Welcome To CodeScope

Why CodeScope

Users of application programs are continually faced with the problem of having to come up with the correct code or value to enter into parameter and field prompts. Data entry programs in particular, present the user with a whole host of fields demanding the precise response - Customer and Account Numbers, Product and Payment Codes, etc. Human memory has its limits, as does computer memory, and is therefore ill equipped to remember every possible and permissible field code and value. How do your users locate the exact pieces of information they need, without having to interrupt their work? How can you make their application programs easier to use? Common approaches to cope with this situation can be found in every data processing environment:

Multi-colored Post-It notes pasted all over user terminals listing the most often used codes and field values (as well as the user's password)
Stacks of master file listings parked on each user's desk with place- holding pens, paper clips and 80 column cards (if you are not sure what these are, don't worry) protruding at every angle
Stuck at the less than helpful "Incorrect field value" message, our brave user exits the application program, wanders through a series of menus until reaching the appropriate inquiry program, finds the required value, writes it down, exits the inquiry program, navigates through the menus back to the original program and enters the value - and then takes a break due to exhaustion
A not so common approach - provide each user with two terminals - one for data entry and the other for inquiries
Provide each user with a nice, friendly PC with pop-up window prompts - if you are ready for an extended vacation

What is CodeScope?

CodeScope is a query and menu window generator that lets you provide your users with the ability to open a window over their application screen to browse files, transfer code values, display menus and execute menu options - all without ever leaving the program they are working on.

With little or no programming effort you can give your users:

Added power and functions through instant file queries, code look-ups and menuing.

Applications that are easier to use by providing windows that let users isolate and transfer the data they want with only a minimal number of keystrokes, thereby making users more productive.
Faster answers without lengthy searches, note taking and re-keying.
The ability to join up to ten files to produce the data in a single window. The use of more than one file is transparent to the user when activating a window.

CodeScope functions can quickly and easily be adapted to existing application software - whether program source is available or not. CodeScope automatically gives users the same functionality and ease of use they have become accustomed to in PC programs.

How CodeScope Works

CodeScope lets programmers define query and menu windows, which can then be activated by users needing to search for values and execute additional functions from application programs

Query Windows

Whenever a user needs to enter a specific value (such as an Account Number) in an application program field, a query window can be automatically displayed, overlapping a portion of the user's screen.

The user can browse the file searching for the desired record and when the needed code or value is located, the user can select the code by moving the cursor to the displayed record and pressing Enter. The query window disappears and the original display is restored, with the selected code appearing in the appropriate field. Any number of windows can be activated from within an application.

Menu Windows

Menu windows give the user the ability to display a menu associated with the current program and from that menu activate any system command, call other programs or invoke submenus.

A user can also activate any number of CodeScope query windows from CodeScope menu window.

What the Programmer Does

To generate a file query window, a programmer specifies the file and fields to display using the CodeScope window definition process.

Any keyed file or files can be displayed - physical, logical, joined, OPNQRYF, externally defined or not. Any field within the file can be displayed. You can also display additional fields, call internal fields that are defined through the CodeScope window definition function.

During the window definition process, the programmer can optionally specify other parameters, such as default window size and location on the screen. Fields can be arranged in any order, field titles can be modified and limits can be set on the range of records the user can display.

Menu windows can also be defined to activate system commands, other programs, submenus or file query windows.

Once a query or menu window is defined, it can be called from any source program, including CL programs, with a simple call sequence. The programmer decides what type of user interface is most appropriate for detecting the need to activate a window. Among the most commonly used techniques are having the user press a predetermined function key (typically F4), key a question mark in the entry field, or leave the application entry field blank. When the application program detects a window request, it calls CodeScope, telling it which window to activate.

It takes just a few minutes to add windows to application programs - basically the entire work is done automatically. The only thing the user has to do is specify (using SDA) where he wants windows.

The application program can optionally override window parameters such as window size, location, range of records and starting key. After the call, CodeScope passes the selected record, if any, back to the calling program. Menu windows can also be activated without any modification to source programs. Programs can be associated with a particular menu, which can automatically be invoked via the Attention key.

Menu windows can also serve as an intermediate step toward activating a file query.

While using an application, the user presses the Attn key.
CodeScope displays the menu associated with the active application program.
The user places the cursor at a query window selection and presses Enter.
CodeScope displays the selected query window.

This technique is especially useful when source code is unavailable or where it is necessary to integrate CodeScope quickly into an existing application without having to make any source code modifications.

Time needed to define and add windows by the Programmer

It may take about one hour to define windows for 100 files.

It may take about one day to add windows to 100 files in the source level.

It may take about one day to add windows to a 250-program system in the object level.

Adding option windows manually may extend the time for each file window, or a few minutes per source program.

What the User sees

A user activates a window from within an application program through the interface method (function key, question mark, blank field, etc.) established by the application programmer.

Accounts
Locate- 7234654:N Search- Account \| Act \| Short Name Code \| Type \|
7234654	N		Jet Components
7234658	N		NASA Satellites
7234660	S		BOEING Jets
7234665	N		Comm. Services.
7234700	N		E.S.P. Comm. Inc.
7234775	N		Jet's Fuel Ltd.
7234778	S		Isaac Asimov- Cons.
7234779	N		Houston flights
7234789	S		E.T.Creatures Inc.
7234989	S		Exoft Systems
F3=Exit		F6=Print	F15/16/17=Search

The default window size is quarter screen and the default window location is the corner diagonally opposite to the current cursor position. These defaults can be overridden by the programmer either when the window is defined or as a call parameter. Once the window is displayed, the user can modify the window's appearance by moving it across the screen (up, down, left and right) and by changing its size (quarter screen, half screen, full screen).

To move the window to a new screen location or to change its size, the user presses the associated function key. The default window control function keys are:

Full Screen	Quarter	Half	Quarter
F21 = Full Screen	F22 = Left UP	F23 = Screen Up	F24 = Right Up
	F10 = Left Down	F11 = Screen Down	F12 = Right Down

Pressing the Help key displays the currently assigned function keys.

The user can page up and down through the queried file using the roll keys and can scroll across record fields using function keys.

Records can be retrieved by key and by partial key, a string of characters can be scanned across all alphanumeric fields and records can be searched according to a given field pattern or patterns.

Position By Key

The user can position the file browse by entering a key value in the Position field. If the file's key consists of several fields, the user separates the key values by commas.

Search by Record or by Pattern

The user can search across all alphanumeric window fields in each record by entering a search string in the Search field. If the string exists in a particular record, then that record is displayed at the beginning of a new window. The user enters the search string in upper case, but the search will match on any combination of upper case and lower case.

The pattern search scans for the value that the user enters in the reserved line below the field titles. Each character of the pattern is compared to the character directly below it, scanning for an exact match. Pattern search can be used for both numeric and alphanumeric fields and can be specified for multiple fields at once. The pattern can consist of upper case, lower case, or both. A match will only be found when the character and case are the same.

The user can search forwards and backwards through the file by pressing F16 or F15 respectively. Record and pattern searches can be combined in the same operation.

Using F17 will produce a window of just those records that match the scan criteria.

After a pre-specified number of records are searched without a match, the search process halts with an appropriate message. The user can continue searching from that point by pressing the search forward or backward function keys.

Selecting a record

To select a record, the user moves the cursor to the record and presses Enter. If the file query window was called from within an application program, then the record selected by the user is passed back to the application program.

Menu window options are also selected by moving the cursor to the appropriate line and pressing Enter.