NET/MASTER Network Control Language (NCL) Programmer's Guide

Writing Panel Description Files
Working With Panels
106160 Tandem Computers Incorporated 14–7
Writing Panel
Description Files
This subsection introduces you to writing panel description files by using Edit
Services. It covers the following topics:
Creating and modifying a panel description file
Deleting a panel description file
Panel description file size
Performing a panel test
For step-by-step instructions on performing the tasks described in this subsection, see
Section 3, “An NCL Tutorial.” Refer to the NonStop NET/MASTER MS Operator’s Guide
for detailed information on how to use Edit Services. If you do not know how to use
TEDIT, refer to the PS Text Edit and PS Text Format User’s Guide and the PS Text Edit
Reference Manual.
Creating and Modifying a
Panel Description File
Panel description files are created and modified in the same way as NCL procedures—
using TEDIT from Edit Services.
When you create a panel description file using Edit Services, you must give the source
file a name. This is the name used by NCL processes that display the panel. The name
of a panel description file can be one through eight characters long. It must represent
a legal Guardian file name.
Caution You should avoid giving a panel description file that you create a name that begins with the letter Z. This
letter is used as the initial character of panel description files distributed with NonStop NET/MASTER MS.
Deleting a Panel
Description File
You can delete a panel description file from Edit Services by following these steps:
1. Move the cursor before the name of the panel description file you want to delete.
2. Type the letter D before the name of the panel description file.
3. Press the ENTER key.
Panel Description File Size It is recommended that you restrict the number of lines in a panel description file to a
maximum of 100 lines consisting of 38 lines or less for the control part, and 62 lines or
less for the display part.
Using more than 38 statements in the control part reduces the number of lines
available for display. You must restrict the number of display lines to 62 lines or
fewer: if you have more than 62 display lines, Panel Services reports an error.
Using the #INCLUDE Panel
Control Statement
You can simplify the task of writing panel description files by using the #INCLUDE
panel control statement.
Statements that are common to many panel description files can be collected together
and used to create a new panel description file. By using the #INCLUDE panel control
statement, you can copy common source statements to other panel description files.
For example, the ZEX1411P panel description file, listed next, contains three panel
control statements. By using the #INCLUDE panel control statement, as shown later