OpenEdge Getting Started:<br />Installation and Configuration Regional parameter files

A useful technique for controlling an OpenEdge client session or server is to use a parameter file (.pf) with a startup or connection command. OpenEdge provides parameter files that set up OpenEdge sessions appropriately for a wide range of countries. You can use .pf files to specify the correct code-page settings for international applications. The setup of the install-path\startup.pf file is based on the installation options that you select.

The international parameter files are located in the %DLC%\prolang subdirectories. Parameter files are region- or country-specific rather than language-specific because parameter files set options that can vary from country to country. The %DLC%\prolang\ger directory has parameter files for Austria, Germany, and Switzerland to account for the differences among these German-speaking countries.

You should use the parameter file to make sure that the application and database are using the appropriate international settings. Typically, a parameter file for a internationalized application sets the parameters listed in Table D–6.

Table D–6: Startup parameters for a deployed application
Parameter	Description
Internal Code Page (`-cpinternal`)	The code page that OpenEdge uses in memory.
Stream Code Page (`-cpstream`)	The code page for stream I/O.
Case Code Page (`-cpcase)`	A case table in the `convmap.cp` file to use for uppercase/lowercase rules. Case rules are used by the CAPS and LC functions and by the ! formatting character.
Collation Code Page (-cpcoll)	A table in the convmap.cp file to use for collation rules.
Date Format (`-d`)	The format in which an application displays dates. Specify the format as a three-character string, comprised of the letters d, m, y, in the order that you display the date.
Language (`-lng`)	The initial value for the CURRENT-LANGUAGE function, which determines from which r-code segment OpenEdge reads character-string constants. Specify the language as a character string in quotes.
European Numeric Format (`-E`)	OpenEdge interprets and displays a comma as a decimal separator and a period as a thousands separator for numeric values.
Fractional Separator (`-numdec`)	Specifies the numeric value of the character that represents, in formatted text, a number’s decimal point. The default decimal point is a period (.).
Thousands Separator (`-numsep`)	Specifies the numeric value of the character that represents, in formatted text, the thousands separator in numbers. The default thousands separator is a comma (,).