High-Level Screen Management Intrinsic Library Reference Manual (32424-90002)
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In the second way, you code your application to specify that you want the
contents of the data buffer handled according to specifications in the
forms file. This is the indirect method, which takes advantage of the
Application-ready Buffer (ARB).
Each of these six methods is discussed in detail in Chapter 4.
The Application-ready Buffer. The purpose of the ARB is to represent
data as the application expects to use it, and not necessarily as it
appears on the screen. For example, a given application may have one
arrangement of fields on the screen that corresponds to data entry
needs,
and a different internal arrangement that corresponds to file storage
layout. In addition, some of the screen data, always in character
format, may need to be converted and stored in non-character formats for
subsequent processing. Finally, the application's internal buffer may
contain data fields that are not for display on the operator's terminal,
such as dataset search items (keys) or system checksums.
You can use the ARB to accomplish the data remapping, type conversions,
and masking required by your application, instead of having to write
application code for these purposes. Use the ARB menus in FORMSPEC/V to
specify the necessary data manipulations. Whether or not you choose to
use the ARB method for managing data transfers between your application
and its associated forms depends on the specific requirements of your
application.
For complete information about the Application-ready Buffer, see the
HP
Forms Management (VPLUS/V) Reference Manual
(Part No. 32209-90001).
Data Types
Table 2-1 shows the data types and structures that are used in Hi-Li
intrinsics.
Table 2-1. Data Types and Structures
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| FORMSPEC | COBOL | Pascal | FORTRAN |
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| CHAR | X | Packed array | CHAR *_ |
| | | CHAR [.._] | |
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| YYDDMM | X(6) | as above | CHAR *6xx |
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| ZONEn | 9(_).n | --- | --- |
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| PACKn | 9(_)Vn COMP-3 | --- | --- |
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| SPACKn | S9(-)Vn COMP-3 | --- | --- |
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| REAL | --- | REAL | REAL |
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| LONG | --- | LONG | Double |
||||Precision |
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| INT | S9(4) COMP | Subrange | Integer **2 |