Hi
I have some basic questions about proIV which do not appear to be answered on this site.
I havea proIV system on a unix machine in my company. I want access to the source so I can understand what the programs are doing. I tried opening a .pro file from this website and it had embedded chars in it that couldn't be read in notepad like you could with a C program.
What basic tools do I need to view and understand the source? - At Minimum?
Is the code unusually structured into modules - what do I need to do to understand this language? (I don't have a manual)
What is PROIV anyway- in plain english. Saying that it is a 4gl doesn't help. What is unique about it?
Any other basic tips about it would be great.
Thanks
Colm Byrne
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Basic PROIV question
Started by
Guest_Colm Byrne_*
, Aug 06 2001 12:42 PM
8 replies to this topic
#2
Glenn Meyers
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Posted 06 August 2001 - 06:25 PM
Hi!
Well, first off, PROIV is a 4GL. It uses a set of linkage tables to direct a Kernel. The files you opened were linkage tables, not programs. It is different from ANY other language you may have used.
A single PROIV function is always spread across several of these tables. You cannot modify, create, or even examine PROIV functions using notepad, etc. as there is no 'executable' function to see. Everything happens through the Kernel. Think of the Kernel as a collection of subroutines you call.
To see PROIV code, you need the PROIV Developement Licenses from PROIV. There are other packages that add on such as PROAIDE, etc. but all require a developement license.
In addition, the code you have may be the run-time only code.... That is you did not recieve the source code, only a genned version of the linkages...so you may not be able to make changes at all. Please tell us more about your system, environment, etc. to see if we can help you.
Well, first off, PROIV is a 4GL. It uses a set of linkage tables to direct a Kernel. The files you opened were linkage tables, not programs. It is different from ANY other language you may have used.
A single PROIV function is always spread across several of these tables. You cannot modify, create, or even examine PROIV functions using notepad, etc. as there is no 'executable' function to see. Everything happens through the Kernel. Think of the Kernel as a collection of subroutines you call.
To see PROIV code, you need the PROIV Developement Licenses from PROIV. There are other packages that add on such as PROAIDE, etc. but all require a developement license.
In addition, the code you have may be the run-time only code.... That is you did not recieve the source code, only a genned version of the linkages...so you may not be able to make changes at all. Please tell us more about your system, environment, etc. to see if we can help you.
#3
Guest_Colm Byrne_*
Guest_Colm Byrne_*
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Posted 06 August 2001 - 09:49 PM
I don't have a lot of information on the system, only that it exists on some unix box. It is a simple banking system with deal entry and a few reports. We probably have licenses - only getting to the person guarding all the info is difficult. I do know that the source is there.
What I was really looking for was information to be able to say;
1) The basic structure of a a PRO-IV program is.... E.g. 'C' has classes which define etc. and give an example
2) If you know where the source is, you need (XXX program (e.g. ProAide) to edit it or the following generically available programs. This is how you go from entering code to producing a finished product. These are the essential components every program needs etc.
Is there a book out there on the language? The web has turned up few resources. The PRO-IV site itself is awful.What the hell is this thing, this monster ProIv?
What I was really looking for was information to be able to say;
1) The basic structure of a a PRO-IV program is.... E.g. 'C' has classes which define etc. and give an example
2) If you know where the source is, you need (XXX program (e.g. ProAide) to edit it or the following generically available programs. This is how you go from entering code to producing a finished product. These are the essential components every program needs etc.
Is there a book out there on the language? The web has turned up few resources. The PRO-IV site itself is awful.What the hell is this thing, this monster ProIv?
#5
Shaun Rudland
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Posted 07 August 2001 - 10:41 PM
G'Day Colm,
Chapters 2 through 5 of the PRO-IV Native Development Guide would give you an idea of what PRO-IV is and how it hangs together. Unfortunately, the pdf versions of the manual can only be downloaded from the PRO-IV Partners section of the PRO-IV website. I cannot send you the manual myself, as I would be reasonably certain that this would put me in breach of some distribution and copyright law somewhere in the World.
I do know that representatives of PRO-IV read and use this website, so if one of them is reading this, they may, out of the kindness of their heart, send you the relevant manual and/or any preliminary sales material that they have.
Regards
Shaun
Chapters 2 through 5 of the PRO-IV Native Development Guide would give you an idea of what PRO-IV is and how it hangs together. Unfortunately, the pdf versions of the manual can only be downloaded from the PRO-IV Partners section of the PRO-IV website. I cannot send you the manual myself, as I would be reasonably certain that this would put me in breach of some distribution and copyright law somewhere in the World.
I do know that representatives of PRO-IV read and use this website, so if one of them is reading this, they may, out of the kindness of their heart, send you the relevant manual and/or any preliminary sales material that they have.
Regards
Shaun
PRO-IV free for 385 Days 
#7
Mike Schoen
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Posted 13 August 2001 - 06:05 PM
Colm, there's not really a simple plain english way to describe pro-iv, you really do need the development documentation to get any sense of it. The development documentation comes with a development licence, which is why it's unlikely someone outside pro-iv will post it for you.
My 'simple' description is that pro-iv lets you set up screen layouts, associate files with the fields, and specify actions to do before and after reading data, while it takes care of making file io/screen io work.
One of the drawbacks with the development environment from the 'look and see how it works' approach, is that its very easy to inadvertantly change code while looking at things,
and breaking existing functionality.
You will need a development licence to go with the documentation, and speaking with the person who is responsible for the pro-iv system would be the best way to go. Figuring out the language is only half the battle - we have several thousand functions inhouse, learning the relations between the data is just much work. The administrator of this system will be able to help you understand how things work.
My 'simple' description is that pro-iv lets you set up screen layouts, associate files with the fields, and specify actions to do before and after reading data, while it takes care of making file io/screen io work.
One of the drawbacks with the development environment from the 'look and see how it works' approach, is that its very easy to inadvertantly change code while looking at things,
and breaking existing functionality.
You will need a development licence to go with the documentation, and speaking with the person who is responsible for the pro-iv system would be the best way to go. Figuring out the language is only half the battle - we have several thousand functions inhouse, learning the relations between the data is just much work. The administrator of this system will be able to help you understand how things work.
#8
Rob Fantini
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Posted 16 August 2001 - 03:43 PM
I would not waste any time trying to help this person.
He is trying to get at something he is not authorized to get at.
Otherwise he'd ask the authorized person.
If this were a case of trying to learn about pro4 for legit reasons then he would have accomplished this thru the correct channels.
Maybe there is a power struggle in his business.
Maybe he's trying to hack into an accounting package. In anycase don't help him.
I could be wrong, and often am, but check out his orig msg and the attitude of his other posts.
He is trying to get at something he is not authorized to get at.
Otherwise he'd ask the authorized person.
If this were a case of trying to learn about pro4 for legit reasons then he would have accomplished this thru the correct channels.
Maybe there is a power struggle in his business.
Maybe he's trying to hack into an accounting package. In anycase don't help him.
I could be wrong, and often am, but check out his orig msg and the attitude of his other posts.
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