Getting started with 4gl

Yahoo Archive
1
Patrick,

I went through the same problem 6 months ago, and it was through the help of
people like Wayne where it was concluded that passing a variable causes the
record selection to occur on the PC. I guess for some reports the
difference isn't that great, but I found it unacceptable (ie slower than
Crystal). The suggestion of overwriting the filter solves the problem. The
code I use is something like :-

cFilter = "Project.Company = 'ContConv' and " +
"Project.ProjectID = '" + STRING(cProjectNumber:SCREEN-VALUE) + "'".

IF bPreview:SCREEN-VALUE = "Yes" THEN
cPrnDestination = "D".
ELSE
cPrnDestination = "".

lReturnValue = winRB:LOAD-MOUSE-POINTER("WAIT").

RUN t:\progress\gui\aderb\_printrb(
"t:\vantage\ud\An Example.prl", /* RB-REPORT-LIBRARY */
"Project Data Sheet", /* RB-REPORT-NAME */
"", /* RB-DB-CONNECTION */
"O", /* RB-INCLUDE-RECORDS */
cFilter, /* RB-FILTER */
"", /* RB-MEMO-FILE */
cPrnDestination, /* RB-PRINT-DESTINATION */
"", /* RB-PRINTER-NAME */
"", /* RB-PRINTER-PORT */
"", /* RB-OUTPUT-FILE */
0, /* RB-NUMBER-COPIES - zero */
0, /* RB-BEGIN-PAGE - zero */
0, /* RB-END-PAGE - zero */
no, /* RB-TEST-PATTERN */
"", /* RB-WINDOW-TITLE */
yes, /* RB-DISPLAY-ERRORS */
yes, /* RB-DISPLAY-STATUS */
no, /* RB-NO-WAIT */
cVars). /* RB-OTHER-PARAMETERS */

Michael
-----Original Message-----
From: Winter, Patrick [mailto:pjw@...]
Sent: Friday, 19 April 2002 10:26 PM
To: 'vantage@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [Vantage] RE: GETTING STARTED WITH 4GL


I was following an sample source code posted on the list. Can you explain
the difference between passing vs overwrite? I do not know the difference or
that their was another way.

Patrick

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Miles [mailto:mmiles@...]
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 4:15 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Vantage] RE: GETTING STARTED WITH 4GL


Instead of passing a parameter, overwrite the filter

----- Original Message -----
From: "Winter, Patrick" <pjw@...>


> The slowness seems to be from passing parameters.





Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must have
already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
(1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
(2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
(3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/



Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must have
already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
(1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
(2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
(3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
2
Create a shortcut with the following command line:

V:\DLCSRV\bin\prowin32.exe -db V:\vantage\db\vantage.db -N TCP -S EPIC51 -H
VANTAGESERVER -p _edit.p

Change V: to your mapped vantage drive letter
If you are still on vantage 3 Change vantage.db to dcdv7.db

Leave EPIC51 as is if you are running vantage 5.1 If you are running
vantage 5.0, it would be EPIC50, if you are running vantage 4 its EPICOR,
and vantage 3, its VNTGSERV.

Change VANTAGESERVER to the network name of your vantage server.

_edit.p launches the procedure editor (leave as is). Once you have written
a program, you can create a duplicate shortcut and change this argument to
the path of that program. Just make sure you place a QUIT statement at the
end of the procedure.

I created a directory outside of the vantage directory for my custom
programs. Change the working directory to that custom directory.


Check out:
http://www.progress.com/v9/documentation/start.htm

Start with the Language Tutorial, and also download the Language Reference,
and Programmer's Handbook. Check out the sample code on the files page.

www.global-shared.com and www.dotr.com have some nice examples. www.peg.com
has some mailing lists that would be of great assistance.

Thaddeus Jacobs
Information Solutions Developer
Kinematic Automation, Inc.
mailto:tjacobs@...


-----Original Message-----
From: All American Products [mailto:miket@...]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 8:54 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Vantage] Report Builder


Do you need to have any programming tools to do programming in 4GL ?
I would really like to get going with 4GL but don't know where to start
from.

Mike Tonoyan / All American Products Co.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Watts" <andy@...>
To: <vantage@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 1:39 AM
Subject: [Vantage] Report Builder


> Hi all,
>
> I have something to share with anyone interested in it!
>
> I use Report Builder for a number of reports that look through too much
data for equivalent Crystal/ODBC report to run quickly enough. As most will
know, RB reports are pretty fast, but don't provide a simple and easy way to
ask the user for parameters - I don't like them fiddling around with the
report filters, because the average user doesn't understand the syntax and
doesn't WANT to understand it either!
>
> There is a neat way around this though! I now use small Progress 4GL
programs to present the user with a little dialogue box that asks for those
parameters, then calls up the appropriate report and runs it - from the
user's point of view it's very simple and safe! It takes a little working
out if you're unfamiliar with 4GL, but it's NOT DIFFICULT, and it works very
well!
>
> I've posted a small (14k) file on www.ripley-eng.co.uk (the Vantage tab on
the navigation bar) that contains a sample RB report, a 4GL program that
calls it up, and a quick guide to making it work. Please take a look, you
might find it useful! I would appreciate any comments about it very much,
good or bad. I will post a slightly more complex example at some point too.
>
> I have to say thanks very much to Lonnie Drew and Steve Sanders of the
U.S. users' group for getting me started on using 4GL for this purpose -
thanks guys!!
>
> A reminder too that also on www.ripley-eng.co.uk are a number of Crystal
Reports for the most important forms - P/O's, invoices, travellers, etc. -
all v7 reports but soon to be updated to v8. And a common printed sheet
design that all of the reports fit onto! Might save someone some designing
time :-)
>
> Thanks,
>
> ++ Andy Watts
>
> ++ Ripley Engineering Ltd
> ++ Tel: 01256-473940
> ++ Fax: 01256-479991
> ++ mailto: andy@...
>
>
>
> Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must
have already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
> (1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
> (2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
> (3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>



Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must have
already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
(1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
(2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
(3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
3
Do you see any performace loss this way or with adding things to the menu
such as Andy describes. When adding Andy's report to my menu structure and
running it the report runs at least 10 times slower. Any ideas? Also Andy's
source code has his drive letters imbedded, any fixes for this?

Patrick

-----Original Message-----
From: Thad Jacobs [mailto:tjacobs@...]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 12:27 PM
To: 'vantage@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: [Vantage] GETTING STARTED WITH 4GL


Create a shortcut with the following command line:

V:\DLCSRV\bin\prowin32.exe -db V:\vantage\db\vantage.db -N TCP -S EPIC51 -H
VANTAGESERVER -p _edit.p

Change V: to your mapped vantage drive letter
If you are still on vantage 3 Change vantage.db to dcdv7.db

Leave EPIC51 as is if you are running vantage 5.1 If you are running
vantage 5.0, it would be EPIC50, if you are running vantage 4 its EPICOR,
and vantage 3, its VNTGSERV.

Change VANTAGESERVER to the network name of your vantage server.

_edit.p launches the procedure editor (leave as is). Once you have written
a program, you can create a duplicate shortcut and change this argument to
the path of that program. Just make sure you place a QUIT statement at the
end of the procedure.

I created a directory outside of the vantage directory for my custom
programs. Change the working directory to that custom directory.


Check out:
http://www.progress.com/v9/documentation/start.htm

Start with the Language Tutorial, and also download the Language Reference,
and Programmer's Handbook. Check out the sample code on the files page.

www.global-shared.com and www.dotr.com have some nice examples. www.peg.com
has some mailing lists that would be of great assistance.

Thaddeus Jacobs
Information Solutions Developer
Kinematic Automation, Inc.
mailto:tjacobs@...


-----Original Message-----
From: All American Products [mailto:miket@...]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 8:54 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Vantage] Report Builder


Do you need to have any programming tools to do programming in 4GL ?
I would really like to get going with 4GL but don't know where to start
from.

Mike Tonoyan / All American Products Co.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Watts" <andy@...>
To: <vantage@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 1:39 AM
Subject: [Vantage] Report Builder


> Hi all,
>
> I have something to share with anyone interested in it!
>
> I use Report Builder for a number of reports that look through too much
data for equivalent Crystal/ODBC report to run quickly enough. As most will
know, RB reports are pretty fast, but don't provide a simple and easy way to
ask the user for parameters - I don't like them fiddling around with the
report filters, because the average user doesn't understand the syntax and
doesn't WANT to understand it either!
>
> There is a neat way around this though! I now use small Progress 4GL
programs to present the user with a little dialogue box that asks for those
parameters, then calls up the appropriate report and runs it - from the
user's point of view it's very simple and safe! It takes a little working
out if you're unfamiliar with 4GL, but it's NOT DIFFICULT, and it works very
well!
>
> I've posted a small (14k) file on www.ripley-eng.co.uk (the Vantage tab on
the navigation bar) that contains a sample RB report, a 4GL program that
calls it up, and a quick guide to making it work. Please take a look, you
might find it useful! I would appreciate any comments about it very much,
good or bad. I will post a slightly more complex example at some point too.
>
> I have to say thanks very much to Lonnie Drew and Steve Sanders of the
U.S. users' group for getting me started on using 4GL for this purpose -
thanks guys!!
>
> A reminder too that also on www.ripley-eng.co.uk are a number of Crystal
Reports for the most important forms - P/O's, invoices, travellers, etc. -
all v7 reports but soon to be updated to v8. And a common printed sheet
design that all of the reports fit onto! Might save someone some designing
time :-)
>
> Thanks,
>
> ++ Andy Watts
>
> ++ Ripley Engineering Ltd
> ++ Tel: 01256-473940
> ++ Fax: 01256-479991
> ++ mailto: andy@...
>
>
>
> Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must
have already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
> (1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
> (2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
> (3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>



Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must have
already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
(1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
(2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
(3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/



Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must have
already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
(1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
(2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
(3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
4
At 04:19 PM 4/16/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Do you see any performace loss this way or with adding things to the menu
>such as Andy describes. When adding Andy's report to my menu structure and
>running it the report runs at least 10 times slower. Any ideas?

It's been a while since I went digging for this... but I think it's
related to using the other-parameters option in the RB interface. IIRC, it
can cause RB to have to process the data at the client, rather than on the
server. It's detailed somewhere in the "Report Builder Deployment Guide"

-Wayne
5
At 04:19 PM 4/16/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Do you see any performace loss this way or with adding things to the menu
>such as Andy describes. When adding Andy's report to my menu structure and
>running it the report runs at least 10 times slower. Any ideas?

Also, don't forget that the code has to fire up the report builder engine before it can run the report, which naturally takes longer than running a report with RB loaded already.

>Do you need to have any programming tools to do programming in 4GL ?
>I would really like to get going with 4GL but don't know where to start
>from.

Everything I've used comes with the Vantage package already, the instructions in the zip download on our website cover what to use, and where to get further reference guides. If I can do it, anyone can :-)

++ Andy Watts

++ Ripley Engineering Ltd
++ Tel: 01256-473940
++ Fax: 01256-479991
++ mailto: andy@...
6
But reports linked to the menu from within Vantage run faster an also have
to start up the report builder engine. The slowness seems to be from passing
parameters.

-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Watts [mailto:andy@...]
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 3:02 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] RE: GETTING STARTED WITH 4GL


At 04:19 PM 4/16/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Do you see any performace loss this way or with adding things to the menu
>such as Andy describes. When adding Andy's report to my menu structure and
>running it the report runs at least 10 times slower. Any ideas?

Also, don't forget that the code has to fire up the report builder engine
before it can run the report, which naturally takes longer than running a
report with RB loaded already.
7
Instead of passing a parameter, overwrite the filter

----- Original Message -----
From: "Winter, Patrick" <pjw@...>


> The slowness seems to be from passing parameters.
8
I was following an sample source code posted on the list. Can you explain
the difference between passing vs overwrite? I do not know the difference or
that their was another way.

Patrick

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Miles [mailto:mmiles@...]
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 4:15 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Vantage] RE: GETTING STARTED WITH 4GL


Instead of passing a parameter, overwrite the filter

----- Original Message -----
From: "Winter, Patrick" <pjw@...>


> The slowness seems to be from passing parameters.





Useful links for the Yahoo!Groups Vantage Board are: ( Note: You must have
already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access. )
(1) To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/.
(2) To search through old msg's goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/messages
(3) To view links to Vendors that provide Vantage services goto:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/links

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/