Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Reporting:
Report Builder Deployment

Preface

This Preface contains the following sections:

Purpose
Audience
Organization
Typographical conventions
Examples of syntax descriptions
OpenEdge messages

Purpose

This guide explains how to generate and customize Report Builder reports using the Progress® Report Engine. It explains the different interfaces to the Report Engine and how to access those interfaces from a 4GL program or MS-Windows icon. It also provides examples of how to incorporate reports into 4GL applications.

Audience

This guide is for 4GL programmers and developers. Some knowledge of Progress is required, as well as a basic understanding of databases.

Organization

Chapter 1 "Report Engine Basics"

Describes how to use Report Engine to run Report Builder reports from Progress® 4GL applications.

Chapter 2 "Report Engine Administration"

Describes Report Engine administration tasks, including generating a report list, identifying the default printer, listing the available printers, accessing initialization (.INI) files, using password security, and verifying report status.

Chapter 3 "Report Engine Parameters"

Explains how to use the Report Engine parameters to generate reports.

Chapter 4 "Report Engine Table Interface"

Describes how the Report Engine table interface stores the report parameters in a database table, and how you use that table to run multiple reports.

Chapter 5 "Report Engine PRINTRB and PRNTRB2 Interfaces"

Explains how to use the Report Engine PRINTRB and PRNTRB2 interfaces to invoke Report Engine from the Progress 4GL, using parameters instead of tables and fields.

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.
Period (.) or colon (:)	All statements except DO, FOR, FUNCTION, PROCEDURE, and REPEAT end with a period. DO, FOR, FUNCTION, PROCEDURE, and REPEAT statements can end with either a period or a colon.
[ ]	Large brackets indicate the items within them are optional.
[ ]	Small brackets are part of the Progress 4GL language.
{ }	Large braces indicate the items within them are required. They are used to simplify complex syntax diagrams.
{ }	Small braces are part of the Progress 4GL language. For example, a called external procedure must use braces when referencing arguments passed by a calling procedure.
|	A vertical bar indicates a choice.
...	Ellipses indicate repetition: you can choose one or more of the preceding items.

Examples of syntax descriptions

In this example, ACCUM is a keyword, and aggregate and expression are variables:

ACCUM aggregate expression

FOR is one of the statements that can end with either a period or a colon, as in this example:

FOR EACH Customer:   DISPLAY Name. END.

In this example, STREAM stream, UNLESS-HIDDEN, and NO-ERROR are optional:

DISPLAY [ STREAM stream ] [ UNLESS-HIDDEN ] [ NO-ERROR ]

In this example, the outer (small) brackets are part of the language, and the inner (large) brackets denote an optional item:

INITIAL [ constant [ , constant ] ]

A called external procedure must use braces when referencing compile-time arguments passed by a calling procedure, as shown in this example:

{ &argument-name }

In this example, EACH, FIRST, and LAST are optional, but you can choose only one of them:

PRESELECT [ EACH | FIRST | LAST ] record-phrase

In this example, you must include two expressions, and optionally you can include more. Multiple expressions are separated by commas:

MAXIMUM ( expression , expression [ , expression ] ... )

In this example, you must specify MESSAGE and at least one expression or SKIP [ (n) ], and any number of additional expression or SKIP [ ( n ) ] is allowed:

MESSAGE { expression | SKIP [ ( n ) ] } ...

In this example, you must specify {include-file, then optionally any number of argument or &argument-name = "argument-value", and then terminate with }:

{ include-file [ argument | &argument-name = "argument-value" ] ... }

Long syntax descriptions split across lines

Some syntax descriptions are too long to fit on one line. When syntax descriptions are split across multiple lines, groups of optional and groups of required items are kept together in the required order.

In this example, WITH is followed by six optional items:

Syntax

WITH [ ACCUM max-length ] [ expression DOWN ] [ CENTERED ] [ n COLUMNS ] [ SIDE-LABELS ] [ STREAM-IO ]

Complex syntax descriptions with both required and optional elements

Some syntax descriptions are too complex to distinguish required and optional elements by bracketing only the optional elements. For such syntax, the descriptions include both braces (for required elements) and brackets (for optional elements).

In this example, ASSIGN requires either one or more field entries or one record. Options available with field or record are grouped with braces and brackets:

Syntax

ASSIGN { { [ FRAME frame ] { field [ = expression ] } [ WHEN expression ] } ... | { record [ EXCEPT field ... ] } }

In this example, GRANT, RESOURCE, DBA, and TO are keywords. You must specify RESOURCE, DBA, or both, and at least one user_name. Optionally you can specify additional user_name items; each subsequent user_name must be preceded by a comma:

GRANT { RESOURCE, DBA } TO user_name [, user_name ] ... ;

This excerpt from an ODBC application invokes a stored procedure using the ODBC syntax { call procedure_name ( param ) }, where braces and parentheses are part of the language:

proc1( param, "{ call proc2 (param) }", param);

In this example, you must specify a table_name, view_name, or synonym, but you can choose only one. In all SQL syntax, if you specify the optional owner_name qualifier, there must not be a space between the period separator and table_name, view_name, or synonym:

CREATE [ PUBLIC ] SYNONYM synonym FOR [ owner_name.]{table_name |view_name |synonym } ;

In this example, you must specify table_name or view_name:

DELETE FROM [ owner_name.]{table_name |view_name } [ WHERE search_condition ] ;

In this example, you must include one expression (expr) or column position (posn), and optionally you can specify the sort order as ascending (ASC) or descending (DESC). You can specify additional expressions or column positions for sorting within a sorted result set. The SQL engine orders the rows on the basis of the first expr or posn. If the values are the same, the second expr or posn is used in the ordering:

ORDER BY { expr | posn } [ ASC | DESC ] [ , [ { expr | posn } [ ASC | DESC ] ] ... ]

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.