Re: Learning UIM (BPCS Help Screen Panels)

[DAsmussen@xxxxxxx]

Al,

In a message dated 5/3/99 12:34:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
MacWheel99@aol.com writes:

<<snip>>
> So do any folks on BPCS_L grok UIM & how & where did you pick up that 
>  know-how?

Personally, I just looked at what SSA had and augmented it with what I found 
in "AS/400: International Application Development" (QBKAQ501), "OS/400 
Application Display Programming V3R1" (QBKAUK00), "AS/400 Programming 
Reference Summary V3R1" (QBKAUT00), and the DDS reference.

UIM is actually fairly simple to use, once you get past the "paradigm shift" 
of realizing that it's not really a language like RPG or COBOL.  It's 
actually fairly similar to HTML.  You establish tags, set paragraphs and 
attributes, compile it, and it works.  The first thing I usually do at a new 
account is to establish a help text dictionary so that action codes, function 
keys, and terms common to the organization can be easily imported into 
individual programs without having to retype or copy the whole thing (using 
IMPORT NAME= and IMHELP NAME=).  The nicest thing about the dictionary is 
that you can recompile it and all referencing panel groups pick up changes 
without having to recompile them!

>  Is there an SSA-provided utility, that I have managed to overlook, 
something 
>  like IBM's SDA where we can doodle the panel & then have it create the 
>  requisite code?
<<snip>>

No, although I have heard rumors that they have a utility that will convert 
MS/Word documents into UIM that they don't distribute to customers.  Hard to 
believe though, since DOC has changed little since V4 >8(...

HTH,

Dean Asmussen
Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
E-mail:  DAsmussen@aol.com

"Success is getting what you want.  Happiness is liking what you get." -- H. 
Jackson Brown
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