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Volume 2, Number 2 February 1987 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: *************** :: :: ********************* :: :: *************************** :: :: ****************************** :: :: **************** ************ :: :: *************** ************* :: :: *************** ************** :: :: *************** *************** :: :: **************** ***************** :: :: ***************** ************* :: :: ***************** ************** Microrim ONLINE :: :: ****************** *************** """"""""""""""" :: :: ****************** **************** Online Technical News :: :: ****************** ***************** :: :: ****************** ****************** :: :: ****************** ******************* :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Technical tips, techniques, and announcements from Microrim, Inc. Microrim ONLINE is published electronically approximately every month by Microrim, Inc. and distributed exclusively on the Microrim Bulletin Board System (BBS). You can obtain your copy free of charge by downloading it from the TECH-ED area of the FILES section. (206) 881- 8119. Setup: 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, No parity, and 300 or 1200 baud; operating 24 hours, seven days a week. COPYRIGHT """"""""" Copyright (c) 1987 by Microrim, Inc. All rights reserved. Microrim, Inc. authorizes the free distribution of this document for educational purposes as long as no charge is made and this document is distributed exactly as is without modification. Toward this end, this document may be stored in, uploaded to, and downloaded from any Bulletin Board Service (BBS) or electronic information service as long as no charge is made. CONTRIBUTIONS """"""""""""" You are encouraged to contribute to MICRORIM ONLINE. Please upload your article, application, or application story to the Microrim BBS or send an IBM compatible disk in standard ASCII format to: Kay D. Dayss, Microrim ONLINE Editor Microrim, Inc. 3925 159th Ave. N.E. P.O. Box 97022 Redmond, WA 98073-9722 By submitting an article or application to MICRORIM ONLINE, you agree that the material is not confidential and that Microrim, Inc., may use, duplicate, modify, publish, or sell it without obligation or liability to you or anyone else. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 1 TRADEMARKS """""""""" R:BASE and Microrim are registered trademarks of Microrim, Inc. XRW is a trademark of Microrim, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. XT and AT are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. DISCLAIMER """""""""" Microrim, Inc., makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents hereof, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, Microrim, Inc., reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes in the content hereof without obligation to notify any person of such revision or change and shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material. All opinions and product reviews in MICRORIM ONLINE are those of the author and not necessarily those of Microrim, Inc. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: TABLE OF CONTENTS :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Revision to 3labels Program ........................................ 1 Conditional Printing in Reports - Negative Balances in Parentheses . 5 Controlling your Printer ........................................... 8 Converting Integer Dates to R:BASE Dates ...........................13 Right-justifying Dollars on Forms ..................................14 Rounding Reals and Doubles .........................................15 Elapsed Time .......................................................16 Subtracting Dates to Get Years and Months ..........................17 Changing Alt 255s to Alt 32s .......................................18 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 2 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: TECHNICAL NOTES :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" REVISION TO 3LABELS PROGRAM """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-1 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL CATEGORY : LABELS SUBCATEGORY : 3LABEL program """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" QUESTION: """""""" How can I get the 3LABELS program provided with R:BASE System V to use SORTED BY and WHERE clauses correctly? SOLUTION: """""""" You need to revise the 120th and 123rd lines in the 3LABELS.ASC file and then make a new 3LABELS.PRO using CodeLock. Some of the surrounding code is included below to help you locate the two lines. $COMMAND 3LABELS SET MESSAGE OFF o o o WHILE level2 EQ 0 THEN o o o IF pick2 EQ 2 THEN IF sort EXISTS THEN 120th--> SET VAR sortby TO SORTED BY .sort ENDIF IF cond EXISTS THEN 123rd--> SET VAR wclause TO WHERE .cond ENDIF RUN Prntlab IN 3LABELS.PRO IF type EQ Screen THEN BEEP WRITE " " WRITE "Press any key to continue" PAUSE ENDIF BREAK ENDIF ENDWHILE o o o MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 3 Change line 120 to: SET VAR sortby TO ("SORTED BY" & .sort) Change line 123 to: SET VAR wclause TO ("WHERE" & .cond) These changes remove the ambiguity. The parentheses tell R:BASE System V that the variables are being set to expressions, and the quotations make it clear that what is inside the quotations should be considered one literal string. After making the changes to 3LABELS.ASC, use option five of CodeLock to make a new 3LABELS.PRO program. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 4 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CONDITIONAL PRINTING IN REPORTS - NEGATIVE BALANCES IN PARENTHESES """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-2 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL CATEGORY : REPORTS SUBCATEGORY : CONDITIONAL PRINTING """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEED: """" I want to print conditionally in my reports. For example, when I am printing dollar totals on a report and the balance is negative I want to print it enclosed in parentheses, but when it is positive I do not want the parentheses. I also want to print a list of names and underline only the people who are under 21. SOLUTION: """""""" Here are two approaches to conditional processing in reports. First, you can use R:BASE System V SuperMath functions in the report expressions in R:BASE System V reports. An example of this first approach is given in the Conditional Parentheses section below. The second approach involves a flag column in the table itself and is described in the Conditional Underlining section. Conditional Parentheses In this first example, the following functions do the job: o The IFLT (if less than) function is used to check and see if the balance is less than zero. If it is, then multiply by -1 and enclose it in parentheses. o The CHAR (character) function changes an ASCII integer code to the character the code represents. This function is used to convert the ASCII codes of 40 and 41 to the left and right parentheses characters. It is necessary to use the codes for the parentheses characters rather than the characters themselves because the IFLT function does not permit a text argument. o The CTXT (convert to text) function converts the currency balance value to text so that it is possible to concatenate the left parenthesis onto the front of it. o The RJS (right justify string) function is needed to right justify the dollar amount that has been converted to TEXT so that the decimal points align. In this example report, use the eight variable expressions listed on the next page to print customer balances. The report breaks on CUSTNUM, and for each customer number, adds up all the dollar amounts stored in an AMOUNT column and puts the result into a CURRENCY variable named VBAL. There are three fields located on this report in the break footer: CUSTNUM the column holding the customer number, VBALPRNT the TEXT variable holding the balance value to be printed (along with the left parenthesis if the balance is negative), and VRIGHT which is blank if the balance is positive and is the right parenthesis if the balance is negative. These three variables are shown on the following page. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 5 CUSTNUM - column VBALPRNT - variable VRIGHT - with the | | | E on top of the S F1 S E S EE All eight of the variables are cleared at break time. The expression list looks like this: 1: CURRENCY: VBAL = (.VBAL + 'AMOUNT') 2: INTEGER : VLEFTNUM = (IFLT(.VBAL,0,40,32)) 3: INTEGER : VRITENUM = (IFLT(.VBAL,0,41,32)) 4: CURRENCY: VBALPOS = (IFLT(.VBAL,0,(-1*.VBAL),.VBAL)) 5: TEXT : VLEFT = (CHAR(.VLEFTNUM)) 6: TEXT : VRIGHT = (CHAR(.VRITENUM)) 7: TEXT : VBALTEXT = (.VLEFT & (CTXT(.VBALPOS))) 8: TEXT : VBALPRNT = (RJS(.VBALTEXT,30)) The first expression VBAL accumulates the balance. The second and third variables VLEFTNUM and VRITENUM are assigned 40 (the ASCII code for the left parenthesis) and 41 (the ASCII code for the right parenthesis) if the balance is negative. If the balance is positive then both VLEFTNUM and VRITENUM are assigned ASCII 32 (the code for a blank). The fourth expression VBALPOS strips the negative sign if the balance is less than zero. The fifth and sixth expressions VLEFT and VRIGHT convert the ASCII codes stored in VLEFTNUM and VRITENUM to the appropriate characters. The fifth expression VBALTEXT converts the balance to TEXT. The sixth VBALPRNT right justifies it. Prior to running the report, issue the following three commands to set up the environment: CLEAR vbal vleftnum vritenum vbalpos vleft vright vbaltext vbalprnt SET ZERO OFF SET NULL " " Conditional Underlining To conditionally underline certain items, you can insert printer control codes directly into your database into a special column set up to hold temporary values. FLAG is a good name to use for this column. Make it a TEXT column. Now you can use the CHANGE command and the CHAR function to insert the appropriate printer control codes into the FLAG column for that row of data. To set up the appropriate CHANGE commands, determine the decimal ASCII codes that need to be sent to your printer to set underlining on and off. For example, on an EPSON FX-85, ESC "-1" turns underline on and ESC "-0" turns underline off. These translate to the decimal codes 27 45 49 to turn underline on and 27 45 48 to turn it off. To print a list of names stored in a NAME column and underline those under 21 years old (as determined by an AGE column), use the following commands: CHANGE flag TO (CHAR(27)+CHAR(45)+CHAR(49)) IN tblname WHERE age LT 21 CHANGE flag TO (CHAR(27)+CHAR(45)+CHAR(48)) IN tblname WHERE age GE 21 MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 6 When you define the report, locate the FLAG column immediately before the column you want to selectively underline. For this example, there are two only fields located on the report: FLAG - column NAME - column | | S ES E Now, when you print the report, the FLAG column will control whether the NAME is underlined or not. This is because the FLAG column contains either the printer control codes that turn underline on or the codes that turn underline off. For further information on printer control codes, see Microrim Technical Note number 87-1-3, Controlling Your Printer. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 7 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CONTROLLING YOUR PRINTER """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-3 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL R:BASE 5000 ALL CATEGORY : PRINTING SUBCATEGORY : PRINTER CONTROL CODES """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEED: """" I need to send printer control codes to my printer from reports, command files, and from the R> prompt. SOLUTION: """""""" You can use your printer's special control characters within R:BASE. Each printer is different. Your printer manual explains what codes are applicable for your printer. Your R:BASE manual explains how to send printer control codes to your printer in an R:BASE 5000 or R:BASE System V report. It is also possible to control your printer by using global variables at the R> prompt (in R:BASE System V), in your reports, or in command files. In this way you can: o Change the appearance of reports by changing fonts for different sections. o Use different printers with the same application when one printer uses one set of control codes and another uses a different set. o Enter printer control codes directly at an R> prompt. This is useful, for example, when you want to print a list with the SELECT command and you want to skip over the perforations in the printer's paper. R:BASE 5000 Method Using this method, you can pass printer control codes to your reports through global variables. Below is a way to do this using menus that allow the user to pick the print style wanted for each section of the report. Essentially, you are changing the REPORTS table, but it is being done in a way that is transparent to the user. The main command file is PRINTER.2. It calls another command file named CHANGE.2. The two command files are listed below. If you have R:BASE System V, you do not need to change the REPORTS table, but you might like to adopt the "menus" approach used here. In this example for R:BASE 5000, the user is presented with three menus in succession. From the first menu, the user picks the print style for the page heading. Next, the user sees a menu asking for the style for the break heading. Finally, there is another menu for the detail. These examples can be changed to suit your particular report. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 8 Here are the menus: *( PGHEAD.MNU ) +----------------------CHOOSE MODE FOR PAGE HEADING---------------------+ | Normal Print Compressed Print Italics Emphasized Print | | Double-strike Underlined Enlarged Print | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ *( BRKHEAD.MNU ) +--------------------CHOOSE MODE FOR BREAK HEADING----------------------+ | Normal Print Compressed Print Italics Emphasized Print | | Double-strike Underlined Enlarged Print | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ *( DETAIL.MNU ) +-----------------CHOOSE MODE FOR DETAIL INFORMATION--------------------+ | Normal Print Compressed Print Italics Emphasized Print | | Double-strike Underlined Enlarged Print | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Here are the program listings for the two command files PRINTER.2 and CHANGE.2: *( PRINTER.2 ) OPEN control CLEAR ALL VAR SET MESSAGE OFF SET ERROR MESSAGE OFF *(INITIALIZE VARIABLES TO NAMES OF REP VARS AS THEY APPEAR IN RDATA) SET VAR vhpon TO " HEADING (TEXT) =" SET VAR vhpoff TO " HEADING2 (TEXT) =" SET VAR vh1on TO " BRKHEAD (TEXT) =" SET VAR vh1off TO " BRKHEAD2 (TEXT) =" SET VAR vdon TO " DATALINE (TEXT) =" SET VAR vdoff TO " DATALIN2 (TEXT) =" SET VAR vpart3 TO " (VALUE, TEXT)" SET VAR vloop TO Y WHILE vloop = Y THEN NEW CHOOSE vhppick FROM PGHEAD.MNU IF vhppick = ESC THEN WRITE "No Choice Made" GOTO BOTTOM ENDIF IF vhppick = HELP THEN WRITE "Display a Help Screen Here" *( DISPLAY the help.scr file. ) QUIT TO PRINTER.2 ENDIF CHOOSE vh1pick FROM brkhead.mnu CHOOSE vdpick FROM detail.mnu MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 9 *( Now, the user's choices are used to lookup the correct control code and recreate a row in the REPORTS table's RDATA column to replace the one which previously contained the printer control code) RUN CHANGE.2 USING .vhppick .vhpon .vhpoff RUN CHANGE.2 USING .vh1pick .vh1on .vh1off RUN CHANGE.2 USING .vdpick .vdon .vdoff OUTPUT PRINTER PRINT calls OUTPUT SCREEN ENDWHILE LABEL BOTTOM *( CHANGE.2 ) SET VAR vcodeon TO STRING IN prnctrl WHERE desc = .%1 SET VAR vcodeoff TO CANCEL IN prnctrl WHERE desc = .%1 SET VAR vnewrpt1 TO .%2 & .vcodeon SET VAR vnewrpt1 TO .vnewrpt1 & .vpart3 SET VAR vnewrpt2 TO .%3 & .vcodeoff SET VAR vnewrpt2 TO .vnewrpt2 & .vpart3 CHANGE RDATA TO .vnewrpt1 IN REPORTS WHERE RDATA CON .%2 AND RNAME = calls CHANGE RDATA TO .vnewrpt2 IN REPORTS WHERE RDATA CON .%3 AND RNAME = calls Based on the user's choice, the CHANGE.2 command file looks up the appropriate codes in a table named PRNCTRL. The table PRNCTRL has been loaded previously with the appropriate control codes for turning that style on and off. Example contents of the table are listed below: STRING DESC CANCEL --------- ---------------- --------- <27 87 1> ENLARGED PRINT <27 87 0> <15> COMPRESSED PRINT <18> <27 52> ITALICS <27 53> <27 69> EMPHASIZED PRINT <27 70> <27 71> DOUBLE-STRIKE <27 72> <27 45 1> UNDERLINED <27 45 0> <18> NORMAL PRINT <18> Next, the CHANGE.2 command file concatenates the appropriate information together to form a new row for the REPORTS table which will replace the old definition of that variable. For example, if the name of the report variable is HEADING, then the data in the RDATA column in REPORTS looks like this: HEADING (TEXT) = <15> (VALUE,TEXT) The CHANGE.2 command file concatenates the VHPON variable (containing HEADING (TEXT) = ) with the variable containing the appropriate printer control code (for example, <27 72>) forming a temporary variable. The temporary variable is then concatenated to the VPART3 variable, which contains the last portion of the report variable MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 10 definition, (VALUE, TEXT), forming VNEWRPT1 which now contains the following: HEADING (TEXT) = <27 72> (VALUE, TEXT) The command file then executes a CHANGE command to replace the data in the RDATA column with the value of this new variable. Look near the top of the PRINTER.2 listing and you will find that in the INITIALIZE VARIABLES section each of the variables VHPON through VPART3 are initialized with leading blanks. These leading blanks are important because that is how the report variables are stored, so be sure to include them. When creating the menus using RBEDIT, make sure there is a line before the one that starts with the word ROW. This is a requirement for menu files. It can be a blank line, or it can contain the name of the menu if you plan to compile it into a procedure file. You have the option of displaying a help screen if the user presses [F10] instead of making a menu pick. Use the following files to create the menus shown on pages one and two: *( PGHEAD.MNU ) ROW CHOOSE MODE FOR PAGE HEADING Normal Print Compressed Print Italics Emphasized Print Double-strike Underlined Enlarged Print *( BRKHEAD.MNU ) ROW CHOOSE MODE FOR BREAK HEADING Normal Print Compressed Print Italics Emphasized Print Double-strike Underlined Enlarged Print *( DETAIL.MNU ) ROW CHOOSE MODE FOR DETAIL INFORMATION Normal Print Compressed Print Italics Emphasized Print Double-strike Underlined Enlarged Print MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 11 R:BASE System V Method R:BASE System V allows more flexibility because of the CHAR function and because global variables can be used directly in your report. Therefore, there is no need to modify the REPORTS table. You can set variables directly to printer control codes and then control the printer from the R> prompt or use the variable in a report and control the appearance of the report. For example, if the printer control code for turning on skip-over- perforation is ESC 78 and the code for turning it off is ESC 79, you can use the following short command file to turn it on, print a list with the SELECT command and then turn it back off: SET LINES 0 SET VAR vperfon TEXT SET VAR vperfoff TEXT SET VAR vperfon TO (CHAR(27)+CHAR(78)) SET VAR vperfoff TO (CHAR(27)+CHAR(79)) OUTPUT PRINTER SHOW VAR vperfon SELECT name FROM list SHOW VAR vperfoff OUTPUT SCREEN If you like, you can also set up a series of menus from which the user can pick which print styles to use. With R:BASE System V you can load these menu choices directly into global variables such as VRPTHEAD (for the report header print style), VBRKHEAD (for the break header font), and VDETAIL (to control how the detail will look) and then use these global variables directly from the R> prompt (with the SHOW VAR command), inside a command file, or in your report. Sample menus are shown in the R:BASE 5000 Method section above. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 12 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CONVERTING INTEGER DATES TO R:BASE DATES """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-4 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL CATEGORY : CONVERSION SUBCATEGORY : INTEGER TO DATE """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEED: """" When I import data from a file into R:BASE, I have trouble with the date columns. In the file, the dates are listed without delimiters as six digit numbers. For example, October 1, 1986, is listed as: 100186 When these fields are loaded, R:BASE interprets them as INTEGER data types. How can I convert them to the R:BASE DATE data type? SOLUTION: """""""" Use the commands listed below to define two columns for this field in your R:BASE table. Define one column ICOLNAME as an INTEGER column and load the value from the file into this column. Define the second column DCOLNAME as a computed DATE column. When you enter the DCOLNAME expression, do not enter the plus sign (+) shown at the end of each of the first two lines. These are continuation characters and are automatically inserted by R:BASE System V as needed. DEFINE dbname COLUMN icolname INTEGER dcolname =(RDATE((INT('icolname'/10000)),((INT('icolname'/100))+ -((INT('icolname'/10000))*100)),('icolname'-((INT('icolname'/100))+ *100)))) DATE For example, if a file named DATEFILE.DAT contains the integers 10186, 101087, and 123085, and if you load them into a table named DATETBL with the LOAD command (LOAD datetbl FROM datefile.dat USING icolname), the table will hold these rows: icolname dcolname -------- -------- 10186 01/01/86 101087 10/10/87 123085 12/30/85 The computed column automatically determines the correct date and format based on the INTEGER value in the INTEGER column. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 13 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" RIGHT-JUSTIFYING DOLLARS ON FORMS """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-5 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL CATEGORY : FORMS SUBCATEGORY : DOLLAR FORMATS """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEED: """" When entering data in a CURRENCY field in an R:BASE System V form, R:BASE System V automatically left-justifies CURRENCY columns so that it is easy for the operator to enter the data. However, when I am only displaying dollars on a form, I want to right-justify them so that the decimal points align. SOLUTION: """""""" David McCann of Classic Micro Systems, North Hollywood, CA provides this solution. Although you cannot enter values on a form and then align them within the same input field, you can align values which have been computed, displayed in a separate location on the form, or looked-up from another table and then displayed. Here is an example. First, start with any existing form on which you would like to display right-justified CURRENCY fields. Second, define an expression for each value you wish to locate on your form using the R:BASE System V conversion function CTXT to convert a CURRENCY amount to TEXT. For example, to convert the column AMOUNT to TEXT, define this expression: vtxtamt = (CTXT('amount')) Third, define another expression using the string function RJS to right-justify that text within a given field. For example, to right- justify the TEXT value defined previously in an eight-character field, define this expression: vramount = (RJS(.vtxtamt,8)) Fourth, locate the right-justified variable VRAMOUNT on your form. Make this field display only by modifying the field characteristics to tell R:BASE that no new data will be entered in the field and that the data displayed in the field is not editable. Now you can display a column of CURRENCY values which all align on the decimal point. If you have ZERO set on, NULL CURRENCY values display as $0.00. With ZERO set off, NULL CURRENCY values appear as blanks. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 14 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ROUNDING REALS AND DOUBLES """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-6 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL CATEGORY : MATH SUBCATEGORY : ROUNDING """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" QUESTION: """""""" How can I round a REAL or DOUBLE number to two decimal places? SOLUTION: """""""" Use the ANINT function. First, multiply the REAL or DOUBLE number by a multiplier constant (100 for example) after adding the applicable rounding constant (.005 for this example). Next, take the ANINT of the result. Finally, divide the new result by the same multiplier constant. If you use the multiplier constant 100, you end up with a real number rounded to two decimal places. For example, the following code will round the number 28.376 to two decimal places. SET VAR vround REAL SET VAR vround TO 28.376 SET VAR vround TO ((ANINT((.vround+.005)*100))/100) In this example, .005 is the rounding constant and 100 is the multiplier constant. After running these three commands, VROUND equals 28.38. The number of decimal places you want determines the multiplier and rounding constants in the expression. For one decimal place, add .05, multiply by 10, and then divide by 10. For two decimal places, add .005, multiply by 100, and then divide by 100. For three decimal places, add .0005, multiply by 1000, and then divide by 1000, and so on. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 15 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ELAPSED TIME """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-7 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL CATEGORY : MATH SUBCATEGORY : TIME MATH AND MIDNIGHT """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEED: """" Subtracting times that start after midnight from times that start before midnight results in a negative number. R:BASE System V assumes that the start time is later that day instead of the day before. For example, if the start time is 23:00, the stop time is 01:00, and the expression ((STOP-START)/60) defines elapsed minutes, R:BASE System V tells me that the elapsed minutes are -1320 when the answer I am seeking is 120 minutes. SOLUTION: """""""" Steven P. Vellella of BV Custom Software, Corapolis, PA, provides the following solution. Use the IFLT function. For example, if you want to put the elapsed time in a computed column named ELAPSE, and the start and stop times are in the columns START and STOP, use the commands listed below to define the three columns. Do not enter the plus sign (+) shown at the end of the first line in the ELAPSE expression. It is a continuation character automatically inserted by R:BASE System V. DEFINE dbname COLUMN start TIME stop TIME elapse =IFLT((('stop'-'start')/60),0,(('stop'-'start')/60+1440),+ (('stop'-'start')/60)) INTEGER The IFLT function, used in the computed column ELAPSE, reads in English like this: If STOP minus START divided by 60 is less than zero, add 1440 (the number of minutes in a day) to the result. Otherwise, simply compute the result (('STOP'-'START')/60) without adding the additional minutes. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 16 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SUBTRACTING DATES TO GET YEARS AND MONTHS """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-8 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL CATEGORY : MATH SUBCATEGORY : DATE MATH """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEED: """" I want to subtract two dates and show the result as the number of approximate years and months. SOLUTION: """""""" You can subtract two dates and show the result as years and months by using the two R:BASE System V SuperMath functions INT and MOD. Subtract the two dates and divide the result by 365 (the number of days in a year) and use the two functions on the result. The INT (integer) function extracts the portion of the result that lies to the left of the decimal point. The MOD (modulus or remainder of one argument divided by a second) function pulls off the portion to the right of the decimal point. For example, if you have two DATE columns in your table named STARTDAY and STOPDAY, add two computed columns YEARS and MONTHS to hold the number of years and remaining months. Define these two computed columns using the expressions listed below. years =(INT(('stopday'-'startday')/365.)) INTEGER months =(INT(MOD(('stopday' - 'startday'),365.)/30.)) INTEGER The YEARS expression reads in English as follows: subtract STARTDAY from STOPDAY and divide the result by 365. Then take the INTEGER result (the part to the left of the decimal point) and store it in the YEARS column. The MONTHS expression reads: subtract STARTDAY from STOPDAY and divide the result by 365. Take the modulus of that number (the part that lies to the right of the decimal point) as a whole integer number. Now, divide that number by 30 to come up with the number of whole months. This method gives you the approximate number of years and months. It assumes that all months have 30 days and all years have 365 days. If you need a more accurate answer, you can do it by creating more complex expressions. If you want to be exact, you may need to use several different expressions, assign the intermediate results to variables, and then use the CHANGE command to put the final answer into the column. You could, for example, determine which months are being included and add the correct number of days for each month. You could even check for leap years and if the entire month of february is included for that year, use 29 days rather than 28. However, every level of complexity will add execution time. You need to assess whether the benefit (small increase in accuracy) is worth the cost in terms of execution time. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 17 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CHANGING ALT 255s TO ALT 32s """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DATE : 1/87 NUMBER : 87-1-9 PRODUCT : R:BASE SYSTEM V VERSIONS : ALL CATEGORY : CONVERSION SUBCATEGORY : ALT 255 to 32 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEED: """" At various times I like to use an ALT 255 in my R:BASE System V application files, menus, or reports. The ALT 255 looks like a normal blank (which is an ALT 32) on the screen, but it causes some printers to go haywire because it is interpreted as a control character. I like to use the ALT 255 to blank out sections in my reports and to make more attractive menu titles. How can I use ALT 255s but have the printer interpret them as ALT 32s? SOLUTION: """""""" You can change the defaults to have an ALT 255 interpreted as an ALT 32 when sent to the printer by revising the PRINTER.ASC file and making a new DEFAULT.MSG file. See chapter 10 in your R:BASE System V User's Manual for a complete description of the default files. To change ALT 255s to ALT 32s before they reach your printer, revise the PRINTER.ASC file and make sure that it resides with the DEFAULT.MSG file in the same directory as your R:BASE System V program files. After making a backup of the original version of the PRINTER.ASC file, use an editor to insert the following line as a new entry in the table: 255 32 0 0 Note that the 255 starts in column three and the 32 starts in column nine. The first zero is in column 13, and the second zero is in column 16. You can place this new line anywhere in the list. Finally, make sure that DEFGEN.EXE, DEFAULT.ASC, and the new PRINTER.ASC files are all on your default drive and from the DOS prompt, type: DEFGEN DEFAULT.ASC This will generate a new DEFAULT.MSG file with your changes recorded. MICRORIM ONLINE February 1987 ------------------------------- Page 18