ASK SYSTEM, PASS: SUCCESS num_var
10 OPEN #1: NAME 'report.lis', ACCESS OUTPUT
PRINT #1: 'sample report'
CLOSE #1
PASS 'PRINT/HOLD REPORT.LIS'
ASK SYSTEM, PASS: SUCCESS okay
IF okay THEN
PRINT 'Report queued for printing'
ELSE
PRINT 'Unable to queue report for printing'
END IF
20 END
RNH
Report queued for printing
This statement asks the operating system to return a TRUE (1) if true or FALSE (0) if false indicating whether or not the last PASS command executed successfully.
ASK SYSTEM: PROCESS str_var
10 ASK SYSTEM: PROCESS process$
20 PRINT 'Process is: '; process$
30 END
RNH
Process is: TESTER_13B_3
ASK SYSTEM: PROCESS str_var asks the operating system for the current process name.
SET SYSTEM: PROCESS str_expr
10 ASK SYSTEM: PROCESS process$
curr_process$ = process$
PRINT 'Current process is: '; curr_process$
20 new_process$ = 'DO_TEST'
SET SYSTEM: PROCESS new_process$
ASK SYSTEM: PROCESS process$
PRINT 'New process is: '; process$
30 SET SYSTEM: PROCESS curr_process$
ASK SYSTEM: PROCESS process$
PRINT 'Old process restored: '; process$
40 END
RNH
Current process is: TESTER_13B_3
New process is: DO_TEST
Old process restored: TESTER_13B_3
SET SYSTEM: PROCESS str_expr changes the operating system process name to str_expr.
ASK SYSTEM: RIGHTS str_var
10 ASK SYSTEM: RIGHTS process_rights$
PRINT 'Your process rights are: '; process_rights$
20 END
RNH
Your process rights are: FAST_ACCESS,TEST_ACCESS
ASK SYSTEM: RIGHTS asks the operating system to return a list of the rights explicitly granted to the calling process.
9.15.13 ASK SYSTEM, SYMBOL: VALUE
ASK SYSTEM, SYMBOL str_expr: VALUE str_var
10 ASK SYSTEM, SYMBOL 'INTOUCH': VALUE symbol$
PRINT 'Value of symbol INTOUCH is: '; symbol$
20 END
RNH
Value of symbol INTOUCH is: $intouch_image:
This statement asks the operating system to translate the symbol name in str_expr and place the result into the variable specified by str_var.
9.15.14 SET SYSTEM, SYMBOL: VALUE
SET SYSTEM, SYMBOL str_expr1: VALUE str_expr2
10 SET SYSTEM, SYMBOL 'mysym': VALUE 'hello'
ASK SYSTEM, SYMBOL 'mysym': VALUE z$
PRINT 'Symbol set to '; z$
20 END
RNH
Symbol set to HELLO
This statement sets the operating system symbol name in str_expr1 to the value in str_expr2.
ASK SYSTEM: USER str_var
10 ASK SYSTEM : USER uname$
20 PRINT 'User is: '; uname$
30 END
RNH
User is: TESTER
This statement returns the operating system name or ID for the user. Under VMS this is the Username.
There are various ASK WINDOW and SET WINDOW statements. These are described in the following sections. The ASK/SET WINDOW statements ask about and reset different screen features.
ASK WINDOW AREA row, col, row, col: DATA str_var
10 CLEAR
20 PRINT AT 10, 4: 'Mary had a';
PRINT AT 11, 4: 'little lamb';
30 ASK WINDOW AREA 10, 4, 11, 15: DATA x$
40 PRINT
PRINT x$
50 END
RNH
Mary had a
little lamb
Mary had a
little lamb
This statement reads the text displayed on the screen within the area defined by the given upper-left/lower-right coordinates into a string variable, str_var. The coordinates are specified by upper-left row, upper-left column, lower-right row, lower-right column. The statement returns a <LF> delimited string. No screen attributes are stored.
SET WINDOW AREA row, col, row, col: DATA str_expr
10 CLEAR
20 x$ = 'Mary had a' + chr$(10) + 'little lamb'
30 SET WINDOW AREA 6, 5, 7, 15: DATA x$
40 END
RNH
Mary had a
little lamb
This statement sets the screen within the area defined by the given upper-left/lower-right coordinates to the specified string. This is the mirror image of ASK WINDOW AREA row, col, row, col: DATA str_var.
ASK WINDOW: COLUMN num_var
10 CLEAR
PRINT AT 5,10:;
20 ASK WINDOW: COLUMN cur_col
30 PRINT 'Cursor is at column'; cur_col
40 END
RNH
Cursor is at column 10
This statement returns the current column of the cursor's position.
SET WINDOW: COLUMN num_expr
10 CLEAR
PRINT AT 5,10:;
20 SET WINDOW: COLUMN 4
30 PRINT 'Hi!'
40 END
RNH
Hi!
This statement positions the cursor at the num_expr column within the current row.
9.16.5 ASK | SET WINDOW: CURRENT
ASK WINDOW: CURRENT str_var
SET WINDOW: CURRENT str_var
10 CLEAR
PRINT AT 1,20, UNDERLINE: 'Sample screen'
20 DO
LINE INPUT 'Name', AT 5,1, LENGTH 30: name$
IF _BACK OR _EXIT THEN EXIT DO
IF _HELP THEN
ASK WINDOW: CURRENT old_w$
CLEAR AREA BOX: 1, 5, 10, 50
PRINT AT 3, 10, REVERSE: 'This is some help'
DELAY
SET WINDOW: CURRENT old_w$
REPEAT DO
END IF
30 END DO
40 END
RNH
+--------------------------------------------+
| |
| This is some help |
| |
Name| |
| |
| |
+--------------------------------------------+
Press the RETURN key to continue
ASK WINDOW: CURRENT and SET WINDOW: CURRENT allow you to save the image of the current screen and later restore it easily. This is useful for help messages and menus, where you must temporarily change the screen and then want to restore it back to what it was.
ASK WINDOW: DATA str_var
10 CLEAR
20 PRINT AT 10, 4: 'Mary had a';
PRINT AT 11, 4: 'little lamb';
30 ASK WINDOW: DATA x$
40 PRINT
50 PRINT x$
60 END
RNH
Mary had a
little lamb
.
.
.
Mary had a
little lamb
This statement reads the text displayed on the whole screen into a string variable. The statement returns a <LF> delimited string. No screen attributes are stored.
SET WINDOW: DATA str_expr
10 CLEAR
20 x$ = 'Mary had a' + chr$(10) + 'little lamb'
30 SET WINDOW: DATA x$
40 END
RNH
Mary had a
little lamb
This statement sets the whole screen to the specified string. This is the mirror image of ASK WINDOW: DATA str_var.
9.16.8 ASK | SET WINDOW: KEYMAP
ASK WINDOW: KEYMAP str_var
SET WINDOW: KEYMAP str_expr
10 PRINT 'Save the current keymap, reset keymap to default value.'
ASK WINDOW: KEYMAP old_keymap$
SET WINDOW: KEYMAP ''
PRINT 'Changing DOWN key to be the EXIT key'
SET WINDOW KEYSTROKE 'down': VALUE '_exit'
LINE INPUT 'Press the DOWN key': down$
PRINT 'Changing dollar sign key to *'
SET WINDOW KEYSTROKE '$': VALUE '*'
LINE INPUT 'Press the dollar sign key, then RETURN': e$
PRINT 'Restore saved keymap'
SET WINDOW: KEYMAP old_keymap$
LINE INPUT 'Press the DOWN key': down$
LINE INPUT 'Press the dollar sign key, then RETURN' : e$
20 END
RNH
Save the current keymap, reset keymap to default value.
Changing DOWN key to be the EXIT key
Press the DOWN key? EXIT
Changing dollar sign key to *
Press the dollar sign key, then RETURN? *
Restore saved keymap
Press the DOWN key?
Press the dollar sign key, then RETURN? $
INTOUCH
To allow a generalized routine to save the current keymap, change the meaning of keys, and then restore the original keymap when done.
ASK WINDOW: KEYMAP and SET WINDOW: KEYMAP allow you to save the image of the keymap and later restore it. This is helpful for applications where you must temporarily change the meaning of the keys using the SET WINDOW KEYSTROKE statement. You can restore the keymap to its default setting by using SET WINDOW: KEYMAP.
9.16.9 SET WINDOW KEYSTROKE: VALUE
SET WINDOW KEYSTROKE str_expr1: VALUE str_expr2
10 PRINT 'Saving the current keymap.'
ASK WINDOW: KEYMAP old_keymap$
SET WINDOW: KEYMAP ''
PRINT 'Changing DOWN key to be the EXIT key'
SET WINDOW KEYSTROKE 'down': VALUE '_exit'
LINE INPUT 'Press the DOWN key': down$
PRINT 'Changing dollar sign key to *'
SET WINDOW KEYSTROKE '$': VALUE '*'
LINE INPUT 'Press the dollar sign key, then RETURN': e$
PRINT 'Restoring saved keymap.'
SET WINDOW: KEYMAP old_keymap$
LINE INPUT 'Press the DOWN key': down$
LINE INPUT 'Press the dollar sign key, then RETURN' : e$
20 END
RNH
Saving the current keymap.
Changing DOWN key to be the EXIT key
Press the DOWN key? EXIT
Changing dollar sign key to *
Press the dollar sign key, then RETURN? *
Restoring saved keymap.
Press the DOWN key?
Press the dollar sign key, then RETURN? $
INTOUCH
SET WINDOW KEYSTROKE allows you to change the meaning of a keystroke within an INTOUCH program. This allows you to completely redefine the keyboard for a given application.
str_expr1 describes the name of the key that you want to change. It can be a single keystroke name, or a comma separated list of names. Keystroke names can be a single letter, or the name of the letter (such as Tab, or Ctrl/Z).
str_expr2 defines the new meaning of the keystroke. A keystroke meaning consists of one or two components. The keystroke value, and the keystroke concept. For example, the Ctrl/Z key usually has a value of CHR$(26), and the concept of EXIT. The keystroke value and/or the keystroke concept can be changed. If changing both a value and a concept, separate the two with a comma. You can restore the original meaning of the key by using " ".
The following keystroke concepts are supported:
| Concept name | Description |
|---|---|
| _EXIT | an EXIT key |
| _BACK | a BACK key |
| _HELP | a HELP key |
| _IGNORE | ignore this keystroke |
| _INVALID | beep when pressed |
| _TERMINATOR | keystroke is a line terminator |
ASK WINDOW: ROW num_var
10 CLEAR
PRINT AT 5,10:;
20 ASK WINDOW: ROW cur_row
30 PRINT 'Cursor is at row'; cur_row
40 END
RNH
Cursor is at row 5
This statement returns the current row of the cursor's position.
SET WINDOW: ROW num_expr
10 CLEAR
20 SET WINDOW: ROW 3
30 PRINT 'Hi!'
40 END
RNH
Hi!
This statement positions the cursor at the num_expr row within the current column.
ASK WINDOW: TYPEAHEAD str_var
10 DO
GOSUB process
ASK WINDOW: TYPEAHEAD z$
IF POS(UCASE$(z$), 'STA') > 0 THEN GOSUB show_status
IF POS(z$, CHR$(26)) > 0 THEN EXIT DO
LOOP
STOP
ROUTINE process
DELAY 1 ! simulated processing
PRINT '.';
END ROUTINE
ROUTINE show_status
PRINT
PRINT 'Showing status'
SET WINDOW: TYPEAHEAD ''
END ROUTINE
20 END
RNH
....... (type STA)
showing status
....... (press CTRL/Z )
ASK WINDOW: TYPEAHEAD gets data from the typeahead buffer. You can use this statement to determine, for example, whether the user has typed Ctrl/Z or other special keystrokes. Asking for typeahead data does not lose what is already in the typeahead buffer.
SET WINDOW: TYPEAHEAD str_expr
10 SET WINDOW: TYPEAHEAD 'FRED' + CHR$(13)
INPUT 'Name': name$
PRINT name$
20 END
RNH
Name? FRED
FRED
SET WINDOW: TYPEAHEAD puts data into the typeahead buffer as though the user had typed the data in from the terminal.
9.17 ASK | SET ZONEWIDTH
9.17.1 ASK ZONEWIDTH
ASK ZONEWIDTH num_var
10 ASK ZONEWIDTH x
PRINT 'The current print zone width is'; x
20 END
RNH
The current print zone width is 20
ASK ZONEWIDTH finds the print zone width of the device specified and assigns the value to the numeric variable, num_var.
SET ZONEWIDTH num_expr
10 PRINT 1,2,3
20 SET ZONEWIDTH 10
PRINT 1,2,3
30 SET ZONEWIDTH 20
40 END
RNH
1 2 3
1 2 3
SET ZONEWIDTH sets the print zone width of the device specified to the number designated. num_expr indicates the width to set the device's print zones.
Arrays are a type of variable. They are used to store and manipulate tables of variable information. An array must be defined before it is used in a program. Array variables are described in Section 3.2.5.1, Arrays.
Arrays are dimensioned with a DIM statement. The REDIM statement can be used to redimension an array--that is, to change the dimensions of an array which has been defined with the DIM statement. The OPTION BASE statement changes the default low bound. By default, the low bound is 1.
About arrays:
DIM [INTEGER | REAL | STRING]
array_name ([int_expr TO] int_expr [, ...])
10 DIM name$(4)
20 FOR i = 1 TO 4
INPUT 'Enter a name': name$(i)
NEXT i
30 PRINT
40 FOR i = 1 TO 4
PRINT i; ' '; name$(i)
NEXT i
50 END
RNH
Enter a name? Jim
Enter a name? Jane
Enter a name? Bob
Enter a name? Betty
1 Jim
2 Jane
3 Bob
4 Betty
Use DIM to dimension arrays. Arrays are used to store tables of variable information. You must dimension an array before you can use it.
The simplest version of a DIM statement is:
DIM array_name(int_expr)
array_name is the name of the array being defined. The array name must meet the rules for variable names. int_expr is the high bound for the array---the highest element allowed in a dimension. The low bound is the lowest element allowed in a dimension. The low bound defaults to 1. For example:
DIM NAME$(4)
This statement defines a one-dimensional array with four elements:
NAME$(1)
NAME$(2)
NAME$(3)
NAME$(4)
Multiple Dimensions
An array can have up to 32 dimensions. A high bound must be specified for each dimension.
DIM array_name(int_expr [, int_expr, ...])
For example:
10 DIM name$(4,2)
This statement defines the following two-dimensional array:
NAME$(1,1) NAME$(1,2)
NAME$(2,1) NAME$(2,2)
NAME$(3,1) NAME$(3,2)
NAME$(4,1) NAME$(4,2)
Low Bounds
The low bound is the lowest element a dimension can have. Low bounds can be specified for each dimension of an array. If no low bound is specified, the default is 1. To specify a low bound, use the following format:
DIM array_name (int_ expr TO int_expr)
The number preceding TO is the low bound. For example:
10 DIM name$(4,18 TO 20)
This statement creates an array whose first dimension contains elements 1-4 and whose second dimension contains elements 18-20:
NAME$(1,18) NAME$(1,19) NAME$(1,20)
NAME$(2,18) NAME$(2,19) NAME$(2,20)
NAME$(3,18) NAME$(3,19) NAME$(3,20)
NAME$(4,18) NAME$(4,19) NAME$(4,20)
REDIM array_name (int_expr, int_expr...) ...
OR
REDIM array_name [( [int_expr TO] int_expr,
[int_expr TO] int_expr... )] ...
10 DIM name$(2)
INPUT 'How many names': num
REDIM name$(num)
20 FOR i = 1 TO num
INPUT 'Enter a name': name$(i)
NEXT i
30 DO
PRINT
FOR i = 1 TO num
IF name$(i) = '' THEN
PRINT i; ' '; 'empty slot'
ELSE
PRINT i; ' '; name$(i)
END IF
NEXT i
PRINT
INPUT 'How many names': num
IF _BACK or _EXIT THEN EXIT DO
REDIM name$(num)
LOOP
40 END
RNH
How many names? 3
Enter a name? Tim
Enter a name? Sammy
Enter a name? Fred
1 Tim
2 Sammy
3 Fred
How many names? 4
1 Tim
2 Sammy
3 Fred
4 empty slot
How many names? exit
The REDIM statement is used to change the size of an array.
REDIM redimensions arrays. REDIM can only be used on arrays that have already been dimensioned with the DIM statement. The REDIM statement has the same rules, options and limits as the DIM statement.
You can dynamically expand arrays as needed. If you REDIM a single dimension array or the first dimension of a multi dimensioned array to a larger size, the old values are kept. If you REDIM any array to a smaller size or REDIM two or more dimensions in a multi dimensioned array to a larger size, the old values are lost.
If your application depends on REDIM initializing all array values, change your code as follows:
Old Code: REDIM X(100)
New Code: REDIM X(1)
REDIM X(100)
The REDIM X(1) forces all array values to be initialized by the second REDIM statement.