Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Basic Development Tools

Preface

This Preface contains the following sections:

Purpose
Audience
Organization
Typographical conventions
OpenEdge messages

Purpose

This book is a user guide for OpenEdge™ Release 10 basic development toolset for character mode. These tools include the Progress Procedure Editor, the Data Dictionary, and the Progress Application Compiler.

Audience

This book is intended for developers who want to use OpenEdge basic development tools to develop their applications.

Organization

Chapter 1 "Application Development Environment"

Describes how to access the Application Development Environment (ADE), access each OpenEdge tool, and use on-line help for error messages.

Chapter 2 "Procedure Editor Tasks"

Describes how to access the Progress Procedure Editor and use it to perform tasks. The Progress Procedure Editor allows you to create, write, compile, and run Progress 4GL procedures.

Chapter 3 "Procedure Editor Integration Hooks"

Describes the integration hooks you can add to the Progress Procedure Editor.

Chapter 4 "Procedure Editor Reference"

Describes the Progress Procedure Editor menu options and dialog boxes.

Chapter 5 "Application Compiler"

Describes how to access the Application Compiler and use its menu options. The Application Compiler allows you to compile a set of source procedures and create Progress r-code.

Typographical conventions

This manual uses the following typographical conventions:

Convention	Description
Bold	Bold typeface indicates commands or characters the user types, or the names of user interface elements.
Italic	Italic typeface indicates the title of a document, provides emphasis, or signifies new terms.
SMALL, BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS	Small, bold capital letters indicate OpenEdge™ key functions and generic keyboard keys; for example, GET and CTRL.
KEY1-KEY2	A hyphen between key names indicates a simultaneous key sequence: you press and hold down the first key while pressing the second key. For example, CTRL-X.
KEY1 KEY2	A space between key names indicates a sequential key sequence: you press and release the first key, then press another key. For example, ESCAPE H.
Syntax:
Fixed width	A fixed-width font is used in syntax statements, code examples, and for system output and filenames.
Fixed-width italics	Fixed-width italics indicate variables in syntax statements.
Fixed-width bold	Fixed-width bold indicates variables with special emphasis.
UPPERCASE fixed width	Uppercase words are Progress® 4GL language keywords. Although these always are shown in uppercase, you can type them in either uppercase or lowercase in a procedure.

OpenEdge messages

OpenEdge displays several types of messages to inform you of routine and unusual occurrences:

Execution messages inform you of errors encountered while OpenEdge is running a procedure; for example, if OpenEdge cannot find a record with a specified index field value.
Compile messages inform you of errors found while OpenEdge is reading and analyzing a procedure before running it; for example, if a procedure references a table name that is not defined in the database.
Startup messages inform you of unusual conditions detected while OpenEdge is getting ready to execute; for example, if you entered an invalid startup parameter.

After displaying a message, OpenEdge proceeds in one of several ways:

Continues execution, subject to the error-processing actions that you specify or that are assumed as part of the procedure. This is the most common action taken after execution messages.
Returns to the Progress Procedure Editor, so you can correct an error in a procedure. This is the usual action taken after compiler messages.
Halts processing of a procedure and returns immediately to the Progress Procedure Editor. This does not happen often.
Terminates the current session.

OpenEdge messages end with a message number in parentheses. In this example, the message number is 200:

** Unknown table name table. (200)

If you encounter an error that terminates OpenEdge, note the message number before restarting.

Obtaining more information about OpenEdge messages

On Windows platforms, use OpenEdge online help to obtain more information about OpenEdge messages. Many OpenEdge tools include the following Help menu options to provide information about messages:

Choose Help Recent Messages to display detailed descriptions of the most recent OpenEdge message and all other messages returned in the current session.
Choose Help Messages and then enter the message number to display a description of a specific OpenEdge message.
In the Progress Procedure Editor, press the HELP key or F1.

On UNIX platforms, use the Progress PRO command to start a single-user mode character OpenEdge client session and view a brief description of a message by providing its number.

To use the PRO command to obtain a message description by message number:

Start the Progress Procedure Editor:

install-dir/dlc/bin/pro

Press F3 to access the menu bar, then choose Help Messages.
Type the message number and press ENTER. Details about that message number appear.
Press F4 to close the message, press F3 to access the Progress Procedure Editor menu, and choose File Exit.