Introduction to Data Management

Managing Records With ENSCRIBE
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If you have generated several ENABLE applications, you can integrate them all to run
under the control of one PATHMON process. You can arrange for one application to
call another. You can arrange to have all terminal I/O handled by one TCP, which
uses the object code from any of the applications to send requests to the general
server.
Generating Queries
and Reports with
ENFORM
With the ENFORM query language and report writer, you can write interactive
queries and produce customized reports based on data in your ENSCRIBE database.
The database is based upon record structures and data field characteristics previously
recorded in a DDL data dictionary.
The ENFORM language is a nonprocedural language that allows you, in a few simple
statements, to specify the data you want to retrieve from the database, the operations
you wish to perform on that data, and the form in which the data is to be returned.
ENFORM statements can be entered interactively from a terminal, compiled and
executed from an EDIT file, or submitted from within an application program.
Specifically, ENFORM allows you to:
Retrieve data from your ENSCRIBE database
Perform mathematical calculations on the retrieved data
Sort and group the retrieved data
Perform cumulative operations (like counting, totaling, and averaging) upon the
retrieved data
Format the retrieved data and print it on a report
Create a new physical file to hold the retrieved data
Preparing ENFORM
Queries
Once you have designed, implemented, and loaded your ENSCRIBE database, you
can enter ENFORM queries against the database.
Before entering a query, you issue ENFORM statements to identify the data dictionary
and record descriptions that ENFORM is to use. Next, you issue statements to
connect together any records you want to access in the same query, effectively
creating new logical records similar to the idea of views discussed in Section 3. Then,
you enter your query, specifying any restrictions, sorting, grouping, or computations
you want done on the data retrieved. In response, the data fields you want, together
with their field names, appear on your terminal or workstation screen.
Producing ENFORM
Reports
When you generate hardcopy reports, you often want to make them more readable by
including elements such as a title, column headings, horizontal and vertical spacing,
margins, page numbers, and so forth. You might also want to center or justify
information to the right or left, dictate when page breaks occur, or set tabs. In
addition, you might want to request the printing of special information at the
beginning or end of a report, or display running subtotals or summary totals at the
bottom of every page. ENFORM provides many different formatting options. You
request formatted reports much as you do query responses, using additional
ENFORM statements to indicate your formatting options.