HP 3000 Manuals

Message Catalogs:Programmer's Guide

Creating the Source File 

The source file is in EDIT/V format and must have a maximum record length
of 72 characters.  It contains special catalog commands that begin with a
backslash (\) in column 1.  There are two different kinds of commands
used in a source file:

 *  Keyword Commands

 *  File Commands

Keyword Commands 

Keywords identify the set of text that is output when a keyword is input
to the HELP facility.  For example, if the keyword HELLO is input to the
MPE XL HELP Facility, a description of the :HELLO command, and an
explanation of its syntax, operation, and parameters is output.

There are three keyword commands:

 *  \ENTRY=entryname comment, where entryname is a major divisional entry
    point in your HELP facility and comment is optional text about the
    entry.  The entryname must be in upper case.

 *  \ITEM=itemname, where itemname is an entry point subordinate to
    entryname.

 *  \SUBITEM=subitemname, where subitemname is a subordinate entry point
    to itemname.

Keywords are entrynames, itemnames, and subitemnames.  Keywords must not
contain spaces or nonalphabetic characters.  In your source file, the
text on the lines between the keyword commands is output to the user and
is accessed in the hierarchical method shown in Figure 6.1.


          Figure 6.1.  Keyword Subdivisions

File Commands 

The other commands in the source file specify information that is not
output to users.  The file commands are:

 *  \ALL indicates the end of the source file.  It is required.

 *  \STOPHELP denotes the start of a section in the file that will not be
    shown when the facility is accessed.

 *  \STARTHELP denotes the point at which the HELP facility resumes
    displaying help information.

 *  \SUBSET, put at the beginning of the file, allows all text between
    \STOPHELP and \STARTHELP to be excluded from the formatted catalog.

Example Source File 

The following is an example of a HELP source catalog:

     \entry = ENTRYKEY
          This is a entry point
          \item = itemkey
          This is the listing for an item
          \subitem = subitemkey
          This is a subitem
          \subitem = more
          This is another subitem.
          \stophelp
          This text will not be displayed in the help catalog.
          \starthelp
          \entry = ENTRY2
          This is the second entry point
          \all

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation