Specifications

4
User Interface Tools for OpenVMS Applications
This chapter describes the Digital tools available for creating user interfaces for
applications that run only on OpenVMS systems. Digital tools for creating user
interfaces for portable applications, including graphical user interface tools, are
described in Chapter 2.
The following tools are described in this chapter:
• DIGITAL Command Language (DCL)
• Command Definition utility
• Message utility
• DECforms
4.1 DIGITAL Command Language
DIGITAL Command Language (DCL) commands can be used to invoke program
development software (compilers, editors, and linkers) and to run and control
the execution of programs. DCL command procedures can be used to perform
repetitive operations in software development. For more information, see the
documentation listed in Table 4–1.
Table 4–1 More Information on DCL Commands and Their Use
For more information on... Refer to...
DCL commands, qualifiers, and options OpenVMS DCL Dictionary
How to use DCL Commands OpenVMS User’s Manual
4.2 Command Definition Utility
The Command Definition utility (CDU) enables application developers to create
commands with a syntax similar to OpenVMS DCL commands that are executed
at the DCL level. Using CDU, the developer can create applications with user
interfaces similar to those of operating system applications.
The Command Definition utility (CDU) creates, deletes, or changes command
definitions in a command table. Command tables are data structures created by
the CDU and used by the Command Language Interpreter (CLI) to parse and
evaluate DCL commands.
There are two types of command tables: system command tables used to parse
system commands and process command tables used to parse process-specific
commands. The CDU creates command tables from command definition files,
from existing command tables, or from a combination of these sources. The new
tables can be either executable code or object modules.
4–1