FirstBase: DBPGEN(1)

URL: http://www.firstbasesoftware.com/man/man1/dbpgen.htm
Last modified: 4 April 1996
Copyright © by FirstBase Software.
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NAME

dbpgen - generate a FirstBase printout

SYNOPSIS

dbpgen [-b] [-y] [-] [-d database] [-i index] [-p page_length] [ -f ]

DESCRIPTION

Dbpgen generates a FirstBase printout using a FirstBase printout dictionary defined via dbdprt(1). This printout dictionary is used to determine which fields are to appear on the printout.

The -b flag will run the FirstBase tool in batch mode, suitable for shell scripts. This mode produces no output on the terminal, thus can also be used when running the process in the background. The -y flag will run the tool at the terminal without pausing to ask the user if existing files can be destroyed and without displaying a 'picture' of the requested task.

Dbpgen(1) first displays an image of what the printout will look like and where the print image file will go. The user has a chance to abort here.

In the generated printout, the fields are listed in the order they appear in the dictionary. Printouts can be oriented towards any page width (up to 500 columns), and with any line spacing (double, single, etc). See dbdprt(1).

The -p flag is used to control the page length, the actual length of the form to be printed on, and can be used to override the 24 line setting that the - uses. The default page length is 66 lines. Also, the -f is used to make dbpgen use formfeeds between pages instead of blank lines.

With the use of the - flag, all output is sent to standard output. Otherwise, the output is written to the file indicated by the printout dictionary.

FILES

dbase: default name for the FirstBase database.
index: default name for the FirstBase index.
*.idictp: dictionary for printout generator.
*.prt: print image file produced by dbpgen(1).
*.cdb: FirstBase database.
*.idx: FirstBase index.

DIAGNOSTICS

If the output print image file already exists Dbpgen(1) will pause and ask permission to overwrite it.

If a line gets too long, it is wrapped to the next line, and a continuation flag, '@', is prepended to that line.

Dbpgen(1) will silently truncate a print request list that would create more than two print lines for a single record.

This tool uses a FirstBase index to generate the output from the database in a particular order. If this index is detected to be out of date or non-existent, it is regenerated automatically. An index is out of date if either the database or the index dictionary have changed more recently than the index was generated.