HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Creating Field Specifications
The four data fields you will need for the training application have the
following contents:
Data Field Contents
Product Number 6-character identifier
Description 30-character free form product description
Supplier Number 6-digit identifier
Lead Time 2-digit value
Using the Dictionary Field Specifications Screen
The dictionary field specifications screen lets you define a field
specification that is then used as a template in the records, screens,
and reports for this application.
It is important to remember that defining a field specification only
defines the essential characteristics of a field; it does not allocate
any storage space for the field. That part of the development process
takes place later.
To access the field specifications screen:
1. At the main menu screen, press the Activate Item function key.
HP ALLBASE/4GL displays the dictionary menu. The first option,
Field Specifications is highlighted.
![[]](../../pic3k/M012318/FFN63c50.gif)
Dictionary Menu
2. Press the Activate Item function key again to activate the item
Field Specifications.
You can only activate a highlighted item. If the Field
Specification option is not highlighted, use the tab key to move
up or down the list until the item is highlighted.
The next screen shows the field specifications screen as it will appear
when you have entered all the screen details for the first field, the
product number field.
![[]](../../pic3k/M012318/FFN73c50.gif)
Field Specifications Screen
The first field specification you are going to define is for the product
number field. To do this,
* Complete the listed fields on the field specification screen.
The entries for each field are listed for you. An explanation of
each field is included.
* Complete the entry of data into a screen field by pressing Return
or Tab.
HP ALLBASE/4GL then accepts the current contents of the field, and
moves the cursor to the next field.
To enter the field values:
Field Entry Explanation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field Spec. Name product_no The name used to refer to the field
specification within the application.
Secured Press Return to This indicates whether the item is secured
accept the default of against modification by unauthorized
N. developer.
Field Length 6 Maximum number of characters allowed for
this field. For character and packed
decimal field types, this also specifies
the space the field occupies when used in a
file record, screen, or report.
Repeated Times Accept the default of When a field is one of several fields, as
1. in a single dimensional array, you can
specify the number of times the field is
repeated. Not allowed in SQL applications.
Minimum Entry Length 6 Specifies the minimum number of characters
to be entered. Indicates a required field.
By entering 6, you are ensuring that only a
six character entry is valid.
Edit Code Program skips this Indicates type of data field can contain.
field. U indicates forced uppercase. All entries
will be shifted automatically to uppercase.
Storage Type Accept the default. Indicates the way data in the field is
physically stored in a file. C indicates
character. For a list of storage types,
refer to the "Entry Notes" section that
follows this one.
Justification Accept default. Indicates the direction of justification
applied when a value is entered into or
displayed in this field. L means left
justified, and is the default entry for a
character edit code.
Table 2-0. (cont.)
Field Entry Explanation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decimal Places Cursor skips this Indicates maximum number of decimal places.
field. For an integer, the numer of decimal places
is set to zero.
Blank When Zero Cursor skips this When the edit code field entry is U, the
field. storage type is automatically C for
"character," which means the field will be
blank.
Pad Character Accept default (a Specifies the single character used to fill
space). out a field when field contains less than
maximum number of characters specified.
Range Press Return. Method of validating the value a user
enters; done automatically.
Table Press Return. Method of validating the value a user
enters; done automatically.
Help Name Press Return. Not required. An entry here is written
into the field definition screen in the
screens menu. Name of context-sensitive
help screen for this field.
Description (Field Accept default. First line defaults to name of item being
Name) defined.
Description (Author) Enter your name. Defaults to developr.
Description Enter a description Contents of description fields are used
of the field for when a report is printed. They help keep
documentation track of items defined and their purpose in
purposes. the application. A suggested entry is
displayed on the completed field
specifications screen shown earlier.
Last Modification No entry Automatically updated to show the time and
date of the last modification to any of the
fields on the screen.
For information on edit codes and storage type codes, refer to the "Entry
Notes" at the end of this instructional segment.
If You Make a Mistake ....
If you make a mistake, use the cursor keys, the Tab key, or the Shift +
Tab keys to move to the field containing the error and make your
corrections. To move to a previous field, press the Shift key with the
Tab key, then press the Return key.
To complete and commit the screen:
1. When you have completed the entries on this screen and all fields
contain the correct values, press the Commit Data function key
to actually create the field specification.
HP ALLBASE/4GL creates the field specification that you have just
defined, clears the screen, and returns the cursor to the Field
Spec. Name field so you can enter a new field specification name.
You can now define the rest of the field specifications for the product
details.
To complete the remaining field specifications:
1. For the three remaining field specifications, enter the values
shown on the next page for the fields that require an entry.
2. For all other fields, simply press the Return or Tab key to accept
the default.
3. Enter text in the description fields
4. Press the Commit Data function key after entering each field
specification.
To complete the Description Field entries:
Field Entry Explanation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field Specification description Name used to refer to the field
specification within the application.
Field Length 30 This is a 30-character field.
Edit Code X Indicates an alphanumeric field.
Description Enter a description
for documentation
purposes.
To complete the Supplier Number Field entries:
Field Entry Explanation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field Spec. Name supplier_no
Field Length 6
Edit Code N Means that the entry must be an unsigned
number (0 to 9, a period ., or a comma ,.
Storage Type Enter I Means that data will be stored as a
two-byte integer.
Blank when Zero Y Screen displays blank for numeric value of
zero. An N entry would display the zero,
which can be distracting on the screen.
Description Enter a description
for documentation
purposes.
To complete the Lead Time Field entries:
Field Entry Explanation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field Spec. Name lead_time
Field Length 2 This is a 2-character field.
Edit Code N Indicates a numeric field.
Storage Type I
Blank when Zero Y Screen displays blank for numeric value of
zero. An N entry would display the zero,
which can be distracting on the screen.
Description Enter a description
for documentation
purposes.
This completes the entries for the field specifications screen.
Entry Notes.
Edit Codes
The available edit codes for field specifications are shown in the
following table:
Code Meaning
X Any printable character.
A Alphabetic characters only (A to z, 0 to 9, extended
characters, and underscore).
U Forced uppercase. Same as X edit code, but shifts all
lowercase alphabetic characters to uppercase.
K Alphanumeric characters only (A to z, 0 to 9, extended
characters, and underscore).
Table 2-0. (cont.)
Code Meaning
N Unsigned number (0 to 9, an period ".", or a comma ",").
S Signed number. Same as N edit code, but may include + or -.
Q Question. Y, y, N, or n only. Any characters beyond the
first character in the field are ignored.
D Date field. Must be eight characters long. The date may be
either MM/DD/YY or DD/MM/YY (depending on the system-wide
date format) where MM, DD, and YY represent the month, day
and year respectively.
T Date field, defaulting to the current date.
For on-line help about edit codes, press the Help function key. All
input fields in the developer have a help screen that you can access
while the cursor is on that field.
Storage Type Codes
The following table lists the available storage type codes and their
meanings.
Code Meaning
C Character.
F Four byte, floating point.
G Eight byte, floating point (double precision).
I Two byte integer.
L Four byte integer.
P Packed decimal (BCD, or binary coded decimal).
This field is only relevant for field specifications with N or S edit
codes.
This completes the definition of the field specifications that are used
in the product file.
HP TurboIMAGE/iX Field Specifications.
For field specifications that you will use in HP TurboIMAGE/iX data set
definitions, you can specify data manager specific attributes for the
field specification at this point. If you press the Data Mgr Attribs.
function key, the data manager specific field attributes screen is
displayed. These attributes have default settings, so you don't need to
complete them. Refer to the HP ALLBASE/4GL Developer Reference Manual if
you are interested in finding out more about data manager specific field
attributes.
If you pressed the Data Mgr Attribs. function key, press the Base
Fld Specs. function key to return to the field specifications screen.