Bob,
Though I did not ask the question, that was an excellent explanation. Though the same information is found in various areas of the HELP utility, putting it all together as you did, made it all very clear. Thanks for taking the time to help us (at least in my case) novices. Jim ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bob Thompson Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2009 8:39 PM To: RBASE-L Mailing List Subject: [RBASE-L] - Re: Help with syntax, why do i need ' + .vstartdrive + ' The + is a combination function used in Rbase when defining variables. It is also the default continuation character. They are two completely separate functions. In setting variables if I want to "add" two text values, I have to tell Rbase what the two values are, what to do with them and how I want them processed. The + signs tells Rbase I am adding two values together. For example: Set var vText1 = "This is a Text variable" -- establishes a variable with a text type Set var vText2 = "and it works well" --same type of command as the above. Set var vCombined = (.vText1 + .vText2) --combines the two text variables into one without an added space between. vCombined now equals "This is a Text variableand it works well" Note that there are no spaces between the two values when combined! However: Set var vCombined = (.vText1 & .vText2) The value of vCombined is now "This is a Text variable and it works well" The + and & variable functions allow you to tell Rbase what and how you want multiple variables to be combined. The + does not insert a space, while the & does insert a space between the values. However, + is also the default continuation character, meaning that if it is used as the last character of a command line, then Rbase will continue the command to the next line. Example: R:>Project temp TempTab + from MainTable + using all + where CustID >= 100 Rbase will process the above as one single line command if this is ran in a command file. Now, if you are defining a long variable and have to move to the next line, you may have two + signs. The first will tell Rbase that you are combining values into one variable and the second will tell it that the command line is continuing to the next line. Example: Set var vText1 = ('A text string is being added ' + + ' to a second text string and then ' + + ' a third') The first + in each line is telling Rbase to add the text strings together without spaces added and the second + is telling Rbase the command is continuing to the next line. In this case, I added the spacing at the first of each text string myself. I could have used & + and Rbase would have added a space in for me. Hope that helps. -Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael J. Sinclair <mailto:[email protected]> To: RBASE-L Mailing List <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2009 7:43 PM Subject: [RBASE-L] - Help with syntax, why do i need ' + .vstartdrive + ' Hi All, I hope this it not too basic of a question. I got some help with a plugin that needed to change one parameter by having that parameter replaced with a variable. I now understand that I have to turn the whole command into a string and then use an &variable to fire the command string. So far so good. What I don't understand is why I need to have a "+" sign before and after the variable inside quotes. How does rbase interpret, |path_name ' + .vstartdrive + ' + ?? Why not just |path_name .vstartdrive + or Why not |path_name '.vstartdrive' + What do the two extra "+" signs do?? --this works just fine, I just don't know why it works..... SET V vstartdrive = .vfromdrive SET VAR vcommand = ('PLUGINS LoadDirectoryName.rbl vfromdrive + |fullpath on + |TITLE where are the unfiled docs? + |path_name ' + .vstartdrive + ' + |delete_button on + |context_menus on + |read_only off + |ole_drag on + |ole_drop on + |create_folder_icon on + |delete_folder_icon on') &vcommand Thanks! Mike
