HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
LINKLOOP Command The LINKLOOP command concatenates a series of fields. Formats LINKLOOP [*JOINER=joiner] loop_count link_data_ref step_factor result_data_ref WindowParameters loop_count A number specifying the number of fields to be concatenated. The loop count must be a value greater than or equal to 2. link_data_ref The name of the first field to be linked in the loop. Enter one of the following: * A literal. * A numeric or alphanumeric constant. * A variable or calculated item. * A master title name. * A screen field reference. * A scratch-pad field reference. * A file record field reference. * A work area field reference. * A communication area field. step_factor A number specifying the increment applied to the link_data_ref name to obtain the next data reference which is linked on each successive loop of the command. The step factor may be a positive or negative number. The increment is applied to the name and not to its value. This enables successive, but not necessarily consecutive, fields to be linked. You must use a zero step factor if the link_data_ref is a constant, a literal, a master title, a variable, a calculated item, or a communication area field other than *COUNT(n), *CROSS(n), or *TOTALS(n). result_data_ref The field where the result of the link is placed. Enter one of the following: * A variable. * A screen field reference. * A scratch-pad field reference. * A file record field reference. * A work area field reference. * The communication area field *PASS. joiner The data used to separate each of the link_count fields. The joiner is optional but, if specified, must be preceded by the argument *JOINER=. Enter the joiner into the Joiner field on the window. The joiner may be one of the following: * A literal. * A numeric or alphanumeric constant. * A variable or calculated item. * A master title name. * A screen field reference. * A scratch-pad field reference. * A file record field reference. * A work area field reference. * A communication area field. Description The LINKLOOP command concatenates (links or joins together) successive fields. The LINKLOOP command operates in a similar manner to the LINK command in the way it concatenates fields. Unlike the LINK command however, you don't need to specify each field to be concatenated explicitly. You only need to specify the first field. The loop_count specifies the number of fields starting from and including the link_data_ref to be concatenated in the result_data_ref. The loop-count must be greater than or equal to 2. That is, at least two fields must be linked together. The step_factor determines, on each successive iteration of the loop, the next field to be linked. If the link_data_ref is a file record field reference or a work area field reference, HP ALLBASE/4GL links successive fields on the record depending on the step factor. HP ALLBASE/4GL also steps through the multiple occurrences of fields defined as having multiple occurrences in the dictionary. Example 1 LINKLOOP *JOINER="/" 3 * 1 F-date.stock This command concatenates the current screen field and the next two screen fields. The command separates each field with the character /, and places the result into the field date on the file stock. This operation could be picking up three fields on the screen, representing the month, day, and year, formatting them as a date, and then saving the date in the file buffer. Example 2 LINKLOOP 4 *S03 2 *P01 This command links four fields, starting with screen field number 3 on the current screen. The command links every second field (that is, fields *S03, *S05, *S07, and *S09) and places the result into scratch-pad field *P01.
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