USER_PATH indicates the user name or names to be used when Acu4GL searches for files. The order of the names is significant. The syntax for this variable is:
USER_PATH user1 [user2]...
Where the user argument may either be the name of a user on the system, or a period ("."), which indicates the files owned by yourself.
The type of OPEN being issued for the file determines the effects of this setting.
Examples
If an OPEN INPUT or OPEN I/O is issued, and a USER_PATH variable is defined in the runtime configuration file, Acu4GL searches for a user of the named file in the following sequence of places:
1. The list of users in USER_PATH.
2. The public synonyms
The first valid file is opened.
If USER_PATH is defined and the current user is the owner of the file, the current user must be included as one of the users (as indicated by a "." in the USER_PATH). If this is not the case, even though the current user has created the table, it will not be found and a file error "35" will result. This circumstance can occur if the file were created with the OPEN OUTPUT phrase and "." is not an element in USER_PATH. When the table is created, the current user will be the owner of that table. When the runtime attempts to open the table, the runtime will not look for tables owned by the current user unless USER_PATH is not set, or "." is part of the USER_PATH setting.
If an OPEN INPUT or OPEN I/O is issued, and no USER_PATH variable is in the runtime configuration file, Acu4GL searches for a user of the named file in the following sequence of places:
1. The user named for login (ORA_LOGIN or OPS$username)
2. Public synonyms
Acu4GL opens the first file that has a valid combination of user and file name.
If an OPEN OUTPUT is issued (whether USER_PATH is present or not), a new table is created with the owner being:
1. The name specified in ORA_LOGIN
2. The name constructed by automatic login (see C.2.5, "Acu4GL for Oracle: Setting Up a User Account" in this appendix.)
See also
The ACUCOBOL-GT User's Guide Chapter 2, for a discussion of the FILE_PREFIX configuration variable and general guidelines on the use of file search paths
Section C.2.8, "Acu4GL for Oracle: Setting Up the Search Path"