

Variables have a fixed length and type.  When an application starts,
alphanumeric variables are initialized to spaces and numeric variables to
zero.  Variables are not initialized at any other time.


          Variables Screen 

To enter the field values: 

        Field                 Entry                         Explanation 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Variable Name         product_status        When referred to in the application, a
                                            variable is always prefixed with V-.  The
                                            full reference to this variable is V- 
                                            product_status.

Length                1                     The length of a variable is fixed, and the
                                            maximum possible length is 99 characters.

Edit Code             X                     This edit code has the same definition as
                                            all other edit codes.

Number of Decimal     Leave blank.          Variables can use up to nine decimal places
Places                                      if they are numeric.

Pad Character         Leave blank.          HP ALLBASE/4GL automatically justifies a
                                            variable when it receives a value.
                                            Alphanumeric variables are left justified,
                                            and numeric variables are right justified.

                                            This field allows you to specify a pad
                                            character which is used to fill the
                                            remaining spaces in the variable after it
                                            has been justified.  The pad character must
                                            be a valid character for the edit code
                                            specified.

To create the variable: 

   1.  Press the  Commit Data  function key.

Defining the Mode Variable 

Next, you will create a second variable called mode, which will be used
to indicate the current update mode (one of Add, Modify, Delete, or
Review).

To define the mode variable: 

   1.  Enter the values for fields shown below that require an entry.

   2.  For all other fields, simply press the Return or Tab key to accept
       the default.

   Field      Entry 

----------------------

Name         mode

Length       6

Edit Code    X

To create this variable and continue: 

   1.  Press the  Commit Data  function key.

   2.  Then press the  Previous Menu  function key to return to the
       storage items menu.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation