Useful Tools

Several useful programming tools are available to facilitate tasks common to system administrators, programmers, and general users. You can reduce the tedious aspects of many repetitious tasks by using Hewlett-Packard tools to expedite forms design, screen handling, report generation, and system dictionaries, as described below.

Forms Design and Screen Handling Tools

VPLUS/V is a comprehensive software system that implements and controls source data entry. It also provides an interface between a terminal and any transaction processing program.

Source Data Entry

As a source data entry system, VPLUS/V provides easy forms design with data editing and validation built into the forms. It also provides a ready-to-use data entry program called ENTRY that you can use to enter data without any programming effort. ENTRY allows you to browse the entered data and modify it as it is entered.

Thus, source data entry through VPLUS/V can be done without programming by simply using ENTRY. However, if you need additional or different capabilities, you can write your own application incorporating VPLUS/V intrinsics.

Transaction Processing

As an interface to transaction processing applications, VPLUS/V provides a set of intrinsics that allows you to control forms and data on a terminal from an application program. These intrinsics are available to programs written in any of the supported programming languages.

VPLUS/V also provides a reformatting capability. You can enter specifications to control how entered data is to be reformatted and then run a program to actually reformat the data.

VPLUS/V intrinsics and the reformatting capability, either singly or in combination, provide a "front end" to existing transaction processing applications. Thus, VPLUS/V allows you to concentrate on processing problems rather than on editing data or controlling the terminal.

VPLUS/V Features

The main features of the VPLUS/V system are:

Forms design program called FORMSPEC that allows quick and easy forms design by using menus at a terminal.
Batch mode management of forms files (through FORMSPEC) that allows a forms file to be updated, compiled, and listed without tying up a terminal.
Advanced forms design (through FORMSPEC) that edits, formats, moves, and computes data when the form is executed.It uses the user's native language for alphabetic information and the local customs for numeric and date information.
Ready-to-run data entry program called ENTRY that provides immediate data entry and modification with no programming effort.
Flexible data reformatting design program called REFSPEC that specifies reformatting of entered data.
Batch program called REFORMAT that reformats the data according to the REFSPEC formatting specifications and writes it to a file for use by an application.
Set of intrinsics that provides a powerful programming language interface to terminals, using FORMSPEC definitions, from applications written in any of the supported programming languages.

Report Generation Tools

Several useful report generation tools are available. These are described in the subsections below.

Business Report Writer/XL

Business Report Writer/XL facilitates report development and execution. It is a menu-driven report writing system designed to streamline the development and maintenance of large production reports.

Its capabilities include on-line report formatting, rotational views of data, multipass reporting, advanced calculations, and performance tuning. It provides access to TurboIMAGE/XL, databases, MPE files, and KSAM files. Business Report Writer/XL, together with System Dictionary/XL or Dictionary/V transparently resolve data definitions, structures, and access paths.

Business Report Writer/XL execution programs are part of the MPE XL Fundamental Operating System (FOS). Reports developed on Business Report Writer/XL can be run on other HP 3000 systems without access to Business Report Writer/XL or a dictionary. By using intrinsics with user-specified parameter values, you can run reports from applications written in other languages. Business Report Writer/XL contains a conversion utility to automatically translate Report/V programs into Business Report Writer/XL. For detailed information, refer to Business Report Writer/XL Reference Manual.

Report/V

Report/V is a non-procedural report writing language operative only when MPE/iX is in Compatibility Mode. It includes a high-level language that creates reports, a compiler, and a processor to execute the reports. It provides access to TurboIMAGE/XL databases, MPE files, and KSAM files. More advanced reporting capabilities are available in Native Mode through Business Report Writer/XL, which can automatically translate Report/V programs. For detailed information, refer to Report V Reference Manual (32245-90001).

HP Visor

HP Visor is a terminal-based interface to HP SQL/V and ALLBASE/XL (HP SQL) databases. It allows end users or database administrators to perform queries and generate their own reports, without involving a programmer. It provides facilities for programmers to use in preconfiguring complex tasks or to improve productivity when working with HP SQL databases.

HP Visor has a forms-based interface that allows the user to mark boxes and press function keys to step through tasks such as queries or custom report generation. It also provides additional capabilities for experienced users to directly enter HP Visor or SQL commands.

Three modules are integrated with the HP Visor interface.

EZAccess, which enables new or infrequent users of the database to generate queries.
SQLAccess, which enables users familiar with HP SQL to use a screen-based editor to formulate SQL queries and perform many other database operations.
EZReport, which formats and displays query results from EZAccess or SQLAccess and allows users to customize report formats and calculate additional statistcs using the data retrieved by the query.

System Dictionary/XL

System Dictionary/XL provides programmers and system administrators with a single source for documenting all aspects of the system, including:

Data definitions.
Descriptions of databases, application systems, accounting structures.
Configuration information.

It ensures that the information is entered in a standard format, stored in an organized structure, and easily available to users and programs. This central source of information aids in developing and maintaining applications and effectively managing system resources. System Dictionary/XL has a programmatic interface for easy integration with other software. You can customize it to meet your needs. Major System Dictionary/XL features are:

Entity-relationship model provides a documentation structure closely matching the user's conceptual model.
Extensibility allows customized documentation structure.
Programmatic access for automatic access and update.
Domains eliminate name conflicts.
Separate test, production, and archival versions.
Uses synonyms and aliases to provide alternative names in the dictionary from those used by external systems.
Interactive or batch mode interface.
Accepts macros and include files.
Reports on dictionary contents.
Input, output, and all dictionary names can be converted to local languages.
Security provides restricted access to domains and dictionary objects and defines user capabilities.
Automates conversion from Dictionary/V to System Dictionary.
Creates IMAGE schemas and root files from dictionary definitions and produces dictionary definitions from an IMAGE root file.
Loads information about VPLUS/V forms files into the dictionary.
Generates definitions for HP COBOL II/XL COPY libraries from System Dictionary definitions (this is part of a separate product called COBOL II/XL Definition Extractor).

A data dictionary is not an alternative to a database management system (DBMS). A dictionary manages information about data on the system, while a DBMS manages the data itself. A DBMS schema may contain some information on the format and usage of the data. However, dictionary information is more extensive and easily usable.

In addition to documenting IMAGE databases, System Dictionary can describe MPE files, KSAM files, VPLUS/V forms files, programs, network device configurations, and other system components. It can also document the relationships among components.

For detailed information, refer to one of the following manuals in the Tools Series:

HP System Dictionary/XL COBOL Definition Extractor Reference Manual (32256-90001).
HP System Dictionary/XL General Reference Manual (Volumes 1 and 2) (32256-90004 and 32256-90005).
HP System Dictionary/XL Intrinsics Reference Manual (32256-90002).
HP System Dictionary/XL SDMAIN Reference Manual (32256-90001).
HP System Dictionary/XL Utilities Reference Manual (32256-90003).