RTF Tips and Tricks

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RTF Tips and Tricks

• Trnsport Users GroupPresentation
• October 15, 2004

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Why Were Here

• C/S Release 5 added a lot to RTF
• RTF was added to SiteManager fairly recently
• Many people havent worked with it, or arent
  aware of all its capabilities
• This is not an RTF class

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Zen and the Art of RTF

• Read the manual, significant updates in December
  04 release
• Study existing templates
• Adapt, instead of re-invent, if possible
• Develop reports incrementally
• Logic before formatting
• Outline
• Work from the outside in
• Develop as plain text report first

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Save Someones Sanity(possibly even your own)

• Develop with sharing in mind
• e.g., multiple-project proposals/contracts
• Comment, comment, comment
• Then comment some more
• RTFLOG.TXT is your friend
• Indent code blocks
• Comment ENDIFs, ENDREPEATs, etc.

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Enhance Your Performance

• SELECT usually isnt the best query
• Do you really need all the columns?
• Avoid WHERE_OR_AFTER
• Retrieves ALL rows matching the condition
• Keep database keys in mind
• Keep unnecessary statements out of loops

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Good Stuff

• NUM_ROWS special variable
• Gives the number of rows that the latest GET or
  REPEAT command found
• FOUND special variable
• Returns true if the latest GET or REPEAT command
  found a record that matches the condition in the
  command
• ! can be used as a pointer of sorts (code_ex.)
  (output_ex.)

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More Good Stuff

• Exporting data using RTF
• CSV, COLUMNAR built in
• Can also export any text-based format, e.g., XML,
  HTML
• Running external programs and DLL functions
  within an RTF template (code_ex.)(rawout_ex.)(fino
  ut_ex.)

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Exporting Data

• From CAS ArchiveContracts.rtf
• LET table_name "CONTMOD"
• REPEAT OVER CONTMOD WHERE CONTID IS
  SUBSET.CONTID
• EXPORT CSV table_name, SUBSET.CONTID,,
• CONTMOD.CMODTYPE,,
• ...

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Calling an External Program Example 1

• From SiteManager SMVend2ebs.rtf
• load SystemCall
• ...
• let OutputFile t_cd_tbl_dtl.cd_desc
• ...
• call plug in SystemCall( "if exist "
  OutputFile " del " OutputFile )
• ...

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Calling an External Program Example 2

• From CAS casecnt.rtf
• load SystemCall
• ...
• call plug in SystemCall( "del " CFBEXPTDIR
  "\d" subset.cnfacs ".dat" )
• ...

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What on Earth is CFBEXPTDIR?

• Environment variable
• Defined in ITIDPSSV.CFG
• Other job-specific variables are defined in the
  job parameter file
• Other examples OutFiles, SysFiles
• For a list, look at a JOBPARM.TXT file
• JOBEXEC.TXT also handy

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RTF Tips and Tricks

• Mark Douglas
• mark.douglas_at_infotechfl.com

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Questions??