Deprecated Jam5 JPL Syntax and Library Functions

Function & Syntax Documentation,
Including Jam7-Compliant Replacement Examples

What's documented here:

A variety of syntax was officially deprecated in Jam7, but still continues to function. This syntax is undocumented in current manuals, but can often be found in older programs converted from earlier versions, or written by Jam programmers familiar with older versions of Jam.

For all the functions and syntax that was deprecated virtually all of the methods had replacement functionality. Thus, in this deprecated syntax there are not hidden undocumented bonuses just waiting to be uncovered.

In what versions does this deprecated syntax work:

This syntax works in all Jam7 versions, all Prolifics versions and in Panther. All of the syntax and functions have been tested as of the most recent version of the Prolifics product, Panther, released in 1999.

As a convention, throughout this document, when references are made to Jam7, readers should assume that this means the Jam7, Prolifics and Panther application development tools, unless a distinction is clearly specified. For core JPL and library function functionality, these three different versions & configurations of the development tool operate virtually identically.

How Should this guide be used:

The following should allow users to understand what the old syntax and library functions mean, and to convert it to syntax that is defined in the Jam7 manuals. This guide should also assist people in maintaining old code, but it is the author's hope that it will not encourage anyone to use these old methods in future programming efforts.

How should this document not be used:

Deprecated Jam5 JPL Syntax

JPL Syntax List by Category

• JPL String Operations
  Operators: length, (concatenation operators)

• JPL Math Operations & Operators
  Operators: math, % and %t (rounding & truncation operators), Unary + operators

• JPL Function Definition & Calling
  Operators: jpl, call, atch, retvar, parms
  Field & Screen Function Bitmask Constants

• JPL Variable & Widget Assignment
  Operator: cat

• Miscellaneous JPL
  Operators: msg query, AUTO control string, sql
  Excessive Colon Expansion

JPL Syntax List by Name

• % and %t (rounding and truncation operators)
• + (as unary operator)
• atch
• AUTO control string
• call
• cat
• (concatenation operator)
• jpl
• length
• math
• msg query
• parms
• retvar
• sql

Deprecated Jam5 Functions

As with all Jam/Prolifics/Panther functions, there are function variants that are used for specifying objects on the screen in different ways. Only the base name of the function is given in these lists. See the function detail for all variants.

Function List by Category

• Scrolling Array and Occurrences Functions
  Functions: sm_t_scroll, sm_num_occur, sm_max_occur, sm_size_of_array, sm_sc_max, sm_rscroll, sm_ascroll

• Widget Name, ID, and Field Number Functions
  Functions: sm_name(), sm_getcurno(), sm_fldno(), sm_base_fldno().

• Widget Protection and Unprotection Functions
  Functions: sm_protect(), sm_unprotect(), sm_1protect(), sm_1unprotect(), sm_aprotect(), sm_aunprotect()

• Widget Size and Contents Functions
  Functions: sm_length(), sm_t_shift(), sm_oshift()

• Screen and Message Window Functions
  Functions: sm_viewport(), sm_mwindow(), sm_query_msg()

• Text Color and Text Attribute Functions
  Functions: sm_chg_attr(), sm_o_achg()

• Querying and Changing Other Widget Properties -- Part 1 -- sm_bitop
  Functions: sm_bitop()

• Querying and Changing Other Widget Properties -- Part 2 -- sm_finquire
  Functions: sm_finquire()

• Group Properties and Selection Functions
  Functions: sm_gp_inquire(), sm_isselected()

Function List by Name

• sm_1protect
• sm_1unprotect
• sm_o_achg
• sm_aprotect
• sm_ascroll
• sm_aunprotect
• sm_base_fldno
• sm_bitop
• sm_chg_attr
• sm_finquire
• sm_fldno
• sm_getcurno
• sm_gp_inquire
• sm_isselected
• sm_length
• sm_max_occurs
• sm_mwindow
• sm_name
• sm_num_occurs
• sm_protect
• sm_query_msg
• sm_rscroll
• sm_sc_max
• sm_size_of_array
• sm_t_scroll
• sm_t_shift
• sm_unprotect
• sm_viewport

Version 1.0 of Jam5 Deprecated JPL Syntax and Library Functions.

All testing of these functions and JPL syntax was done on Panther, along with other tests being done on Jam7.

This document last updated August 1999.

This page and all syntax & function detail pages are: Copyright 1999 by Michael Ryan. Although the author is a consultant for Prolifics, this page and it's contents are NOT an official product of Prolifics, and the author is solely responsible for its contents. Every effort has been made to make this document as accurate as possible, but <standard disclaimer> users assume the sole responsibility for using the information in this document.

Please report any errors or comments to (email address).