Manual 4gl

IBM Informix 4GL

Reference Manual

Version 7.32 March 2003 Part Nos. CT1VBNA (Volume 1), CT1VCNA (Volume 2), and CT1VYNA (Volume 3)

Note: Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in the appendix entitled “Notices.”

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ii IBM Informix 4GL Reference Manual

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction
In This Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organization of This Manual . . . . . . . . .Types of Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Software Dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . Assumptions About Your Locale. . . . . . . . Demonstration Database . . . . . . . . . . Accessing Databases from Within 4GL. . . . . . Enhancements to Version 7.32 . . . . . . . . . . Documentation Conventions . . . . . . . . . . Typographical Conventions . . . . . . . . . Icon Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . .Example-Code Conventions . . . . . . . . . Syntax Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . Additional Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . Online Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Online Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . Documentation Notes, Release Notes, Machine Notes Related Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . Compliance with Industry Standards . . . . . . .IBM Welcomes Your Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 3 5 5 6 6 7 8 8 9 10 12 13 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20

Chapter 1

Compiling IBM Informix 4GL Source Files
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TwoImplementations of Informix 4GL . . . . . . . Runtime and Compile-Time Requirements . . . . . Differences Between the C Compiler and RDS Versions The C Compiler Version . . . . . . . . . . . . The Five-Phase 4GL Compilation Process . . . . . The Programmer’s Environment . . . . . . . . Creating Programs in the Programmer’s Environment . Creating Programs at the Command Line . . . . . Program FilenameExtensions . . . . . . . . . The Rapid Development System . . . . . . . . . . The Programmer’s Environment . . . . . . . . Creating Programs in the Programmer’s Environment . Creating Programs at the Command Line . . . . . Program Filename Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1-3 1-4 1-4 1-6 1-7 1-9 1-27 1-33 1-47 1-491-49 1-68 1-75 1-89

Chapter 2

The IBM Informix 4GL Language
In This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Language Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lettercase Insensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Whitespace, Quotation Marks, Escape Symbols, and Delimiters Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4GL Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source-Code Modules and Program Blocks . . . . . . . . Statement Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Statement Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4GL Identifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interacting with Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ring Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Screen Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4GL...