Reference Manual

Text tables

These are flat text files that contain the language dependent aspects of Power-4gl in the form of lookup tables. The Power-4gl user interface functions make extensive use of these text tables such that the same compiled code can be used simultaneously by different users using different languages or language preferences. Another purpose of using text tables is to minimize redundancy and maintenance of text. The fields in a text table are of fixed width for easy editing. Text tables, which all have the extension ".tbl", are accessed by corresponding Power-4gl functions of the same name that load them compactly into memory for fast retrieval.

Label

Menu item labels.

3 fields:
Type: Single character. The type "m" indicates a submenu.
Code: A 16 character descriptive code , e.g. "syssetup".
Label: The corresponding label, e.g. in English "System setup".

Title

Window titles or header information.

4 fields:
Type: Single character. The type "m" indicates a menu.
Code: A 16 character descriptive code , e.g. "syssetup".
Line: A 2 character number indicating the title line number, e.g. "1".
Title: The corresponding title line, e.g. in English "SYSTEM SETUP".

Word

Single words or word combinations.

2 fields:
Code: A 16 character descriptive code , e.g. "filename".
Word: The corresponding word or word combination, e.g. in English "file name".

Stx

Single line messages. Typically used for error messages, prompts and window messages.

2 fields:
Code: A 16 character descriptive code , e.g. "badval".
Message: The corresponding message, e.g. in English "Invalid entry".

Mtx

Multiple line messages. Typically used in dialog boxes (prompt boxes and message boxes).

3 fields:
Code: A 16 character descriptive code , e.g. "locked".
Line: A 2 character number indicating the message line number, e.g. "1".
Message: The corresponding message line.