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MESSAGE (ME)
MESSAGE (ME)
The MESSAGE; command sends a message from Ispec or Report logic to the screen (or to
a PRINT$ file if from an OS 2200 based Report).
The MESSAGE; command sets GLB.ERROR to ***** in Ispec logic, but not in Report logic.
Parts of a Message
A message consists of two parts:
$ A value. This can be a data item or the words ERROR or ATTENTION. It is displayed
in reverse video, and will be truncated to a length of 16 characters.
Signed numeric data values are displayed left-aligned with leading zeros suppressed.
Decimals are displayed, and negative values are followed by a minus sign.
$ Associated text. This text can be a literal or data item containing a value of up to 50
characters. Due to a COBOL restriction, the double-quote character requires two
character positions. Global Setup Data items can be used to hold messages, which can
be stored in multiple languages. A numeric value in the text area will be syntaxed as an
error.
Note: When the MESSAGE; command is used in Reports, no truncation of the value is
done, but the combined message is truncated to 80 characters.
How Messages are Displayed
If only one message is to be displayed, it appears on the status line at the bottom of Page 1.
(On OS 2200 based LINC Systems, the first character of the message must not be a slash (/)
character.) If two or more messages are invoked, they will appear on Page 2 (or Page 3 for
UNIX and OS 2200 based LINC Systems) of the terminal.
For LDA, if only one message is to be displayed, it appears on the status line. If two or
more messages are invoked, they appear in a dialog box and a message is displayed on the
status line indicating there are multiple messages.
Multiple messages are displayed on MCP based LINC Systems and in LDA in reverse order
to which they are coded, but on OS 2200 based and UNIX LINC they are displayed in the
order specified on the System Environment Options screen.
For UNIX and OS 2200 based LINC Systems, there is a limit of how many messages are
displayed (22 messages for UNIX and 19 messages for OS 2200 based). When this limit is
exceeded, an error message is produced.
Messages sent from an unattached Report are not returned to the screen.
Note: Messages queued from the MESSAGE; command take priority over any Teach
screen currently displayed on Page 2.
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