OpenEdge Development:<br />Progress 4GL Reference INPUT THROUGH statement

INPUT [ STREAM `stream` ] THROUGH { `program-name` \| VALUE ( `expression` ) } [ `argument` \| VALUE ( `expression` ) ] ... [ ECHO \| NO-ECHO ] [ MAP `protermcap-entry` \| NO-MAP ] [ UNBUFFERED ] [ NO-CONVERT \| { CONVERT [ TARGET `target-codepage` ] [ SOURCE `source-codepage` ] } ]

INPUT [ STREAM stream ] THROUGH
  { program-name | VALUE ( expression ) }
  [ argument | VALUE ( expression ) ] ...
  [ ECHO | NO-ECHO ] 
  [ MAP protermcap-entry | NO-MAP ]
  [ UNBUFFERED ]
  [     NO-CONVERT
     |  { CONVERT
           [ TARGET target-codepage ]
           [ SOURCE source-codepage ]
        }
  ]

Represents the name of the UNIX program where you are supplying data to a Progress procedure. This can be a standard UNIX command or your own program.

Specifies an expression whose value is the name of a UNIX program where you are supplying data to a Progress procedure.

Or, it is an expression whose value is an argument you want to pass to the UNIX program. INPUT THROUGH passes the value of expression as a character string.

Represents an argument you want to pass to the UNIX program. INPUT THROUGH passes this argument as a character string.

If the argument is the literal value echo, no-echo, or unbuffered, enclose it in quotes to prevent Progress from interpreting that argument as one of the ECHO, NO-ECHO, or UNBUFFERED options for the INPUT THROUGH statement.

Displays all input data on the current output destination. Data is echoed by default.

The protermcap-entry value is an entry from the PROTERMCAP file. Use MAP to read an input stream that uses a different character translation from the current stream. Typically, protermcap-entry is a slash-separated combination of a standard device entry and one or more language-specific add-on entries (MAP laserwriter/french or MAP hp2/spanish/italian, for example). Progress uses the PROTERMCAP entries to build a translation table for the stream. Use NO-MAP to make Progress bypass character translation altogether. See OpenEdge Deployment: Managing 4GL Applications for more information on PROTERMCAP. See OpenEdge Development: Internationalizing Applications for more information on national language support.

Reads one character at a time from a normally buffered data source, such as a file. Use the UNBUFFERED option only when the input operations of a UNIX process invoked by the Progress UNIX statement might be intermingled with the input from the Progress statements that follow the INPUT THROUGH statement.

Allows you to modify the character conversions occurring between the UNIX program and Progress. By default, the INPUT THROUGH statement converts characters from the code page specified with the Stream Code Page (-cpstream) parameter to the code page specified with the Internal Code Page (-cpinternal) parameter. If you specify SOURCE source-codepage alone, the conversion accepts source-codepage as the code page name of the UNIX program (instead of -cpstream). If you specify TARGET target-codepage, the conversion accepts target-codepage as the internal code page (instead of -cpinternal). If you specify both SOURCE source-codepage and TARGET target-codepage, it converts characters from the source-codepage to target-codepage (instead of -cpstream to -cpinternal).

Specifies the target code page of the character conversion (replacing -cpinternal). The name that you specify must be a valid code page name available in the DLC/convmap.cp file (a binary file that contains all of the tables that Progress uses for character management).

Specifies the source code page of the character conversion (replacing -cpstream). The name that you specify must be a valid code page name available in the DLC/convmap.cp file (a binary file that contains all of the tables that Progress uses for character management).

Specifies that no character conversions occur between the UNIX program and Progress. By default, the INPUT THROUGH statement converts characters from the -cpstream code page to the -cpinternal code page.

This procedure uses as its input source the output of the UNIX echo command. Before the command runs, the UNIX shell substitutes the process-id number for $$ and the current directory search path for $PATH. The results are then echoed and become available as a line of input to Progress. When the IMPORT statement is executed, the line of input from echo is read and the values are assigned to the two variables. Those variables can then be used for any purpose. In this example, the word echo must be lowercase and the word $PATH must be uppercase, since they both pass to UNIX:

r-ithru.p
DEFINE VARIABLE process-id AS CHARACTER. DEFINE VARIABLE dir-path AS CHARACTER VIEW-AS EDITOR SIZE 60 BY 10. INPUT THROUGH echo $$ $PATH NO-ECHO. SET process-id dir-path WITH FRAME indata NO-BOX NO-LABELS. DISPLAY process-id dir-path FORMAT "x(70)". INPUT CLOSE.

r-ithru.p

DEFINE VARIABLE process-id AS CHARACTER.
DEFINE VARIABLE dir-path AS CHARACTER VIEW-AS EDITOR SIZE 60 BY 10.

INPUT THROUGH echo $$ $PATH NO-ECHO.

SET process-id dir-path WITH FRAME indata NO-BOX NO-LABELS.
DISPLAY process-id dir-path FORMAT "x(70)".

INPUT CLOSE.

When you use INPUT THROUGH, the UNIX program you name is executed as a separate process under its own shell. Therefore, the values of shell variables (such as $$) are values from that shell rather than the shell from which Progress executes.

The following procedure uses INPUT THROUGH twice to get input from the UNIX pwd and ls commands. The pwd command supplies the name of the current directory and the ls command supplies the name of each UNIX file in your current directory. After the variable fn is set, it displays on the screen.

r-ithru2.p
DEFINE VARIABLE dir-name AS CHARACTER FORMAT "x(64)". DEFINE VARIABLE fn AS CHARACTER FORMAT "x(32)". FORM fn WITH DOWN FRAME dir-list. /* Get the name of the current directory. / INPUT THROUGH pwd NO-ECHO.* SET dir-name. INPUT CLOSE. /* Use the directory name as a label for fn. / fn:LABEL IN FRAME dir-list = dir-name. / List the directory. / INPUT THROUGH ls NO-ECHO.* /* For each entry in the directory, read the entry into fn and display it. */ REPEAT: SET fn WITH NO-BOX NO-LABELS FRAME indata. DISPLAY fn VIEW-AS TEXT WITH FRAME dir-list. DOWN WITH FRAME dir-list. END. INPUT CLOSE.

r-ithru2.p

DEFINE VARIABLE dir-name AS CHARACTER FORMAT "x(64)".
DEFINE VARIABLE fn    AS CHARACTER FORMAT "x(32)".

FORM
  fn
  WITH DOWN FRAME dir-list.

/* Get the name of the current directory. */
INPUT THROUGH pwd NO-ECHO.
  SET dir-name.
INPUT CLOSE.

/* Use the directory name as a label for fn. */
fn:LABEL IN FRAME dir-list = dir-name.

/* List the directory. */
INPUT THROUGH ls NO-ECHO.

/* For each entry in the directory, read
   the entry into fn and display it.      */
REPEAT:
  SET fn WITH NO-BOX NO-LABELS FRAME indata.
  DISPLAY fn VIEW-AS TEXT WITH FRAME dir-list.
  DOWN WITH FRAME dir-list.
END.

INPUT CLOSE.

Notes

INPUT THROUGH specifies the source for subsequent statements that process input. It does not read any data from the source.

To use the IMPORT, INSERT, PROMPT-FOR, SET, or UPDATE statement, Progress puts the data in the frame fields referenced in these statements, and if ECHO is in effect, the frame is output to the current output destination. If you use the NO-ECHO option, then the frame is not output. If a subsequent DISPLAY statement causes the frame to display, the input data also displays.

When INPUT THROUGH is closed, the pipe to the UNIX process is also closed.

For any character conversions to occur, all of the necessary conversion tables must appear in convmap.cp (a binary file that contains all of the tables that Progress uses for character management).

If you specify a value of “undefined” for either source-codepage or target-codepage, no character conversion is performed.

INPUT THROUGH statement

(NT, UNIX only)

Syntax

Notes

See also