CHAPTER 2: System Variables

UNIX C shell: 

   setenv VARIABLE value

UNIX Bourne shell: 

   VARIABLE=value; export VARIABLE

If value contains special characters or spaces, it must be quoted,i.e.: "some value". 

 
Table 2-1
 

System Variable Function
MS4GLCHKNULVAL	If set to any value, null values for NOT NULL attributes will be detected by the check command.
MS4GLCOMPATCHK	If set to any value, allows warning messages regarding possible compatibility problems to be issued when an application is compiled.
MS4GLDEBUGSETUP	Specifies the pathname of the file containing the initialization information for Empress 4GL debugging.
MS4GLFLUSHTYPEAHEAD	If set to any value, typeahead will be disabled.
MS4GLFONTNAME	Specifies the name of the font to use for workstation display managers.
MS4GLFONTNAME2	Fontname specification for the Korean implementation of Empress.
MS4GLKANJICONVERTER	Specific to the Empress Kanji version.
MS4GLNOLOADRUNMSG	If set to any value, loading and running informational messages will be suppressed.
MS4GLPRINTSCREEN	Specifies the pathname of the file in which to store screen dumps.
MS4GLPRINTSCREENFORMAT	Specifies which output format to use when printing a screen.
MS4GLPSHEADER	Specifies the pathname of the header file for PostScript output.
MS4GLPSHEIGHT	Specifies the font height for PostScript output.
MS4GLPSWIDTH	Specifies the font width for PostScript output.
MS4GLAPFMDB	Specifies the pathname of the Empress 4GL system database.
MSTERM	Specifies the name of the terminal in use.
MSTERMDB	Specifies the pathname of the terminal information database.
MS4GLXASYNCOFF	If set to any value, this variable disables immediate processing of the <Interrupt> key when the 4GL application is running X Windows.
MS4GLXCOLORTOLERANCE	When running under X Windows, if Empress 4GL is unable to obtain a color, this variable specifies how much difference - between the request color and an obtainable one - Empress 4GL will tolerate.
MS4GLXCURSORCOLOR	Specifies the foreground and background colors of the cursor of a 4GL application running under X Windows.
MS4GLXNEWCOLORMAP	If set to any value, this variable enables instructs Empress 4GL to use a new colormap under X Windows.
MS4GLXPOINTERCOLOR	This variable defines the pointer color under X Windows.
MS4GLXWINDOWTITLE	Specifies the title for the Empress 4GL window under X Windows.

2.2 Description of System Variables

By default, the Empress 4GL command "check expr for attr" will always accept a null value, even if the attribute is defined as NOT NULL. To detect null values for NOT NULL attributes, set the variable to any value.

MS4GLCOMPATCHK

If this variable is set to any value, Empress 4GL checks for possible compatibility problems when an application is compiled, issuing warning messages where appropriate. One possible problem is due to the fact that Version 4 does not handle null values the same way Version 2 does.

MS4GLDEBUGSETUP

This specifies the path to the file which stores setup information for the Empress 4GL Debugger. Change it if you change the name or location of this file.

MS4GLFLUSHTYPEAHEAD

This variable affects the behavior of Empress 4GL. Keyboard input which is typed faster than Empress 4GL can respond is saved. The commands are held temporarily and passed to Empress 4GL when it is ready. This is known as "typeahead". It may be disabled by setting this variable to any value.

MS4GLFONTNAME

When using workstation display managers, MS4GLFONTNAME names the font to be used by Empress 4GL. An example for X Windows is "8x13".

MS4LGFONTNAME2

This variable specifies the name of the font to use for Hangul characters when using the Korean version under X Windows. This is different from the font used for English characters (default value is r16). If this variable is not set or set to a null string, the default value is hangul16.

MS4GLKANJICONVERTER

For the Japanese (Kanji) version of Empress 4GL running under X Windows, this variable specifies the type of Kanji converter for your machine such as kinput, sj3 or xim. The default setting is kinput.

MS4GLNOLOADRUNMSG

Empress 4GL will display informational messages when an application is called. If MS4GLNOLOADRUNMSG is set to any value, these messages will be suppressed.

MS4GLPRINTSCREEN

When the <Print Screen> key is pressed, the screen dump is appended to the file specified by this variable. Note that the <Print Screen> key is defined in termdb.term_ap_key and the Help screen display.

MS4GLPRINTSCREENFORMAT

When printing a screen to a file, MS4GLPRINTSCREENFORMAT specifies the format of the output. It may be set to either a or p to produce ASCII or PostScript, respectively. The best setting for your system depends on the type of printer being used. ASCII is an easily-transportable industry standard, while PostScript allows more sophisticated layouts on many laser printers.

MS4GLPSHEADER

Whenever a screen is dumped in PostScript format, the file specified by MS4GLPSHEADER will have its contents included before the screen dump. It needs to be set only if you have selected PostScript output (using MS4GLPRINTSCREENFORMAT) and only if such a file exists.

MS4GLPSHEIGHT

MS4GLPSHEIGHT specifies the height of the bounding box to be used for PostScript output from the Empress 4GL print screen command. It needs to be set only if you have selected PostScript output (using MS4GLPRINTSCREENFORMAT). Note that a bounding box is the total space occupied by a character and the white space around it.

MS4GLPSWIDTH

MS4GLPSWIDTH specifies the width of the bounding box to be used for PostScript output from the Empress 4GL print screen command. It needs to be set only if you have selected PostScript output (using MS4GLPRINTSCREENFORMAT). Note that a bounding box is the total space occupied by a character and the white space around it.

MS4GLAPFMDB

If an alternative to the system database supplied with Empress is desired, MS4GLAPFMDB can be used to specify the pathname of a different system database to be used by Empress 4GL. It should be set in the operating system.

MSTERM

MSTERM identifies the type of terminal in use. Set it whenever you change the type of terminal you are using. While TERM is used if MSTERM is not set, we recommend that you set MSTERM separately since TERM is shared with other software and there is some risk of conflict. Note that MSTERM is not needed for SQL, which makes less rigorous use of the terminal.

MSTERMDB

If you wish to use an alternate terminal database, MSTERMDB should be set to the pathname of the new terminal information database. MSTERMDB is used only by Empress 4GL. It is not needed for SQL, which makes less rigorous use of the terminal.

MS4GLXASYNCOFF

When this variable is unset, the <Interrupt> key will be processed immediately when pressed. If MS4GLXASYNCOFF is set, the <Interrupt> key will be processed after any pending X events.

MS4GLXCOLORTOLERANCE

On X Windows servers which have few colors available, Empress 4GL may not be able to allocate a color it wants. If MS4GLXCOLORTOLERANCE is set, Empress 4GL will first search the colormap for a color which is "close" to the desired color. Closeness is calculated in the following manner:

r1, g1 and b1 are the components of the desired color
r2, g2 and b2 are the components of the current colormap entry
deviation = (|r1-r2|)² + (|g1-g2|)² + (|b1-b2|)²
If deviation <= MS4GLXCOLORTOLERANCE, the current colormap entry is accepted.

If a close color is not found, Empress 4GL will attempt to allocate a new color. If this fails, Empress 4GL will exit; printing an appropriate error message.

MS4GLXCURSORCOLOR

This variable changes the color of the text cursor in an Empress 4GL application. If alternate cursor colors are desired, MS4GLXCURSORCOLOR should be set to a four-digit decimal integer. The first two digits specify the foreground color; the last two digits specify the background color.

MS4GLXNEWCOLORMAP

When this variable is unset, Empress 4GL will attempt to use the existing colormap, either using existing entries or allocating new ones. If MS4GLXNEWCOLORMAP is set to any value, Empress 4GL will use its own colormap.

MS4GLXPOINTERCOLOR

This variable changes the color of the X Windows pointer when it enters the Empress 4GL window. If alternate pointer colors are desired, MS4GLXPOINTERCOLOR should be set to a four-digit integer. The first two digits specify the foreground color; the last two digits specify the background color.

MS4GLXWINDOWTITLE

If an alternate window title is desired, set MS4GLXWINDOWTITLE to the string you wish to use for the window title.