EASY.ACCESS and EASY.ACCESS.GUI

EASY.ACCESS is a powerful user-friendly front-end for all versions of PICK's inbuilt enquiry language, available in both a non-GUI (EASY.ACCESS) and GUI form (EASY.ACCESS.GUI). It may be used to create and execute enquiry sentences for:

INFORM

Prime INFORMATION

ENGLISH

McDonnell Douglas REALITY

ACCESS

PICK R83

RetrieVe

VMark UniVerse

RECALL

Ultimate

Uniquery

UniData

EASY.ACCESS supports all of the enquiry commands in ALL the PICK flavours. Developers have full control of which commands are presented to the user and may modify (or remove) the command descriptions available to the user to construct sentences.

Specific tables of commands and modifiers have been prepared especially for UniVerse and Prime INFORMATION users and these are selected automatically to match the machine type you are running on.

Help in EASY.ACCESS is available for certain commands and options by calling TCL HELP (only if standard HELP is supported on that system). If help is requested for a Dictionary Definition, the definition is displayed within a pop-up window.

EASY.ACCESS has been integrated with HostAccess's PASS.TO DOS and Windows facilities, to allow the result of virtually any enquiry to be automatically transferred into DOS or Windows applications including databases, spreadsheet products and word processors.

The data extraction and transfer is completely automatic and includes:

  • Taking the user into the DOS or Windows product.

  • Importing the transferred data.

  • Presenting the user with the result (for example, a LOTUS 3-D pie-chart).

When using the PASS.TO facilities, the relevant DOS or Windows product will be called and the data imported, e.g. PASS.TO.LOTUS.

Some "PASS.TO" routines only create a DOS file and do not call a DOS or Windows product. For example, PASS.TO.DIF will create a DIF file under DOS in the file called PIXELnnn.TMP (where  'nnn' is the PICK user's port number) in the current HostAccess directory.

EASY.ACCESS interface

Starting EASY.ACCESS

To start EASY.ACCESS, invoke it from the TCL command line as follows:

EASY.ACCESS {filename} {group} {(options}

Where:

filename

Optional name of data file for which inquiries will be constructed. This can also be specified from within EASY.ACCESS.

group

Dictionary groups can be set up as records in the dictionary of filename. These records allow you to logically group together dictionaries. i.e. SALES, COSTS. And, more importantly, groups can be used to restrict access to certain areas of the dictionary.

Using the word ALL overrides any groups and will present the user with ALL of the dictionaries found in the file.

(options

Anything following the open left round bracket is treated as an option. Multiple options can be specified with or without a comma delimiter. Most of the options are designed to be set when EASY.ACCESS is CALLED as a subroutine from other applications. These options can be as follows

C

Clear last sentence, as by default, EASY.ACCESS displays the last sentence for this port.

D

Used with the C option, clears back to default sentences held in the PIX.DEFAULTS record in the File: PIX.CONTROL.F file. The format of this record is the same as the other records in this file.

132

Switch EASY.ACCESS into 132 column mode.

A

The user will not be able to select ALL of the dictionaries. Only groups are allowed. This option is ignored if NO groups are found in the file so ensure you have at least one.

M

Multiple Groups, this option tells EASY.ACCESS to prompt for dictionary names by first prompting for the group name. Some users may find this a more friendly way of presenting dictionaries, some users may find this restrictive. Applications may FORCE the user to use multiple groups by setting both the  'F' and  'M' options.

F

Security feature - if a group name or  'M' option is used with the  'F' option, the user is FORCED to use them. This option is useful if applications wish to limit users to only certain parts of the dictionary. The user will also NOT be able to change files or load other sentences. To FORCE the user to use a previously saved sentence, the application can copy this saved record from the PIX.EASY.ACCESS.F file into the  'LAST.SENTENCE.PORT.n' record.

Using EASY.ACCESS

All of EASY.ACCESS's facilities are presented to the user in friendly pop-down menus and selection boxes. Users are guided through these menus in a logical but efficient manner when constructing enquiry sentences. The ease of use of the menu system is one of EASY.ACCESS's strongest points. Use of just the arrow keys, <RETURN> and <ESCAPE>, allows the user to quickly access and select the menu options required.

A number of function keys are provided for general use throughout the menus, which may be used instead of moving to the appropriate menu option. At the top most level of EASY.ACCESS main menus, these are:

F5

Process sentence.

F10

Help on currently highlighted option or dictionary definition (if system supports HELP command from TCL).

Other function keys available while reviewing (amending) parts of the constructed sentence are:

F1

Amend text/option.

F2

Delete text/option.

F3

Move text/option.

F8

Restore text/options.

The <ESCAPE> key should be used to return from lower menu levels or to exit from EASY.ACCESS when at the top menu level.

You may review the various component parts of the final sentence at any point. For example, you may wish to change the Selection Criteria - simply select Review from the Selection menu.

Dictionary groups can be used to  'break-up' a very large list of dictionary items into smaller and more manageable groups.

Dictionary Groups are records defined in the Dictionary of the file being used by EASY.ACCESS. They have the following format:

Key

PIX.GROUP.groupname.

Field 1

Group description.

Field 2

Multi-valued list of Dictionary Definition keys belonging to this group, these should really exist in the dictionary of the file to ensure valid sentences are constructed.

Where:

Groupname

User defined name for this group (e.g. SALES, DEPARTMENTS) - the file containing the group name must be prefixed by "PIX.GROUP." and thus is selected automatically by EASY.ACCESS for use by the users.

Group description

Up to 60 characters describing this group - this is the text that will be presented to the user when working with groups.

These Dictionary Groups should be entered into the appropriate Dictionary files.

Sentences may be saved and recalled by selecting the relevant options from the CONFIG menu. Any saved sentences are stored in the file File: PIX.EASY.ACCESS.F which normally points back to the main HostAccess account. This file can be created in the local account if preferred.

You may also specify that the data file be inquired upon by using another Dictionary definitions file (uses generic PICK USING construct).

Selecting and processing one of the  'pass to PC' application options tells EASY.ACCESS to call HostAccess's data extraction command GET and then call the relevant PASS.TO routine.

EASY.ACCESS Applications Integration

EASY.ACCESS is processed by the subroutine PIX.EASY.ACCESS which may be called by any PICK program, as follows:

CALL PIX.EASY.ACCESS(TCL.INPUT,TCL.OPTIONS)

Where:

TCL.INPUT

May be null or any of the command line parameters described above (i.e. PRICES SALES) for the SALES group from the PRICES file.

TCL.OPTIONS

May be null or any of the command line options described above i.e. C132F to FORCE only the SALES group from the PRICES file,  'C'learing the last sentence and switching HostAccess into 132 column mode first.

Program Example

*
* Program to call EASY.ACCESS using the file PRICES and
* force the user to only look at the SALES group of
* dictionaries. Where PIX.GROUP.SALES exists in the
* dictionary of the file PRICES containing the list of
* dictionaries in that group as a multi-value array etc.
*
* The 'C' option tells EASY.ACCESS to clear the previous
* sentence first and start with an empty statement.
*
 CALL PIX.EASY.ACCESS("PRICES SALES","C")
*

EASY.ACCESS.GUI interface

EASY.ACCESS.GUI is the new  GUI version of EASY.ACCESS. EASY.ACCESS.GUI makes data extraction and reporting even easier than before with an intuitive interface that enables you to build reports quickly.

Starting EASY.ACCESS.GUI

To start EASY.ACCESS.GUI, invoke it from the TCL command line as follows:

EASY.ACCESS.GUI

For further information, contact your HostAccess reseller.