Dictionary/3000 Reference Manual (32244-90001)

36 Chapter3

Using the DICTDBM Commands

Using Command to Deﬁne Procedures

Note that Dictionary/3000 will not allow you to document recursive procedures. That is, if

a procedure has been documented as a CHILD of another procedure, Dictionary/3000 will

not allow you to specify that other procedure as a CHILD of the ﬁrst one.

The following description outlines the steps involved when you use the DICTDBM

commands to deﬁne procedures. A complete description including examples for all the

commands is given in Section IV of this manual.

Creating Data Elements and Procedures

The method for creating procedures and data elements is similar to creating ﬁles and data

elements for a database. To deﬁne them, use the command string CREATE PROCEDURE

or CREATE ELEMENT. An element or a procedure must be deﬁned in your Dictionary

before you can associate it with or relate it to another entry. The name used for the

procedure or the element must be unique. Use the REPEAT option before the command

string to create deﬁnitions for more than one procedure or element without having to

reenter the command.

After the entries have been created, you can use the LIST or DISPLAY commands to

display those entries. If you want to delete an entry, use the PURGE command. To change

an entry, use either the MODIFY command or the RENAME command.

Relating Procedures to Procedures

Procedures may be related to other procedures by establishing a hierarchical relationship

between the procedures with the RELATE command. Use the command string RELATE

PROCEDURE to deﬁne this relationship. This command allows more than one CHILD

procedure to be related to a PARENT procedure during the command cycle. If

relationships are to be established for more than one PARENT procedure, use the

REPEAT option with the command string.

Relationship entries can be displayed by using the SHOW command. For a PARENT

procedure, the SHOW command displays the data elements associated with it, the CHILD

procedures related to it, and optionally, the data elements associated with each CHILD.

For a CHILD procedure, only the data elements associated with it are displayed. The

elements are displayed in the physical order of their association with the procedure, and

the CHILD procedures are displayed in the physical order they were related to the

PARENT procedure.

The REPORT command can be used to display an alphabetized list of the elements used by

a procedure. It can also be used to show the CHILD procedures used by the PARENT

procedure.

To delete the relationship between entries use the REMOVE command. To change the

relationship, use the CHANGE command. To change the physical order in which the

CHILD procedures are related to the PARENT procedure, use the REORDER command.