Posted by Jon Sacks on May 24, 2007 at 11:28:17:
In Reply to: Attention Report Generator and Data Express Users!! posted by Barbara Brazil on May 21, 2007 at 14:47:08:
1. The global d00 is a must!
2. The report generator should be aware of keys in general, the keyrange statement is great but asking the reporter to get data from a file (i.e. SELECTING) where a field(s) are the key (or alternate key) allows the system to use the key tree instead of sequential reads. The reporter should become key aware!
3. Allow us to create stored functions, create a global stored function library that we can call on. These would use current functions in the language but would have a reserve variable name. For instance, in my system we use a brand code to prefix every SKU in our system for 2 bytes, I would like to use a field %BRAND% that is found in a library that uses the expression SUB(ITEM.NUMBER,1,2), this way I do not have to define it in every report or in every .d00 as an expression.
4. Keyed file output, I would like to specify PRINTER OUTPUT,DSK,189,K,12,KEY=CUSTOMER.NUMBER+ITEM.NUMBER
5. Add Prompting for values, example: SELECTING IF ORDER.DATE GE %PROMPT,Enter Date yymmdd,6%. The interface would then prompt the user for an entry displaying the message with an input box of 6 bytes.
6. Add a new command HEADING allow us to manipulate the column headings, the line would read HEADING [value],[value]...., this would be very helpful so we do not have to redefine fields just to get a different heading in a delimited file.
7. Handle the build of the record set from the select statement on the server side, this would eliminate I/O between the work station and the server to execute the select. Only deliver the found set to the client.
8. Allow for the build of a .d00 from a report file based on the PRINT line. This would allow you to run a 2nd report from a found set of data without needing to define a new .d00.
JSACKS<<