Re: "Super prompter" program

[CRPence <CRPbottle@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dennis Lovelady wrote:
> > rob@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> > > Sort of like a "select (put fields here) from table"
> > > and your prompt has to get the name of the fields?
> > > And it is not enough that they get display the list
> > > of fields, they have to be able to put a one in front
> >> of 1 or more fields to return desired fields?
> > > Is the item after the comma your requested enhancement
> > > and you have the rest done?
> JHHL wrote:
> > Completely blank slate. Just a concept at this point. Would
> > apply to potentially at least two system commands.
>
> If you are looking for functional (how it looks to the user) 
> recommendations, I'd model the UI after STRSQL's SELECT prompt.
> If you type SELECT in an SQL session, the press F4, you'll have
> a screen of fields for which F4 is valid.

  Sure would be nice if the prompting interface enabled a program 
as interface to provide the selection algorithm to actually fill the 
prompts.  Seems daft that it just enables an interface to list the 
elements as "choices" via the CHOICEPGM; i.e. not actually select 
from what is presented in the list.  That such a feature was 
lacking, is one of the first things I commented on when I first 
started creating commands.  I wondered, "Where is the 'choosing' in 
a CHOICEPGM, if there is no selection enabled?"  Merely showing me 
what I could type in myself, or copy\paste of what is presented, was 
hardly what I had expected.  But that is really just a deficiency 
with the parameter prompting in general, because the single value or 
special values [from literals in the PARM & ELEM source], aside from 
the specific values generated in the choice-list, should also be 
selectable.

  FWiW if the prompted values are something that would complete the 
command, consider the CRTTBL SRCFILE(*PROMPT) as an example for 
which the special\single value *PROMPT is the final value on the 
parameter.  Pressing Enter or F16 proceeds into the CPP which then 
presents a panel for the prompted interface, in response to the 
*PROMPT requested on the parameter.  The create [sequence\translate] 
table extended prompting uses F6=Create to complete\exit.  I suppose 
that multiple *PROMPT values could effect navigating multiple 
list\selection panels, optionally forcing the user to proceed 
through each sequentially, or by activating a more navigable 
interactive prompted interface.

  For a "system command" I would think making a private copy of the 
command would be the best approach.  The custom command would add a 
prompting feature [e.g. special value *PROMPT] to the desired 
parameter(s) and its POP [or was it the CPP ?] could re-invoke the 
prompted command with the additional values that have been 
[generated from the UI as selection panel and since] inserted into 
the [now modified] command string; eventually with all values 
resolved\selected, the full\actual system command string issued via 
QCMDEXC or QCAPCMD.  I stopped dealing with command objects so many 
years ago I do not really recall the tricks for the re-prompting a 
command to enhance its function, but Simon had long ago posted some 
examples on midrange somewhere [I did not try to query the archives].

  ?CUSTOM/CPYF FROMFILE(named) FROMKEY(*PROMPT)

Regards, Chuck