Enhancing an HTML Web Page With a Procedure

In this section:

You can enhance the functionality of your Web page by enabling you to include HTML commands in your procedures using the Dialogue Manager -HTMLFORM command. -HTMLFORM supports all standard HTML elements, including character styling, hyperlinks, graphic images, tables, forms, and frames. You can combine a procedure and HTML commands in the following ways:

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Referring to an External Web Page

How to:

You can include HTML commands in your procedure by specifying an HTML Web page in your procedure.

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Syntax: How to Refer to an External Web Page From a Procedure
-HTMLFORM filename

where:

filename

Is the HTML file that contains the target Web page. The name of the HTML file must be in uppercase letters.

  • In UNIX and Windows, this is the 8-character file name of the HTML file that contains the Web page. The file extension must be .HTM, not .HTML.
  • In Windows and UNIX, the file extension must be .HTM.
  • In z/OS, this is either the member name of a file in the PDS allocated to ddname WWWHTM, or it is the ddname of a sequential file. The file is variable blocked (VB).

Note: HTML Composer design time is not meant to be used with this construct and if used, the tool may not work as expected and will not be supported.

If you use separate HTML files, you cannot use Dialogue Manager commands and variables in the file. However, the WebFOCUS escape sequences, described in Including Variables in an HTML Web Page, can be used.
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Embedding HTML Commands in a Procedure

How to:

You can include HTML commands in a procedure by embedding those commands in a procedure.

Note:

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Syntax: How to Embed HTML Commands in a WebFOCUS Procedure
-HTMLFORM BEGIN
       .
       .
       .
-HTMLFORM END

where:

-HTMLFORM BEGIN

Indicates the beginning of HTML commands.

-HTMLFORM END

Indicates the end of HTML commands.

Note: All lines that are not Dialogue Manager commands are assumed to be HTML.

All Dialogue Manager variables referenced within the -HTMLFORM BEGIN and -HTMLFORM END commands are evaluated, even within comment tags, so you should either assign them a default value or escape the ampersand symbol using a pipe character (|) so that it is not interpreted as the start of a variable name. For example, in the following sample, the ampersand is escaped using the pipe character so that the variable definition in the comment is not evaluated:

-HTMLFORM BEGIN
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<SCRIPT>
/* escaping the ampersand in a comment: &|x=y */
</SCRIPT>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Test variable in Javascript comments
</BODY>
</HTML>
-HTMLFORM END
Example: Including a Web Page in a Procedure

The following procedure contains a report request and the -HTMLFORM command, which customizes the Web page the report is displayed on. The report is centered in the browser window, and displays with the Arial font in blue. 

TABLE FILE SHORT
SUM PROJECTED_RETURN
BY COUNTRY
ON TABLE HOLD AS SHORT FORMAT HTMTABLE
END
-HTMLFORM BEGIN
<HTML><HEAD><STYLE>TD {FONT-FAMILY: ARIAL; COLOR: BLUE; }</STYLE></HEAD>
<BODY><DIV ALIGN="CENTER">
!IBI.FIL.SHORT;
</DIV></BODY></HTML>
-HTMLFORM END

The following Web page is produced:
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Embedding a Procedure in an HTML Web Page

How to:

You can embed one or more reports or HTML files into your Web page using -HTMLFORM commands.

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Procedure: How to Embed a Report in an HTML Web Page

To embed a report into a Web page created with -HTMLFORM commands:

  1. Create a report procedure that retrieves and formats the report data, then saves the output from each report in a separate temporary file. The following syntax is used in the report procedure: 
    ON TABLE HOLD FORMAT HTMTABLE AS reportname

    Note: The temporary file created for the output is not available to the user.

  2. If you are using an external HTML file to display the Web page that embeds the report, the report procedure must specify the file using the following command: 
    -HTMLFORM filename

    Note: If you are not using an external HTML file, the HTML commands for the Web page can reside in the same file using -HTMLFORM BEGIN and -HTMLFORM END to separate the HTML commands from the rest of the procedure.

  3. In the HTML commands for the Web page, specify the location where each report or HTML file is to be displayed, using an HTML escape code. The escape code syntax is 
    !IBI.FIL.reportname

    where:

    reportname

    Is the name of the report file to embed in the Web page.

    Files embedded with the !IBI.FIL escape sequence can contain other escape sequences. If reference is made to a file that does not exist, an error message is returned.
Example: Embedding Multiple Reports Into One HTML Web Page

This example shows how to embed multiple HTML reports into one HTML Web Page. The following code generates three reports, each consisting of the same automotive data that is sorted three different ways; by country, by body type, and by manufacturer. 

TABLE FILE CAR
"REPORT 1 - BY COUNTRY"
PRINT CAR MODEL BODYTYPE
BY COUNTRY
ON TABLE HOLD FORMAT HTMTABLE AS REPORT1
ON TABLE SET STYLE *
TYPE=HEADING,STYLE=BOLD,COLOR=RED,$
ENDSTYLE
END
TABLE FILE CAR
"REPORT 2 - BY BODY TYPE"
PRINT CAR MODEL COUNTRY
BY BODYTYPE
ON TABLE HOLD FORMAT HTMTABLE AS REPORT2
ON TABLE SET STYLE *
TYPE=HEADING,STYLE=BOLD,COLOR=BLUE,$
ENDSTYLE
END
TABLE FILE CAR
"REPORT 3 - BY MANUFACTURER"
PRINT MODEL BODYTYPE COUNTRY
BY CAR
ON TABLE HOLD FORMAT HTMTABLE AS REPORT3
ON TABLE SET STYLE *
TYPE=HEADING,STYLE=BOLD,COLOR=GREEN,$
ENDSTYLE
END
-HTMLFORM BEGIN
!IBI.FIL.REPORT1;
!IBI.FIL.REPORT2;
!IBI.FIL.REPORT3;
-HTMLFORM END

The following images show the three reports that are embedded into one HTML document:
Example: Embedding Variables Into One HTML Web Page

This example generates a report consisting of product codes and quantities, and displays the current time and date found in Dialogue Manager system variables. The following explains how the elements required to display this report are combined. The numbers to the left of the example apply to the notes that follow.

Step 1 - First.htm

Set up the Web page that will hold the report. This Web page must be saved in a directory within EDAPATH or APPPATH in order for WebFOCUS to find it. The following file is called first.htm:

   <HTML>
   <BODY> 
2. Time: 
3. !IBI.FIL.&TOD <BR> 
2. Date: 
3. !IBI.FIL.&DATE <BR>
   <HR SIZE=5> 
4. <!--WEBFOCUS TABLE UPPER--> 
   </BODY>
   </HTML>

Note: The HTML comment line must be closed with a comment closing tag (-->) or a single angle bracket (>) and should not have any other HTML tags within it.

Step 2 - Amper.fex

Create your report request:

    TABLE FILE GGORDER
    SUM QUANTITY BY PCD
    IF PCD EQ 'B$$$'  
1. ON TABLE HOLD FORMAT HTMTABLE AS UPPER
    END 
5. -RUN 
6. -HTMLFORM first

Step 3 - Launch.htm

Create a Web page, which launches the report procedure:

<HTML>
<BODY>
<P>
<P>
<A HREF="/ibi_apps/WFServlet?IBIF_ex=amper">Click here.</A>
</BODY>
</HTML>

When the procedure and both Web pages have been created, the Web page that launches the procedure can be called from the browser. When the procedure is launched, the report is executed:

  1. The HOLD command extracts report output into a temporary file, from which it can be sent to a Web page.
  2. The code Time: and Date: specify text that will appear above the report on the Web page.
  3. The HTML comments are read by WebFOCUS and identify the variables to be printed on the Web page.
  4. The HTML comment is read by WebFOCUS and identifies the report to be displayed. This table name is the name assigned in the HOLD command in the procedure. On the Web page, WebFOCUS substitutes the designated report for the corresponding code.
  5. The -RUN command runs the report.
  6. The Dialogue Manager command merges the report output with the contents of first.htm, the HTML file that contains your Web page.

The following Web page is generated:
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Including Variables in an HTML Web Page

How to:

In WebFOCUS, you can use Dialogue Manager variables to insert variable values in a Web page. This is done by specifying the variable name using a WebFOCUS escape code. You can use the value of a variable either as text on an HTML Web page or as a value in an HTML form input field. You can include a variable that you have created, or system variables like &DATE (today's date) and &TOD (time of day). A single Web page can contain many variable substitution tags.

To use a variable in a Web page created with the -HTMLFORM commands, the variable must first be declared with -SET or -DEFAULT. See Customizing a Procedure With Variables for information on using variables.
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Syntax: How to Return the Value of a Variable in an HTML Web Page
<!--WEBFOCUS VAR [&]&variable-->

or

!IBI.{AMP|GLB}.[&]&variable;

where:

AMP

Returns the value of a local variable.

GLB

Returns the value of a global variable.

variable

Is a local or global variable.

Note: The HTML comment line must be closed with a comment closing tag (-->) or a single angle bracket (>) and should not have any other HTML tags within it.
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Syntax: How to Return the Length of a Variable in an HTML Web Page
!IBI.{AML|GLL}.[&]&variable;

where:

AML

Returns the length of a local variable.

GLL

Returns the length of a global variable.
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Syntax: How to Use a Variable in a Web Page

The syntax for a local variable in a form input field is 

<INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME=variable     VALUE="!IBI.AMP.variable;">

where:

variable

Is the variable name.

When making substitutions, the full string is replaced, starting with the exclamation point (!) and ending with the semicolon (;). You cannot include variables whose values include internal escape sequences in your command stream.

WebFOCUS