Extract Files Under UNIX

In this section:

WebFOCUS creates all extract files in a temporary directory on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server, or in a user-defined location on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.

HOLD Files Under UNIX

How to:

A HOLD extract file is a sequential data source that contains the results of a report request. It may have a corresponding HOLD Master File. The extension for a HOLD file is .ftm unless you specify the FORMAT option. If a Master File is created, it has the same name as the extract file, with the extension .mas.

If you specify the FORMAT FOCUS option with HOLD, WebFOCUS creates an extract file and a Master File, each with the file name FOC$HOLD. These files are then used as input to the procedure that creates the final FOCUS file. The new FOCUS and Master Files are created in the user temporary directory.

Syntax: How to Create a HOLD File Under UNIX

ON TABLE HOLD [AS filename]

where:

filename

Is a name for the HOLD file. If you do not specify a file name, HOLD is used as the default name. Since each subsequent HOLD command overwrites the previous HOLD file, it is useful practice to code a distinct file name in each request to direct the extracted data to a separate file, preventing it from being overwritten.

For the complete syntax with all options, see the Creating Reports With TIBCO WebFOCUS® Language manual.

SAVB Files Under UNIX

How to:

A SAVB file is an extract file containing the results of a report request in internal format. That is, all numeric fields are stored in binary, and all character fields are padded with spaces to a multiple of four bytes. The file cannot be printed.

Syntax: How to Create a SAVB File Under UNIX

ON TABLE SAVB [AS filename]

where:

filename

Is the name of the file. The default is SAVB. The default extension is .ftm.

SAVE Files Under UNIX

How to:

A SAVE file is an extract file that saves the data of a report, but does not save headings, or subtotals, or create a Master File. It is a simple sequential character data file and can be used by other programs, or merged into another data file using a data maintenance request. The default format is simple character, although you can specify formats compatible with many other software products. WebFOCUS saves all columns in the report in printable, character format with no spaces between columns.

A SAVE file contains the external character format equivalent to SAVB. The command format and allocations are the same as SAVB. However, the numbers are printable Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC) characters and no padding takes place.

Syntax: How to Create a SAVE File Under UNIX

ON TABLE SAVE [AS filename]

where:

filename

Is the name of the file. The default is SAVE. The default extension is .ftm.

HOLDMAST Files Under UNIX

How to:

A HOLDMAST file is a temporary Master File. It is created with the HOLD command. The APP HOLDMETA command specifies its location.

If the HOLD file was created under the default name HOLD, the FILEDEF command can be used in conjunction with the APP HOLDMETA syntax to designate a logical name to the HOLD file and respective Master File.

Syntax: How to Specify the Location for a HOLDMAST File Under UNIX

APP HOLDMETA appname

where:

appname

Is a valid application name.

Example: Allocating a Logical Name and Location for a HOLDMAST File Under UNIX

The following example sets a logical name with FILEDEF and specifies a location for a HOLDMAST file:

1. APP HOLDMETA app1 
2. FILEDEF SALES DISK /tmp/sales.ftm
    TABLE FILE GGSALES
    PRINT GGSALES
    ON TABLE HOLD AS SALES
    END

The numbers listed next to the code correspond with the following notes:

  1. Specifies the location of the Master File in the app1 application directory. WebFOCUS uses the same logical name, SALES, specified in the second line, to name the temporary Master File.
  2. Specifies SALES as the logical name for the physical data source. The HOLD command creates the temporary Master File sales.mas and the data source sales.ftm.