Sheerpower®
A Guide to the Sheerpower Language
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19.4.2 Embedding Script Areas in Code Areas with %INCLUDE

While in a Sheerpower Code Area, you can embed any other code or script, including an .HTM or .HTML file, by using the %INCLUDE directive. Sheerpower will recognize the HTML code and output it all to the browser. This makes it trivial to embed large blocks of HTML within your program. To include an HTML file: 


  %include "@sample_page.html"

If the file type is .SPSRC, .SPINC or .SPRUN, then the entire include file is assumed to be code. Otherwise it is assumed to be script.

See Section 3.9.4,%INCLUDE for more on the %INCLUDE directive in Sheerpower.

19.4.3 CGI Environment Symbols - GETSYMBOL$ Function

FORMAT:


  variable_name$ = getsymbol$('cgi_symbol')

EXAMPLE:

Example 19-6 GETSYMBOL$ Function 

  // get the CGI symbol value of "password" and store it into 
  // the variable mypassword$ 
[[%spcode]]  
  mypassword$ = getsymbol$('password') 
  print 'My Password is:'; mypassword$ 
[[/%spcode]]

PURPOSE:

The function GETSYMBOL$() is used to get the CGI symbol value from the webserver. If the symbol does not exist, then a null string is returned.

CGI Symbol Names
CGI Symbol Names are case sensitive.

DESCRIPTION:

Standard CGI environment symbols must be prefixed with "env:". For example: 


[[%spcode]] 
myip$ = getsymbol$('env:REMOTE_ADDR') 
print 'My IP address is:'; myip$ 
[[/%spcode]]

For a list of CGI environment symbols supported, see Section 18.3.8, Summary of CGI Environment Variables.

19.4.3.1 Embedded Code for CGI Symbol Lookups

If embedded code inside a Sheerpower script area starts with a $ (dollar sign) then what follows the $ is treated as a CGI symbol lookup. The result of that lookup is then sent to the browser. For example, to send the HTML to the browser the value of CITY (where CITY was received from a browser form submit action): 


  The city was: [[$CITY]]

CGI Symbol Names
CGI Symbol Names are case sensitive.

19.5 High Performance PERSIST Tags

FORMAT:


  [[%persist]] 
  ... 
  ... 
  [[/%persist]]

EXAMPLE:


[[%persist]]
[[%spscript]] 
<html> 
<head> 
  <title>Search Form</title> 
</head> 
<body onload="document.forms[0].city.select()"> 
<h2>Search for a city</h2>  
[[/%spscript]] 
counter++ 
print '<h2>Counter: '; counter;'</h2>' 
process$ = getsymbol$('process') 
select case process$ 
case '' 
  display_form 
case 'show_results' 
  display_form 
  do_show_results 
case else 
  print 'Unknown process: '; process$ 
end select 
 
print '</body>' 
print '</html>' 
 
[[/%persist]]

PURPOSE:

The [[%persist]] and [[/%persist]] tags will provide your program with a higher performance.

DESCRIPTION:

For high performance, a script can remain running longer than initially required using the [[%persist]] and [[/%persist]] tags.

To use the tags, place the [[%persist]] tag at the beginning of the main logic area, and the [[/%persist]] at the end of the main logic area.

The process included within the tags "goes away" after 10 seconds of inactivity.

19.5.1 Marking Code to Run Once

In addition to the [[%persist]] tag, find any code that you want to run just once per persistance and surround it with the [[%once]] and [[/%once]] tags. Good candidates are: 


routine do_show_results 
  [[%once]]
  open structure client: name 'c:\sheerpower\samples\client' 
  [[/%once]]

19.6 Location of Sheerpower Scripting Programs

Sheerpower scripting programs must be located in the following directory: 


  Sheerpower\sphandlers\scripts\sp4gl

The scripting programs are not stored directly in the wwwroot folder purposely to increase security. They are parallel to it. The actual location of the program when it runs is: 


  wwwroot\..\scripts\sp4gl\

If you move wwwroot to a different location, then the location of the scripting program moves as well. For example, if you change wwwroot as follows: 


 spins_webserver -wwwroot d:\mystuff\

Then the new location that the scripting program should reside is: 


  d:\scripts\sp4gl

And the parallel location the program will run from is: 


  d:\wwwroot\..\scripts\sp4gl

See Section 17.1.4, Specify Any Root Folder on how to change the location of wwwroot in SPINS Webserver.

19.6.1 How to Invoke a Sheerpower Script Program in the Browser

To invoke a Sheerpower script program in your browser:

  1. Start the SPINS_WEBSERVER (if not yet started) by clicking on the Windows Start menu and select Run. You can also open the Run window by clicking on the Windows logo key + "R". Type the following path into the "Open" field: 


        \sheerpower\sphandlers\spins_webserver.exe


    Then click on the OK button. SPINS_WEBSERVER will start up in a Command Prompt window.

  2. Open the Windows Run program again ("Start" menu, then select "Run") and type the URL of your server: 


        http://localhost/test.spsrc

Chapter 20
Calling Routines Written In Other Languages

Routines written in other languages can be called and run from a Sheerpower program.

Callable routines are stored in libraries. The LIBRARY statement tells Sheerpower what library a routine is located in. The LIBRARY statement must be used to specify where routines are located when they are called in a program.

The CALL statement calls routines and executes them. Any routine in a shared Windows library can be called and executed. The CALL and LIBRARY statements make programs more powerful, more versatile, and provide more programming options.

Note
Sheerpower can also run other programs from within Sheerpower using the PASS instruction. See Section 10.8, Pass Commands to the Operating System.

20.1 LIBRARY

FORMAT:


        LIBRARY 'libr_name'

DESCRIPTION:

The LIBRARY statement is used to specify the libraries that will be used in a program.

The LIBRARY statement specifies libraries from which to CALL routines. The routines can be written in any Windows language that supports the standard calling interface (FORTRAN, BASIC, COBOL, etc.).

libr_name is the file specification of a library. The library can be one of the Windows supplied libraries, or a user-defined library. A library must be named with the LIBRARY statement before a routine is called from it. The library name must be a string constant in quotes.

20.2 CALL

FORMAT:


        CALL routine_name(arg [BY pass_mech], arg...)

EXAMPLE:

Example 20-1 LIBRARY and CALL Statements 

  library 'msvcrt.dll' 
  a$    = space$(40) 
  text$ = 'Hello there!' 
  call 'strcpy' (a$, text$) 
  print a$ 
  end
 
 
Hello there!

DESCRIPTION:

The CALL statement is used to call and execute library routines. These routines can perform procedures so the programmer does not have to write the code from scratch.

The library to which the routine belongs must have been specified in a LIBRARY statement.

routine_name is the name of the routine being called. Some routines take arguments. arg is an argument that passes data to the routine or retrieves data from the routine. If more than one argument is passed, separate the arguments with commas: 


        CALL routine_name(arg, arg, arg...)

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