Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Progress 4GL Reference

GET-SIGNATURE( ) method

Returns the signature of the internal procedure or user-defined function whose name you supply.

Specifically:

If you provide the name of an internal procedure, GET-SIGNATURE returns the type and mode of each parameter.
If you provide the name of a user-defined function, GET-SIGNATURE returns the return type, and the type and mode of each parameter.
If you provide the nil procedure name (""), GET-SIGNATURE returns the signature of the procedure whose handle you supply.
If you provide a name that does not match any of the internal procedures or user-defined functions in the procedure, GET-SIGNATURE returns the empty string ("").
If you provide a remote (proxy) procedure handle or the name of a Web service procedure, GET-SIGNATURE returns the empty string ("").
If you provide the name of a DLL entry point, GET-SIGNATURE returns the Progress equivalent of the C data type of each parameter of the entry point. For more information, see OpenEdge Development: Programming Interfaces .
Note: GET-SIGNATURE does not return the signature of any internal procedure defined using the PROCEDURE statement’s PRIVATE option. Similarly, GET-SIGNATURE does not return the signature of any user-defined function defined using the FUNCTION statement’s PRIVATE option.
Return type: CHARACTER
Applies to: THIS-PROCEDURE system handle (and all procedure handles)

Syntax

GET-SIGNATURE ( int-proc-name )

int-proc-name

The name of an internal procedure or user-defined function.

GET-SIGNATURE returns a string with the following format:

type , return-type , [ mode name p-type [ , mode name p-type ] ... ]

type

The type of the internal procedure. Types include:

PROCEDURE — A Progress internal procedure.
FUNCTION —  A Progress user-defined function whose definition resides in the procedure.
EXTERN — A Progress user-defined function whose definition resides in another procedure.
DLL-ENTRY — A DLL entry point.
MAIN — The main procedure.

return-type

(User-defined functions only) The Progress data type that a user-defined function returns.

mode name p-type

A parameter description where mode is the mode of the parameter, name is the name of the parameter, and p-type is the type of parameter. The parameter type is either a data type (scalar or array) or, for a buffer parameter, the name of the table associated with the buffer.

The modes are:

INPUT
OUTPUT
INPUT-OUTPUT
BUFFER
INPUT TABLE
OUTPUT TABLE
INPUT-OUTPUT TABLE

The data types are:

CHARACTER
DATE
DATETIME
DATETIME-TZ
DECIMAL
INTEGER
LOGICAL
MEMPTR
RAW
RECID
ROWID
WIDGET-HANDLE

When you define the parameter type as a determinate array with a constant extent value, the GET-SIGNATURE( ) method returns the constant extent value specified as part of the signature (for example, EXTENT 100). When you define the parameter type as a determinate array with a variable extent value, or as an indeterminate array, the GET-SIGNATURE( ) method returns only the extent keyword (that is, EXTENT, with no extent value).