SheerPower works with data in any database engine. SETUP tells SheerPower where data files are located and what database engines are used. Structures and definitions are the description of the data layout and it’s characteristics. Once structures have been defined with SETUP, SheerPower's structure statements can be used to manipulate the data.

SETUP supports the following database engines:

ARS
ODBC
FASTFILE

See Chapter 17, SheerPower and ODBC for instruction on using ODBC with SheerPower.

16.1.1 Entering SETUP

SETUP is entered by selecting SheerPower on the toolbar, then selecting Setup Data Structures.

Example 16-1 Entering SETUP

The OPEN STRUCTURE dialog box will open. If this is an existing structure, select the folder where it is stored, then select the file name.

If you are creating a new structure, choose the folder where it is to be stored and type in the file name.

Click on [Open] to open the structure.

Example 16-2 Open Structure

Once the structure has been opened, the STRUCTURE DEFINITION window will be displayed.

Example 16-3 Structure Definition Window

This section describes the SETUP structure definition fields and options for answering them. Data fields inside the structure can be defined or modified. Field definitions can also be displayed in multiple formats.

Default answers are provided for many of the structure definition fields. You may either accept the default answer, or type in different information.

16.2.1 Structure Name

The NAME of the structure will default to be the same name as the file that you opened or created. The default extension for the file is .STR. The structure file contains:

• the name of the database engine (record management system)
• the name of the data set (data file)
• the name of the data dictionary

The structure name can be any Windows file specification.

Clicking on the [...]button to the left of the structure NAME field will reopen the Open Structure dialog box. This allows you to choose a different structure name.

Click on the down arrow beside the DATABASE field to select the DATABASE ENGINE used by this structure.

Example 16-4 Selecting Database Engine

If this is a new structure, the default database engine will be ARS.

When modifying an existing data structure, the default will be the database engine specified in the structure file when it was originally setup.

Inside the DATA SET field, type in the name of the DATA SET that will be used with this structure. If this is a new structure, the default data set name will be the same as the structure name. The default extension is .ARS.

Example 16-5 Data Set

The same data set can be used for a number of structures. For instance, you might use the CUSTOMER data set for both a CUSTOMER and a SALES structure:

structure files data set CUSTOMER.STR | \ | \ v \ CUSTOMER.ARS / / / SALES.STR

This can be useful when there are multiple uses for a set of data, but the access and definitions required should be different for each structure.

The data set name can be any Windows file specification.

Type in the name of the DATA DICTIONARY to be used with this structure. If a new structure is being created, the default data dictionary name will be the same as the structure name. The default extension is .DEF. This is illustrated in Section 16.2.2, Database Engine.

As with the data set, the same data dictionary can be used for a number of structures. In fact, any combination of definition, data and structure files can be created:

structure files data set data dictionary CUSTOMER.STR CUSTOMER.DEF \ / \ / \ / \ / \CUSTOMER.ARS/ / \ / \ / \ / \ SALES.STR SALES.DEF

The data dictionary name can be any Windows file specification.

After you have selected the structure and data dictionary that you will be working with, the other options in the Structure Definition window can be used to perform SETUP procedures.

Inside the STRUCTURE DEFINITION WINDOW click on [Properties]. The FIELDS window will appear.

Example 16-6 Structure Definition Window

The options inside the Fields window will enable you to perform the following procedures in SETUP on the selected data dictionary:

• Modify
• Delete
• Add
• View/Print
• Finish.

Example 16-7 Fields Window

16.3.1 Data Field Definitions

Clicking on [ADD] will open the FIELD DEFINITION window. This selection is used to add data fields to new or existing data dictionaries. Here you can enter in the following information for each data field:

• name
• classification
• description
• data type
• starting position
• length
• occurances
• prompt
• text
• semantics
• report heading
• print mask
• screen mask
• help text
• access rules
• validation rules

Example 16-8 Field Definition Window

When you have completed adding all of the field information inside the Field Definition window, click on [DONE]. The field definitions will then be added to the DATA DICTIONARY. You will be returned to the Fields window where you can either perform other functions or choose [Finish].

If this is a new structure, the new structure file will be created after you click on [Finish].

Enter the data field NAME inside the NAME input field. For example, name a data field "CUST_ID" that will store customer identification information.

The field name:

• must begin with a letter
• can consist of numbers, letters, underscores and dollar signs
• can be up to 32 characters long
• the last character of the field name can be a "$" or "%"

Note that the Description, Prompt Text and Report Heading fields will default to be the same as the data field name. This default may be changed.

The CLASSIFICATION input field should be left blank at this time.

16.3.1.3 Description

The Description input field will default to the same as the data field NAME that was entered. Any "$", "%", "_" characters will be changed to spaces.

You may type in any description you want for this data field. This description is shown when viewing the data dictionary.

The description can consist of any characters on the keyboard and be up to 30 characters long.

Beside the DATA TYPE input field, click on the down arrow to select a data type. The data type is the internal representation of the data.

The most common data type is CH (character) which is the default. Use CH as the data type when defining names, addresses, money, date/times.

The other datatypes that follow such as IN (integer), IU (integer unsigned), ... are provided for special cases where there is pre-existing binary data that must be defined.

Note When developing new applications, use the CH datatype.

The data type will be one of the following:

Table 16-1 Data Types in SETUP

Symbol	Data Type
CH	character
AC	ASCII counted string
AP	Pointer to ASCII counted
C3	COBOL comp-3, also known as packed decimal
DS	Date stamp (length=8)
EB	EBCDIC
FL	Floating point
GF	G-Float
IN	Integer (signed)
IU	Integer (unsigned)
PF	Packed floating
PZ	Packed zipcode
QS	Quadword (signed)
RO	Right overpunch
RS	Right sign separate
UN	Undefined
ZE	Zoned EBCDIC
ZN	Zoned numeric; used by DIBOL