HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Dictionary Control Operations Dictionary control operations consist of the functions that set global controls on the dictionary, and are described separately below. Initializing/Reinitializing the Dictionary You can initiate System Dictionary only through the program SDINIT. The procedure for running this program is explained in the first part of the HP System Dictionary/XL General Reference Manual, Volume 2 (32256-90005). Opening the Dictionary Opening the dictionary is the procedure that defines a new access path to a dictionary you specify. You establish an access path with the information you specify in the parameters of the SDOpen intrinsic or the DEFINE command in SDMAIN. This information includes the dictionary open mode, scope, name mode, domain, and version that you are using. After you establish an access path, you may modify it by using the SDMAIN DEFINE command or the appropriate dictionary intrinsic to switch the current name mode, scope, domain, or version. This procedure takes less time and uses fewer system resources than closing and re-opening the dictionary. This is especially true from the Exclusive Customization mode, as any changes made to the dictionary structure would be automatically incorporated at that time through the restructuring process. Closing the dictionary and calling SDOpen or specifying the DEFINE command again requires an allocation of system resources, which can degrade the performance of System Dictionary. It is also possible to define multiple access paths to a dictionary within the same session, that is, you may call SDOpen repeatedly without closing previous OPENs. This may be useful, for example, for copying definitions from one domain to another. Multiple OPENs are not generally recommended, however, as serious problems can occur if they are not done correctly.