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FOCUS provides powerful decision support tools for use by all levels of management. New FOCUS users have started by writing simple report requests against existing data sources. This permits them to be immediately productive while expanding their knowledge of FOCUS.
The following topics are particularly applicable for end users:
Each of these facilities is briefly described in the following pages.
Some end users may also be interested in specialized topics described in other publications. These include:
The Report Writer enables you to create reports quickly and easily. It provides facilities for creating highly complex reports, but its strength lies in the simplicity of the request language. You can begin with simple queries and ad hoc requests, and progress to complex reports as you learn about additional facilities.
The data source named in your request can be a FOCUS data source, a collection of data sources related through the JOIN command, or an external file created outside of FOCUS (external files can also be named in a JOIN). In all cases, Master Files must exist for the individual data sources. Master Files for non-FOCUS and FOCUS data sources are described in the Describing Data manual.
In TABLE, you have broad capabilities for selecting records, performing calculations, defining special fields, and creating custom report formats. You can report on data from more than one data source at a time and you can specify special handling for records with missing data fields. There are also options for producing a variety of extract files.
Report requests can be typed "live" at your terminal or entered in a named file and then run by executing the file. You can create such files using TED (the FOCUS editor), or IEDIT (a facility for invoking your system editor). These named, executable FOCUS requests are called FOCEXECs (see the Developing Applications manual).
Financial Modeling Language (FML), formerly known as EMR, is an extension of TABLE specifically designed to handle the special needs associated with creating, calculating, and presenting row-oriented financial data. FML produces financial statements, such as Balance Sheets and Income and Expense Statements.
FML expands the report preparation facilities with facilities for:
FML is described in the Creating Reports manual.
The GRAPH command uses the same language and syntax as the TABLE command to produce graphic displays. The Creating Reports manual describes the GRAPH facility. The request statements enable you to perform intermediate calculations and specify grouping and sorting characteristics, and control the format of the graph. A REPLOT command is provided for turning the output of appropriate TABLE requests into corresponding graphs.
You can generate five graph forms with FOCUS (each is defined by using a different combination of request elements):
FOCUS provides a complete set of default graph parameters that establish the lengths and scales of axes for you. All graph elements can be readjusted through SET statements issued before executing the request (or redisplaying it with REPLOT). There are facilities for saving graphs in named files for later production on different plotters or graphics devices.
An optional full screen editor (TED) is available for creating and editing text files for use inside or outside of the FOCUS environment. (You can also invoke your system editor from FOCUS using the IEDIT facility.) In FOCUS, such files can be used as Master Files, or they can store requests for subsequent reuse (FOCEXECs). Outside of FOCUS, TED files can be used for any purpose normally served by system editor files. The TED editor is described in Editing Files With TED. The IEDIT facility is described in Invoking Your System Editor With IEDIT.
TED is not a word processor; it is a development tool designed to support application building. TED is similar to many system editors in general function, but it has some special features that are particularly useful in FOCUS. Some advantages of using TED, instead of a system editor, include the following:
TED
You can also create and edit comma-delimited or fixed-format data sources with TED. Note, however, that you cannot use it to edit the data in FOCUS data sources. (Use Maintain, MODIFY, or FSCAN to add or edit data in FOCUS data sources.)
There are facilities for saving the output of FOCUS requests as formatted data sources for transfer to other machines, for use by other products, or as FOCUS data sources. Specifically, you can:
The Creating Reports manual describes the facilities for creating extract files.
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Information Builders |