User Tools

Site Tools


group_reusable_statement_group_.htm
Navigation:  Templates > Template Language Reference > Complete Alpha Listing >====== #GROUP (reusable statement group) C6H0068.jpg ====== Previous pageReturn to chapter overviewNext page

#GROUP( symbol [, [ type ] parameters [= default ] ] ) [, AUTO ] [, PRESERVE ] [, HLP( helpid ) ]

blk2blue.jpg

#GROUP Begins a section of template code that may be inserted into another portion of the template.
symbol A user-defined symbol used as the #GROUP's identifier.
type The data type of a passed parameter: LONG, REAL, STRING, or * (asterisk). An asterisk (*) indicates it is a variable-parameter (passed by address), whose value may be changed by the #GROUP. LONG, REAL, and STRING indicates it is a value-parameter (passed by value), whose value is not changed by the #GROUP. If type is omitted, the parameter is a passed as a STRING.
parameters User-defined symbols by which values passed to the #GROUP are referenced. You may pass multiple parameters, each separated by commas, to a #GROUP. All specified parameters must be passed to the #GROUP; they may be omitted only if a default is supplied.
=default The value passed for an omitted parameter.
AUTO Opens a new scope for the group. This means that any #DECLARE statements in the #GROUP would not be available to the #PROCEDURE being generated. Passing parameters to a #GROUP implicitly opens a new scope.
PRESERVE Preserves the current fixed instances of all built-in multi-valued symbols when the #GROUP is called and restores all those instances when the #GROUP code terminates.
HLP Specifies on-line help is available.
helpid A string constant containing the identifier to access the Help system. This may be either a Help keyword or “context string.”

#GROUP defines the beginning of a section of code which is generated into the source. A #GROUP section may contain Template and/or target language code. The #GROUP section is terminated by the first occurrence of a Template Code Section (#PROGRAM, #MODULE, #PROCEDURE, #CONTROL, #CODE, #EXTENSION, or #GROUP) statement, or the end of the file. Within a single Template, separate #GROUP sections may not be defined with the same symbol. The parameters passed to a #GROUP fall into two categories: value-parameters and variable-parameters.

Value-parameters are declared as user-defined symbols, with an optional type and are “passed by value” (a copy of the value is passed) Either symbols or expressions may be passed as value-parameters. When a multi-valued symbol is passed as a value-parameter, only the current instance is passed.

Variable-parameters are declared as user-defined symbols with a prepended asterisk (*) (and no type). A variable-parameter is “passed by address” and any change to its value by the #GROUP code changes the value of the passed symbol. Only symbols may be passed to a #GROUP as variable-parameters. When a multi-valued symbol is passed as a variable-parameter, all instances are passed.

The statements contained in the #GROUP section are generated by the #INSERT or #CALL statements. A #GROUP may contain #EMBED statements to define embedded source code points. A #GROUP may contain #PROMPT statements to obtain programmer input.

A #GROUP may act as a function if the #RETURN statement which passes control back from the #GROUP has a parameter. The value is returned to the CALL built-in procedure or directly to the expression in which the #GROUP is called as a function. If the #GROUP is called without the CALL built-in procedure and takes no parameters, open and close parentheses must be appended to the #GROUP symbol. For example, you may either place CALL(%MyGroup) in an expression or just %MyGroup().

Example:

#GROUP(%GenerateFormulas)           #!A #GROUP without parameters

 #FOR(%Formula)

   #IF(%FormulaComputation)

%Formula = %FormulaComputation

   #ELSE

IF(%FormulaCondition)

 %Formula = %FormulaTrue

ELSE

 %Formula = %FormulaFalse

END

   #ENDIF

 #ENDFOR

#GROUP(%ChangeProperty,%MyField,%Property,%Value) #!A #GROUP that receives parameters

%MyField{%Property} = '%Value' #<;!Change the %Property of %MyField

#!A #GROUP that receives a variable-parameter and a value-parameter:

#GROUP(%SomeGroup, * %VarParm, LONG %ValParm)

See Also:     #INSERT ,#RETURN , CALL

group_reusable_statement_group_.htm.txt · Last modified: 2021/04/15 15:57 by 127.0.0.1