The Outline view acts as an excellent resource when you want to
edit ILE RPG, COBOL, CL, or DDS source in the Remote Systems LPEX
editor. The Outline view displays a structural outline of items defined
in the file that you currently have open in the Remote Systems LPEX
editor area. With the editor active, you can expand the file structure
in the Outline view, and click various elements in the view to jump
to that location in the source itself.
Here are some of the ways that the Outline view can make editing
source easier and faster for ILE RPG source:
- While you code calculations in the Remote Systems LPEX editor,
you can save time by checking your definitions in the Outline view,
so that you do not need to jump back and forth in the source between
the calculations and your definitions.
- You can click a definition in the outline view to quickly jump
to the appropriate place in your source, without having to search
for the definition.
- You can quickly view the return and resolved values listed beside
your procedure prototypes.
- You can refresh your source information while using the Outline
view by clicking the refresh button
at the top of the view or by using the Ctrl + Shift + F5
keyboard shortcut.
The Outline view is enabled for the following types of native
IBM® i source:
ILE RPG
When you edit ILE RPG source, the Outline view displays up to three
high-level nodes:
- Global Definitions: definitions that are visible throughout the
program
- Main Procedure: parameters and subroutines
- Subprocedures: all procedures defined in the program, each with
up to three nodes for parameters, local definitions, and subroutines:
Depending on how you have coded your RPG source, the
Global
Definitions and
Local Definitions node
in the Outline view may display the following types of items when
expanded:
- Files
- Data Structures
- Indicators
- Constants
- Fields
- Prototypes
- Key lists
Clicking any of the elements in this tree takes you to the place
in your source where the item is defined. If you click a subprocedure
in the
Subprocedures section of the Outline
view, the positioning in the source will span the whole procedure
definition section.
The ILE RPG outline view refreshes in the background so you can
continue using the editor and RSE while it updates. The refresh action
is disabled while the outline view is refreshing.
With the Update the Outline view when text is changed
in the editor preference on the
preference page selected,
the Outline view contents are automatically updated when text is changed
in the editor. To update external information that changes, such
as database files, press the Refresh button.
If this preference is not selected, the Refresh button
needs to be pressed to update the contents of the Outline view. Changing
the preference setting will not effect source files already open in
the editor.
With the
Update the Outline view when text is changed
in the editor preference selected, there are some changes
in the Outline view:
- Items are listed in the order that they appear in the source.
- A Sort button alphabetically sorts the
items.
- A Collapse All button collapses all expanded
items.
- Parameter lists are listed.
There are some changes when working in the editor when the preference
is selected:
- Information about an item under the mouse will be shown in a hover.
- Pressing Ctrl with the mouse on an item
that is a reference will display a link. Clicking on the link takes
you to the place in your source where the item is defined.
- Content assist information is updated automatically except for
external information. To update external information that changes,
press the Refresh button.
For additional information about the Outline view when the preference
is selected, see
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21592728
Notes about the Outline view for ILE RPG source:- External file description references or copy files will not be
resolved if they depend on the library list for the host connection
and they reside in a library that is not in the list. You can modify
the library list to include these libraries.
To modify the library list for the current
session, go to the Remote System Explorer view. Under the Objects subsystem
for the connection, select the Library List node
and right-click to open the context menu. Select the Add
Library List action.
The initial library list for the
connection can also be set for subsequent sessions by opening the
properties for the connection or Object subsystem and modifying the Initial
Library List settings.
After
changing the library list, you will need to refresh the Outline
View to pick up the missing references.
- If the Update the Outline view when text is changed
in the editor preference is selected, there may be some
cases of ILE RPG source with errors which cause the Outline view to
not update. In these cases, warning icons are displayed in the editor.
- Any returned or resolved value for a procedure prototype displays
beside the prototype name.
- If your procedure definition is a /copy member, then the vertical
bar of highlighted source is positioned at the /copy location that
contains the procedure definition. Also, if you click a prototype,
your cursor is placed at the beginning of the line where your procedure
is prototyped.
- If a keyword uses a named constant, the Outline view displays
the actual value of the named constant.
- For case preservation: The names in the outline view reflect
the case used when the name was coded in the source. For example,
if an entity is retrieved from an external description, such as an
externally described file, then the record formats and field names
are in upper case when displayed under the File node. However,
if they are used in the program with a different case, then they appear
with the case preserved under the Field node. This does not
apply if the Update the Outline view when text is changed
in the editor preference is selected.
- KFLD key lists can contain key fields that are null-capable, which
means that the keys can contain null values. To indicate that you
want to search for a null key, you specify an indicator in Factor
2. Ordinarily, program verifiers will identify the presence of Factor
2 as an error if you do not have the following keyword coded in your
source: ALWNULL(*USRCTL). The field also will not display as null-capable
in the Outline view. To change this behaviour, you can code ALWNULL(*USRCTL)
into your source, or you can change the program verifier option to
indicate that you always want to process null-capable fields in your
programs. To set this option:
- Click .
- In the Preferences window, expand and click the Data tab.
- Change the Allow null values setting to *USRCTL to
indicate that you want to search for null keys using Factor 2 in KFLD.
- Click OK.
COBOL
You work with COBOL source in the outline view just as you would
with ILE RPG source:
- The view displays four nodes to represent the four high-level
divisions in the COBOL source: Identification Division, Environment
Division, Data Division, and Procedure Division.
- Expand any of the nodes to see the elements underneath. Click
on each element to place your cursor at the corresponding location
in the source.
CL
You can also work with CL source members in the Outline view. The
view displays labels and subroutines in the source.
DDS Source
You can also work with DDS source members in the Outline view.
The view offers more detail to reflect the DDS source member structure.
In particular, icons are provided to indicate the type of element
in the source, such as a record or a keyword. The view displays the
hierarchy of files, records, fields, help specifications, keys, and
keywords in the selected DDS object.
The root node for a DDS object in the Outline view is the name
of the file, with an icon indicating the type of file, (also indicated
by the extension on the file name). The rest of the elements beneath
the root node reflect the structure of the DDS object, for example,
a record group or a set of keywords. Double-clicking on any of these
elements will position your cursor at the appropriate place in the
DDS source.
Notes® about the Outline view for DDS source:- Records can either be contained at the file level, under the root
node, or as children of a Record Group node.
- Resolved Named Field reference labels will display the resolved
data length and decimal positions of the field. If the field reference
is not resolved, then either an increment or a blank space will display
beside the field in the Outline view (depending on whether or not
an increment is specified in the source).
- Indicator Conditions incorporate special boolean labelling. If
an Indicator Condition has the following format, Indicator
Condition 07 08 O 09, the spaces between the sets of numbers
indicate that the condition is boolean, and the presence of an O indicates or.
In this case, the condition would be that 7 and 8 are ON, or 9 is
ON.