SeeView Manual

SeeView Programming

HP NonStop SeeView Manual—526355-004

6-9

Write Your Procedures

powerful way of associating a common set of rules with an entire list of objects (menu

items).

Try to use default productions when you use menus. If the same commands are to be

executed for multiple items in the same menu, use default productions. If one or two

menu items do not conform to the default production’s rules, you can associate

productions directly with the menu items so that these productions override the default.

The use of default productions not only drastically reduces cache memory usage but

also provides a simple way to define, only once, the rule to be associated with a list of

perhaps thousands of menu item objects. This approach has significant performance

advantages because you need not generate a discrete production for each menu item

in a cache. In some cases, you do not need to wait for a cache to fill with menu items.

Write Your Procedures

Procedure development in SeeView is different from development with a compiled

language on a NonStop system because the SeeView program is an interpreter and

has a built-in development facility that allows you to develop, edit, execute, debug, and

test scripts without ever exiting from the SeeView program. In fact, your SeeView script

is just another EDIT file in the SeeView environment.

Do your development from the Help page using the SeeView window. (Access it by

pressing F11 twice.) From the Help page you can access online help and edit, execute,

and debug your script. A thorough understanding of the editor and its use can cut your

development time in half, especially if your script is large.

Develop scripts in groups of 1 to 10 lines at a time. Press SF15 to execute your script

as you develop it. Use the online HELP command, display variables with the PRINT *

statement, and use ALTER STMTTRACE ON for full statement tracing to the free

window cache. If you understand and use these features, you can efficiently write and

debug a script.

Write the procedures associated with the main menu first. You can use as many

procedures as you need, as long as they are clear and concise. Do not try to do too

much from a menu production. If you can not fit what you are trying to do into the