The USE Command

Reference: Additional File Specifications for TIBCO FOCUS Data Sources

When you issue a command to access a FOCUS data source, such as TABLE FILE filename, WebFOCUS searches for a Master File with the specified file name, and then searches for a data source with the same name. The USE command specifies the name and location of a FOCUS data source. This is useful under the following conditions:

• The default naming convention is not used.
• The data source cannot be found on the standard search path.
• An explicit extra option is desired.

When you identify a FOCUS data source with the USE command, a USE directory is created, which is a list of data source definitions. When a USE directory is in effect, WebFOCUS locates a data source using the information in the directory instead of searching for it using the default name and search path. A USE directory enables you to access up to 1022 data sources and applies only to FOCUS data sources. You can simplify the creation of a USE directory in the following ways:

• Include all USE specifications in a single file that you call with the -INCLUDE command at the beginning of each procedure that needs to access the USE directory. For details on the -INCLUDE command, see Calling Another Procedure With -INCLUDE.
• Include all USE specifications in a WebFOCUS Reporting Server profile. When the profile is invoked, the USE commands will be active.

The DATASET attribute in the Master File can perform some, but not all, of the same tasks as the USE command. For information on DATASET, see the Describing Data With TIBCO WebFOCUS® Language manual.