Monster Media 1993 #2/Image.iso/database/p4w_all.zip/TI1280.ASC

Text File | 1993-03-11 | 9KB | 331 lines

  PRODUCT  :  Paradox for Windows                   NUMBER  :  1280
  VERSION  :  1.0
       OS  :  WIN
     DATE  :  March 11, 1993                           PAGE  :  1/5

    TITLE  :  Parsing Out Parts of a Phone Field Using a Script




  Intended Audience
  Users with a general knowledge of Paradox for Windows.

  Prerequisites
  Experience in restructuring tables.  Previous experience with
  ObjectPAL is helpful.

  Purpose
  This document demonstrates a script with a scan loop that will
  store portions of a phone number field formatted as (###)###-####
  into another field.  This script may be useful for formatting
  phone numbers so they can be used in a dialer program, or perhaps
  just to have an unformatted data source.  It provides a good
  example of general string parsing.

  The script that appears on the next page will parse an
  alphanumeric phone number field into unformatted data.  The
  script will put the new string into another field in your
  database.  Several formatting options are presented in the script
  that you can choose from depending on your needs.  The options in
  the script are:

     Option 1: Place the area code into another field with a
               minimum size of 3 characters.

     Option 2: Place the prefix into another field with a minimum
               size of 3 characters.

     Option 3: Place the last four digits of the phone number into
               another field with a minimum size of 4.

     Option 4: Place the phone number without the "-" and without
               the area code into another field with a minimum size
               of 7 characters.

     Option 5: Place only the numbers of a phone number field into
               another field (with a minimum size of 10
               characters), stripping out '(', ')' and '-'.


















  PRODUCT  :  Paradox for Windows                   NUMBER  :  1280
  VERSION  :  1.0
       OS  :  WIN
     DATE  :  March 11, 1993                           PAGE  :  2/5

    TITLE  :  Parsing Out Parts of a Phone Field Using a Script




  To use the script, you will need to have an alphanumeric field in
  your table to hold the value of the string that was created from
  your phone number field (one of the options discussed above).
  Depending on the option that you choose, this field will need to
  have a specific size.  The required field sizes for each option
  are listed on the previous page.  If you don't already have a
  field to hold this string, you will need to first Restructure
  your table and add a new field to your table.

  NOTE: Before making global changes to your table, it is a good
        idea to first make a backup copy.


  To add a new field to your table:

      o  Choose File | Utilities | Restructure, select your table
         from the Select File dialog box, then choose OK.

      o  Add a new field to your table, give it a name, declare it
         as an alphanumeric type with a size that corresponds to
         the option that you want to select (i.e. 10 characters for
         an unformatted phone number with area code, prefix and
         number, such as 4084399096).

      o  Choose Save

  Creating the script:

  Choose File | New | Script.  Type in the lines of code shown on
  the following page.  You will need to customize the script and
  substitute your own table name for TBLNAME and field names for
  SOURCEFLD (the phone number field) and NEWFLD.  In this script
  example, only one parsing option can be used for the entire
  script.  To select a particular parsing option, you will need to
  remove the ";" that precedes the option (see the comments in the
  script).




















  PRODUCT  :  Paradox for Windows                   NUMBER  :  1280
  VERSION  :  1.0
       OS  :  WIN
     DATE  :  March 11, 1993                           PAGE  :  3/5

    TITLE  :  Parsing Out Parts of a Phone Field Using a Script




    Var
       Tc1           Tcursor
       a, b, c, d    String
       Tv            Tableview
    EndVar

    Tc1.open("TBLNAME")             ;ADD YOUR DATABASE NAME HERE
    Tc1.edit()                      ; AND ENCLOSE IT IN QUOTES

    scan Tc1 :                      ;Make sure you type the colon.

       a=Tc1."SOURCEFLD"            ;Store Field value into
                                    ; variable 'a'. Enclose the
                                    ; field name in quotes.

       if a.match("(..)..-..", b, c, d) then

       ; UNREMARK ONE OF THE OPTIONS BELOW BY REMOVING THE ';'
       ;   THAT PRECEDES THE OPTION (i.e. Tc1.NEWFLD = b)

          ;Tc1.NEWFLD = b           ;Put area code into new field
          ;Tc1.NEWFLD = c           ;Put prefix into new field
          ;Tc1.NEWFLD = d           ;Put last 4 digits into new
                                    ; field.
          ;Tc1.NEWFLD = c+d         ;Put phone number w/o "-" and
                                    ; area code into new field
          ;Tc1.NEWFLD = b+c+d       ;Put only numbers into new
                                    ; field, stripping out '(', ')'
                                    ; and '-'.

       endif

    endscan

    Tc1.close()                     ;Close your TCursor
    Tv.open("TBLNAME")              ;Open file in table view to
                                    ; review changes

  NOTE: The semicolon ";" indicates that a comment follows.  The
        comment will not be processed when you play the script.

  This script scans each record of the table and uses the match
  method to test if the the value in the phone number field matches













  PRODUCT  :  Paradox for Windows                   NUMBER  :  1280
  VERSION  :  1.0
       OS  :  WIN
     DATE  :  March 11, 1993                           PAGE  :  4/5

    TITLE  :  Parsing Out Parts of a Phone Field Using a Script




  the pattern: "(..)..-..".  The ".." stands for a wildcard and
  matches any number of characters (including none).  If a match is
  found, Paradox will parse the field according to the particular
  parsing option that you select (see the discussion on page 2).
  If a match is not found, Paradox will leave the NEWFLD blank.

  Depending on the format of your phone number field, you may need
  to modify the string that is in the match method.  The string
  that is used in the match method in the script example,
  "(..)..-..", looks for a phone number of the format
  (###)###-####.  If your phone number has the format
  (###) ###-#### or ###-###-####, modify the match method as
  follows:

        Format           Change match method to

        (###) ###-####   if a.match("(..) ..-..", b, c, d) then
        ###-###-####     if a.match("..-..-..", b, c, d) then


  Checking the script for syntax errors:

  After you have typed in the script on the previous page, choose
  Language | Check Syntax from the menu.  The compiler examines the
  code and identifies if there are syntax errors in the method by
  displaying a message in the status line of the open Editor
  window, such as "No syntax errors" or a description of the syntax
  error.  If there is a syntax error, Paradox positions the cursor
  at the point of the first error.  Before you can run the script,
  you will need to correct your code and choose Language | Check
  Syntax again until there are no remaining syntax errors.

























  PRODUCT  :  Paradox for Windows                   NUMBER  :  1280
  VERSION  :  1.0
       OS  :  WIN
     DATE  :  March 11, 1993                           PAGE  :  5/5

    TITLE  :  Parsing Out Parts of a Phone Field Using a Script




  When there are no syntax errors:

     1.  Choose File | Save, type in a filename in the edit box,
         then choose OK.

     2.  To run the script, choose the Lightning Bolt tool.  Your
         script will play, and display your table in View mode.

     3.  To view your table, click on the table Title bar.


  Suggested Reading:

  scan statement         ObjectPAL Reference Guide, Chapter 3
  match method           ObjectPAL Reference Guide, Chapter 4
  Restructuring Tables   User's Guide, Chapter 9


  DISCLAIMER: You have the right to use this technical information
  subject to the terms of the No-Nonsense License Statement that
  you received with the Borland product to which this information
  pertains.