Structured Query Scripting Language: demo clients reference

The structured query scripting language distribution ships two demo clients, cli and curses, the first being command line oriented / readline library based, the other sporting a curses interface implemented x4gl.
Both the Informix and Aubit 4gl compilers can be used to build the demo curses client, and in fact if the configure script finds both, it will build both versions. To simplify things, a wrapper script, aptly named curses, will pick whichever binary it finds in the installation directory and execute it.
All the clients share a similar command line syntax that goes along the lines of

[curses|cli] [-V |
		  [-N] [-w <width>] [-H] [-D '<variable>=<expression>'...]
		  [<script name>] [<arg 2> <arg 3>...]]

where

The tools will load and execute the script sepcified in argument #1, and populate a hash named ARGV with the subsequent arguments (ARGV(0) contains the tool name, ARGV(1) the script name). Lack of command line arguments will cause the tool to enter interactive mode (readline a la bash mode for cli, editor / results panes interface for curses.4ge).

While the ARGV hash is quick and dirty, -D is flexible but quirky: it requires an assignment to be passed as a single parameter, which further has to comply with the sqsl syntax (which means for instance that you have to bracket strings with quotes, etc). Ths is exemplified by the following three code snippets:

...
cli - $1 $2 $3 <<!
....
if (ARGV(2)+ARGV(3)+ARGV(4)::decimal...)
...
!

cli - `expr $1 + $2 + $3` <<!
...
if (ARGV(2)::decimal...)
...
!

cli -D "var = ($1 + $2 + $3)::decimal" <<!
...
if (var...)
...
!

In the first example multiple scripts are needed to handle multiple parameters or types, while the last example is oblivious to varying shell script parameter count and is independent of parameter type.

Before executing the script specified in the first argument, or sqsl entered interactively, the tools will look for a file named $HOME/.sqslrc, and if found execute it - unless -N is specified. .sqslrc is executed after parameter parsing, and can be used to set defaults, terminate execution if certain conditions cannnot be ment, or even modifying arguments passed through the command line.

In case you are wondering, you exit interactive mode with the eXit menu entry while in curses, and issuing the QUIT command in cli.


Please address questions or comments to Marco Greco
(last updated Tue, 20 September 2016 15:45:39 BST)