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Report Builder
Deployment Guide


Methods of Invoking Report Engine

You can invoke Report Engine using several different methods:

The following sections describe each of these methods.

Using the _prore.p Procedure File

The advantage to invoking Report Engine with the _prore.p procedure file is that you can specify to have the application wait until Report Engine completes generating a report before continuing to execute the remainder of the program.

To invoke Report Engine using the _prore.p procedure file, you must create an application that runs the _prore.p file using the following syntax:

SYNTAX
RUN aderb\ prore.p ( NO-WAIT-value , 
command-line arguments ) 

Note that _prore.p is the name of a Report Engine procedure that invokes prore.exe automatically using the specified parameters. NO-WAIT-value specifies whether to wait for Report Engine to complete processing before running the remainder of the application. The command-line arguments value is a character that must begin with the database name and connection parameters required to connect to the Report Engine database, followed by any other Progress startup or database connection parameters or Report Engine startup parameters.

NOTE: The database connection information, plus all the optional parameters, cannot exceed 114 characters. If you must enter more characters, use a parameter (.pf) file to hold the parameters.

For example, you might use the following statement to invoke Report Engine:

RUN aderb\_prore.p(true, "-db sample.db -1 -rbtable Rep-Eng -rbtag Q1") 

In this statement, “true” instructs Progress not to wait until Report Engine completes processing before continuing with the application. “Sample” is the name of the database that contains the Rep-Eng table. The -rbtable parameter specifies that Rep-Eng is the Report Engine table, and -rbtag indicates to generate only the first quarter reports, or in other words, those reports that have a tag of “Q1.”

If you change the NO-WAIT value as shown in the following example, Progress waits until Report Engine completes processing before continuing the application:

RUN aderb\_prore.p(false, "-db sample.db -1 -rbtable Rep-Eng -rbtag Q1") 

Using OS-COMMAND Statement

When you invoke Report Engine using the OS-COMMAND statement, you must use the NO-WAIT option. This means that you cannot specify whether to have Progress wait for Report Engine to complete processing before continuing the remainder of the application. Therefore, if you require Progress to wait for Report Engine, you cannot use the OS-COMMAND statement and must invoke Report Engine using the _prore.p file.

Use the following command syntax to invoke Report Engine:

SYNTAX
OS-COMMAND NO-WAIT prore32.exe db-connection [ parameters ] 

Note that prore32.exe is the name of the Report Engine executable. The db-connection argument specifies the name of the database containing the Report Engine table and other connection information, such as host and server names. The parameters specify any Progress Atlas database connection or startup parameters, or Report Engine startup parameters.

For example, you might use the following statement to invoke Report Engine:

OS-COMMAND NO-WAIT prore32.exe -db sample.db -1 -rbtable Rep-Eng -rbdel 

In this statement, “sample.db” is the name of the database that contains the Rep-Eng table. The -rbtable parameter specifies that Rep-Eng is the Report Engine table, and -rbdel indicates to delete the Report Engine table record for each report when it completes processing the reports.

Using a DOS window

You can invoke Report Engine directly from the DOS prompt. To run Report Engine from the DOS prompt in a DOS window, use the following syntax:

SYNTAX
prore32.exe db-connection [ parameters ] 

Note that prore32.exe is the name of the Report Engine executable. The db-connection argument specifies the name of the database containing the Report Engine table and other connection information, such as host and server names. The parameters specify any Progress startup or database connection parameters, or Report Engine startup parameters.

For example, you might use the following statement to invoke Report Engine:

prore32.exe -db sample.db -1 -rbtable Rep-Eng 

In this statement, “sample.db” is the name of the database that contains the Rep-Eng table and the -rbtable parameter specifies that Rep-Eng is the Report Engine table.

You can also create a .BAT file that uses the utility to run the command line.

Using an MS-Windows Icon

You can invoke Report Engine from an MS-Windows icon if you enter the command line in the icon’s Command Line field. Use the following syntax in the Command Line field:

SYNTAX
prore32.exe db-connection [ parameters ] 

Note that prore32.exe is the name of the Report Engine. The db-connection argument specifies the name of the database containing the Report Engine table and other connection information, such as host and server name. The parameters specify any Progress startup or database connection parameters or Report Engine startup parameters.

For example, you might use the following command to invoke Report Engine:

prore32.exe -db sample.db -1 -rbtable Rep-Eng -rbupds 

In this statement, “sample.db” is the name of the database that contains the Rep-Eng table. The -rbtable parameter specifies that Rep-Eng is the Report Engine table, and -rbupds tells Report Engine to update the RB-STATUS field in the Rep-Eng table for each report.

Using the Start Menu Run Option

You can invoke Report Engine from the Run option from the Start menu. To do so, simply choose Start Run, enter the command line in the Command Line field, then choose OK. Use the following syntax in the Command Line field:

SYNTAX
prore32.exe db-connection [ parameters ] 

Note that prore32.exe is the name of the Report Engine executable. The db-connection argument specifies the name of the database containing the Report Engine table and other connection information, such as host and server names. The parameters specify any Progress startup or database connection parameters or Report Engine startup parameters.

For example, you might use the following command to invoke Report Engine:

prore32.exe -db sample.db -1 -rbtable Rep-Eng  

In this statement, “sample.db” is the name of the database that contains the Rep-Eng table, and the -rbtable parameter specifies that Rep-Eng is the Report Engine table.


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