Class Definition

The System Dictionary allows you to create and maintain the following Class definitions: Formats, Screens, OPENworkshop Views, Links, OPENworkshop Menus, Messages, Help, Global Dictionary, Scripts, Reports, Library, Screens, Dictionary-IV Views, Dictionary-IV Menus, Query, Source, and System.

The following options are available for Class definition Maintenance:

Edit

Adds, changes, deletes, renames, and copies Class definitions.

List

Lists the Class type, name, description, password, creation date, last change date, and last change time to the terminal or printer.

Print

Prints the Class type, name, description, password, creation date, last change date, and, last change time.

Definition Edit

Select 1-Edit from the Dictionary-IV Development Menu or press F1 at any Dictionary-IV menu.

Select the Class definition to maintain. The system displays the Class definition view. For more information about performing maintenance from the view or changing the appearance of a view, see CONNECT VIEW in the Dictionary-IV User Guide.

Components of Class Definition

Class definitions can be composed of three parts: header information, detail information, and editors.

Class Definition Header Information

There are common features in all Classes of definition maintenance.

[Class] Name Contains from 3 to 8 alphanumeric characters for the name of a Class definition. This field is mandatory.

Characters one and two are the Library name. Characters three through eight are the Class definition name. For more information about guidelines, see Library Maintenance and Class definition Naming Guidelines.

[Class] Description Contains from 1 to 40 alphanumeric characters for the description of this definition. This is an optional field.

Last Change Date
Displays the date of the last change to the selected Class definition.

Create Date
Displays the date of creation of the selected Class definition.

Class Definition Detail Information

The detail of a Class definition can come in the form of attributes or an editor window.

Attributes/Specifications See each individual Class for descriptions of these attributes (specifications). In Format definition they include the length, entry type, valid entries, etc. for each Data Name. For more information, see the individual Class definition.

Editor Windows Editor Windows allow you to enter text, position it in a window, and define display attributes (graphic/color). They include the Screen Editor, View Editor, Help Editor, Text Fields, and Source-IV Editor.

Class Definition Maintenance

For information on performing maintenance from a view or changing the appearance of a view see CONNECT VIEW in the Dictionary-IV User Guide.

Definition List

This function is used to list Class definitions. The listing can display on the terminal or output to a printer.

If you are operating in a Multi-Language environment see Multi-Language in the
Dictionary-IV Administrator Guide.

Select 2-List from the Dictionary-IV Development Menu. The system prompts:

Do you want a printed copy?

Select one of the following:

Y

The system asks for the printer name.

N

The system displays the output at the terminal.

If you select to print, the system prompts:

Select printer (LP, P1, Pn):

LP, P1, Pn

is the name of the printer.

For more information, see Printing in the Dictionary-IV User Guide. Type the name of the printer and press Enter. If security is active the system prompts:

To List Passwords, Enter the System Password:

You must enter the system password to obtain a listing that includes definition passwords.

Definition Listing

Class Selector Message→

Enter the following information:

Class Selector message
Select the Class to list or type A for all Classes. Press Enter.

Library
Type the Library name for which you want a listing of definitions and press Enter.

List all definitions?
Select one of the following:

Y

Lists all definitions. You cannot select a range or mask.

N

Positions the cursor at the next field.

from definition
Type the name of the first definition in the range to list and press Enter. The default is First.

to definition Type the last definition name in the range to list and press Enter. The default is Last. If you enter a name in the “from definition” field and press Enter in this field, the system repeats the Class definition name. This allows you to list the information for one definition.

using name mask A name mask allows you to select Definitions without specifying individual names. It sets up a matching test. The system selects only those Definition names that match the mask.

Type from 1 to 6 alphanumeric characters for the mask to use. Then press Enter. The default is None.

A mask contains match and pass characters. The match character must match case and position exactly. The pass character (?) indicates there is no match in this position.

Mask	Action	Definition Names
MENU1?	Selects	MENU1 through MENU19
	Ignores	MENU2 through MENU99 menu2 through menu99 Menua through MENUZZ menua through menu zz

If you are operating in a Multi-Language environment the system prompts you through the languages. For more information, see Library Maintenance (Delete Library) in this document.

The system prompts:

Is the displayed information correct?

Select one of the following:

Y

Displays or prints the listing.

N

Allows you to make corrections or exit without listing.

The system then displays or prints the listing, which includes the following information.

Definition Listing Sample

Press F4 or Enter to exit the list. The system displays the definition listing screen so that you can select another listing.

Definition Print

Use this function is to print definition reports. Definition reports are copies of the actual definitions, containing all of the header, detail, and editor information. These reports are used primarily in design of definitions and as an aid for Definition Maintenance.

If you are operating in a Multi-Language environment see the Dictionary-IV Administrator Guide.

Select 3-Print from the Dictionary-IV Development Menu. The system prompts:

Select printer (LP,P1, Pn):

LP, P1, Pn

is the name of the printer.

For more information, see Printing in the Dictionary-IV User Guide. Type the name of the printer and press Enter.

Print Options for All Classes

Enter the following information:

Definition Report
Select the Class to list or type A for all Classes. Press Enter.

Library
Type the Library name for which you want definitions printed and press Enter.

Print everything?
Select one of the following:

Y

Prints all definitions in the Library. You cannot select a range or mask.

N

Positions the cursor at the next field.

from definition
Type the name of the first definition in the range to print and press Enter. The default is First.

to definition Type the name of the last definition in the range to print and press Enter. The default is Last. If you enter a name in the “from library” field and press Enter in this field, the system repeats the definition name. This allows you to print one definition.

using name mask Type from 1 to 6 alphanumeric characters for the mask to use. Then press Enter. The default is None.

For a description of using a name mask see Definition List in this document.

If you are operating in a Multi-Language environment the system prompts you through the languages. For more information, see Library Maintenance (Delete Library) in this document.

The system prompts:

Is the displayed information correct?

Select one of the following:

Y

Prints the report or provides print options. For more information, see Print Options by Class.

N

Allows you to make corrections or exit without printing.

Print Options by Class

Depending upon the report, the following print options are available:

• Summary or detail report.
• Print with on-line help documentation.
• Print with passwords.
• Definition-specific options.

If at any time you want to interrupt the printing, press the Esc key (on some systems, the Del key), and you will be asked if you want to interrupt the printing.

Formats
The system prompts:

S-Summary

D-Detail

Select one of the following:

S-Summary

Prints the report without the variable-length parameters (valid entries, default values, delete record, security, message, pre-processing, post-processing, and audit).

D-Detail

Prints the report with the variable-length parameters.

The system then prompts (for both summary and detail):

Do you want to print on-line help documentation?

Select one of the following:

Y

Prints the on-line help documentation associated with each Data Name.

N

Does not print on-line help documentation.

The system prompts:

Print data-name descriptions: Selected languages

Select one of the following:

None

Does not print the Data Name descriptions.

Selected languages

Prints the Data Name descriptions.

The system prints the report to the selected printer.

Screens
The system prompts:

S-Standard

W-Windows

Select one of the following:

S-Standard

Prints the standard screens only (non-windows).

W-Windows

Prints the window screens only.

If you

are operating in a Multi-Language environment the system prompts you through the

languages. For more information, see Library Maintenance (Delete Library) in this document.

The system then prompts (for both standard and window screens):

S-Summary

D-Detail

Select one of the following:

S-Summary

Prints the report without formulas and screen display codes.

D-Detail

Prints the report with formulas and screen display codes. It also prints the associated link report and summary report.

The system prints the report to the selected printer.

Views
The system prompts:

S-Summary

D-Detail

Select one of the following:

S-Summary

Prints the view without the associated link report summary format report.

D-Detail

Prints the report with the associated link report summary format report.

If you

are operating in a Multi-Language environment the system prompts you through the

languages. For more information, see Library Maintenance (Delete Library) in this document.

The system prints the report to the selected printer.

Links
The system prints the Links report to the selected printer.

Menus
The system prompts:

S-Summary

D-Detail

Select one of the following:

S-Summary

Prints the menu without the associated screen.

D-Detail

Prints the report with the associated screen report.

The system then prompts (for both summary and detail):

Do you want to print on-line help documentation?

Select one of the following:

Y

Prints the on-line help documentation.

N

Does not print the on-line help documentation.

The system prints the report to the selected printer.

Messages
The system prompts:

1-Prompt/Constant

2-NonInput 3-Yes/No 4-Input

A-All

Select the type of message or All messages. The system prompts:

S-Summary

D-Detail

Select one of the following:

S-Summary

Prints the messages report without parameters and without the option for printing on-line help documentation.

D-Detail

Prints the messages report with parameters and the option to print on-line help documentation.

If you

are operating in a Multi-Language environment the system prompts you through the

languages. For more information, see Library Maintenance (Delete Library) in this document.

The system prints the report to the selected printer.

Help
The system prompts:

S-Standard

W-Windows

Select one of the following:

S-Standard

Prints the help report for standard Help definitions (non-window).

W-Windows

Prints the help report for window Help definitions.

If you

are operating in a Multi-Language environment the system prompts you through the

languages. For more information, see Library Maintenance (Delete Library) in this document.

The system prints the report to the selected printer.

Global Dictionary
The system prints the Global Dictionary report to the selected printer.

Script
The system prompts:

1-Primary 2-Cont 3-Overlay 4-FM Pre/Post 5-Copy 6-Public A-All

Select the type of script or A-All scripts. The system prompts:

INCLUDE Command Statements: Bypass

Include

Select one of the following:

Bypass

Does not merge INCLUDE scripts.

Includes

Merges INCLUDE scripts into the report.

For more information, see the Script-IV Language Reference Manual.

The system prints the report to the selected printer.

Report
The system prompts:

Do you want to include formulas?

Select one of the following:

Y

Prints any formulas that exist in the selected reports.

N

Does not print formulas in the selected reports.

If you

are operating in a Multi-Language environment the system prompts you through the

languages. For more information, see Library Maintenance (Delete Library) in this document.

The system prints the report to the selected printer.

Query If you are operating in a Multi-Language environment the system prompts you through the languages. For more information, see Library Maintenance (Delete Library) in this document.

The system prints the Query report to the selected printer.

Definition Naming Guidelines

File names consist of the Library Name and Definition Name.

Definition names may be from 3 to 8 characters long. Characters one and two are the Library name. Characters three through eight are the definition name.

The valid characters are numbers and upper and lowercase alphanumeric characters. For more information, see Library Maintenance in this document.

Library Name

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789

Examples:

PL	Incorrect – Must be at least 3 characters.
PLTEST>	Incorrect – The > is not allowed.
PL Test	Incorrect – The space is not allowed.
PL1	Correct
PLTEST	Correct
PLTEST1	Correct – This name is different than pltest1.

All definition names within a Class are unique, but definitions in different Classes can have the same name.

Examples:
Format Class	Screen Class	View Class
ARCUSMAS	ARCUSMAS	ARCUSMAS
ARPROS1	ARCUSADR	ARCUSADR
ARPROS2	ARPRSPCT	ARPRSADR

If you are going to develop a large application, it is strongly recommended that you develop naming conventions for your definitions. This consistency will help you identify and maintain definitions. You may wish to use the same, or a similar, name for definitions that are related.

If you enter a format name at database maintenance, the screen, view, link, and file names are automatically created for you with the same name as the format. This feature helps you to identify related database definitions by keeping the names the same.

It is also a good idea to reserve the last character of the name for numbering related definitions. For example:

Name	Description
MKFPMF1	Marketing: Prospect Master File Format
MKSPMF1	Marketing: Prospect Master File Screen
MKVPMF1	Marketing: Prospect Master File View
MKFPMF2	Marketing: Hot Prospects File Format
MKSPMF2	Marketing: Hot Prospects File Screen
MKVPMF2	Marketing: Hot Prospects File View
MKPPMF2	Marketing: Hot Prospects File Script
MKKFPWF1	Marketing: Prospect Work File Format
MKSPWF1	Marketing: Prospect Work File Screen
MKVPWF1	Marketing: Prospect Work File View
MKRPWF1	Marketing: Prospect Work File Report

Below is a naming convention you may wish to implement.

L L T N N N	N S
LL	specifies	the Library name.
	T	specifies the definition type (see below).
	F	format
	S	screen
	V	view
	L	link
	M	message Dictionary
	H	help
	P	Script (Procedure)
	Q	Query (Query-IV)
	R	Report (Report-IV)
	B	BASIC Program (3GL)

NNNN specifies the module name (definition descriptor).

S

specifies the definition suffix (see below). 0-9 Physical formats (for a data file). Physical screens (for screen Database Maintenance). Physical views (for view Database Maintenance). A-Z Logical formats (not associated with a data file). Report Parameters. Views used in the PRINT VIEW command in scripts. Other Definitions not associated with a data file.

Note: A blank character is a valid character in path and file names.

From the Dictionary-IV Developer Guide, version 8.9.1. Open this page in the PDF