Tivoli Service Desk 6.0 Developer's Toolkit Tools and Utilities Guide
The Interface Generator generates .dfc files in the directory where the corresponding
.df file is found. Do not confuse the Interface Generator with the Interface Designer. The
Interface Designer is used to customize and add functionality to your .df file. The
Interface Generator processes the .df file to a .dfc file. The Interface Generator is run
from a command prompt version
(i-gen.exe) or a windowed version ( i-genw.exe).
By default, the Interface Generator generates .dfc files into the directory where the corresponding .df file was found. The Interface Generator also uses the OEM or ANSI code page when writing strings into the .dfc output file. If not specified at the command prompt, the Interface Generator uses the value read from the softart.ini file.
You can open the windowed version of the Interface Generator using either one of the following methods:
To use the Interface Generator:
Note:
Unlike the TSD Script Parser, the Interface Generator does not search the SAIPATH or path environment variables for .df files. You must specify a full path to the file if it is not in the current directory.Note:
For OS/2 users, if you did not paint OS/2 screens, do not use the conversion function in the Interface Generator. Use the Interface Designer to paint screens.The command prompt version of the Interface Generator (i-gen) uses the following syntax:
i-gen [flags] [specification file]
Note: You must enter the name of the specification file.
Valid flags are listed in the following section.
The following flags are used in the command prompt version of the Interface Generator only.
Flag | Description |
-convert | Converts the specification file from a previous version (4.2 or earlier). |
-d | Defines a constant affecting #IFDEF directives in the .df file. |
-l [filename] | Specifies a listing file name. Outputs to a file instead of on screen. |
-e [filename] | Specifies an error file name. Error messages are written to a file instead of on screen. |
-IDE [filename] | Same as -e except error messages are written in TSD Developer's Toolkit's
hypertext format for easy access to the source of the error. |
-Q | Quiet mode. No text appears on screen. |
-? | Prints the syntax for running i-gen.exe. |
The following errors apply to graphical, windowed versions of the Interface Generator, as well as command line.
Error | Description |
Unknown character <c> | The TSD Script Parser has encountered a syntactically illegal character in the .df file. |
Unknown command line switch <switch> | The syntax of the command line to i-gen (or i-genw) is incorrect. Remove or replace the offending switch and run the Interface Generator again. |
Specification filename is required | You did not enter a specification file name at the command line. |
Unable to open specification file | The file does not exist or is otherwise unreadable. A disk or networking failure may have occurred. |
Unable to create a temporary file | The Interface Generator does not have access to create a new file in the current directory. |
Missing quote at start of string | The syntax for string declarations is the following:string <identifier> '<string text>' This error occurs if that first single quote is missing. |
String longer than 4096 characters - <string> | This is caused by a missing closing single quote on a string literal. |
Illegal preprocessor directive <directive> | The valid preprocessor directives are: #INCLUDE, #DEFINE, #IFDEF, #IFNDEF, #ELSE, #ENDIF |
Cannot redefine <variable> | A value can only be defined once. This error is generated when a second definition occurs. |
#else outside of #if block <name> | An #else was encountered without first seeing a #ifdef |
#endif without opening #ifdef statement; | This error could be caused by a mismatched #IFDEF / #END pair. |
Obsolete syntax | The <name> keyword is not supported in the current version. Use the -convert command line flag or select the TSD Developer's Toolkit 4.x conversion check box to remove these keywords from the .df file. |
DISPLAY is an obsolete keyword; use DEFINE. | The DISPLAY construct is obsolete. All controls are now declared using the DEFINE statement. |
Re-declaration of FORM name <name> Re-declaration of STRING name <name> Re-declaration of TOOLBAR name <name> Re-declaration of MENU name <name> Redeclaration of FIELD identifier <name> |
Entity names must be unique. This error is generated by another occurrence of the identifier. |
Undeclared constant <name> | You have declared a constant that does not exist or exists in another scope. The .df programmer allows a CONSTANT section at the file and form scope. |
String and Integer constants can be defined | The Interface Designer does not support the constant sections making it obsolete |
Missing semicolon | Semicolons must be used at the end of every statement. |
Missing comma | Commas must be used as delimiters. |
Badly formed field qualifier <name> | One of the qualifiers in a field definition is invalid. |
Redefinition of pattern qualifier | n/a |
Badly formed window attribute <name> | One of the attributes in the WINDOW section of a form is invalid. |
Unable to open parsed code file <name> | Cannot create the .dfc file. |
Mutually exclusive qualifiers specified | A field has two legal qualifiers specified for a field but are mutually exclusive. For example, Accept, and Cancel are attributes for buttons. |
More than one default button specified | Only one button with the default style should be specified. (Not strictly enforced with the introduction of subforms.) |
'#include must be followed by a single quoted file name | A #include statement has been encountered that does not include anything |
<name> not closed by #endif | A #ifdef or #else has been encountered that is not closed by an #endif |
form name <name> not defined, page names must be defined forms | When specifying a notebook, tabs must be declared before they are used. TSD Developer's Toolkit 5.0 has alternate methods of declaring tabs so forward references and tabs from other files can be included. |
InputLength is overridden by a pattern definition | An entry field or text box has an input length and a custom pattern specified. The pattern defines an input length so the InputLength statement is ignored. |
More than one fill character specified | A pattern can only have one fill character. (The last one encountered is used.) |
Pattern <name> Display and Entry masks are not the same length | Display and entry masks should be the same length for a pattern to work correctly. |
Radio buttons must have a button list | An option button set is defined but no option buttons are specified. |
HorizontalScrollBar is ignored if NoWordWrap is not specified | An MLE usually wraps lines that are too long for the right margin making horizontal scrolling difficult. |
Initial radio button value out of range | An initial option button is specified that is not in the list of buttons. |
Unable to open log file. | Verify that the disk is not full and that you have network create/write access to the directory. |
Subform <name> not defined, subforms must be defined before they are referenced | When specifying a subform, the embedded form must be declared
before they are used. Developer's Toolkit has alternate methods of declaring subforms so
forward references from other files can be used. |
Tivoli Service Desk 6.0 Developer's Toolkit Tools and Utilities Guide