H.1 Introduction

Many aspects of the runtime system can be controlled through runtime configuration variables. This mechanism provides a great deal of flexibility, because these variables can be modified by each runcbl site as well as directly by an ACUCOBOL-GT program.

Configuration variables are maintained in a runtime configuration file. This standard text file can be modified by the host system's text editor. Each entry in the runtime configuration file consists of a single line. All entries start with a keyword, followed by one or more spaces or tabs, and then one or more values.

Some examples of runtime configuration file entries are:

AUTO_PROMPT 0
BELL 1
COMPRESS_FACTOR 70
CURSOR_TYPE 3
MENU_ITEM Edit=Delete 200
SCROLL on

For all runtime configuration file entries, "=" placed between the keyword and the first value is optional, and is interchangeable with a space.

For some runtime configuration file entries, the words "on", "true", and "yes" are synonyms for "1", and the words "off", "false", and "no" are synonyms for "0". The entry for each variable in this appendix indicates when these synonyms are allowed.

In the descriptions of some runtime configuration variables in this appendix, you will find comments about behavior under the Windows environment; unless otherwise noted, these comments apply all 32-bit versions of the Windows and Windows NT operating systems. Those versions are: Windows 95, 98 and ME, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000.

Note Acucorp does not recommend giving a data file a name that matches a configuration variable name. Doing so can cause problems if you map the data filename through a configuration entry. For example, if you have a data file named "CURRENCY", the runtime will confuse the data file with the configuration variable of the same name, inadvertently changing the default currency character.

Runtime configuration variables may be placed in either the runtime configuration file or the machine's environment. When they are placed in the runtime configuration file, upper- and lower-case names are equivalent, as are hyphens and underscores. When placed in the machine's environment, the keywords must be all upper case and must use underscores instead of hyphens. For more details about the configuration process, see the User's Guide, section 2.7, "Runtime Configuration."

The values of many runtime configuration variables may be changed at runtime with the SET ENVIRONMENT verb. The syntax is:

    SET ENVIRONMENT env-name TO env-value

env-name may specify either the literal name of the variable or a data-item whose value is the name of the variable. If you specify the actual name of the variable, such as CODE_CASE, then you must enclose the name in quotes. env-value is the value to which env-name will be set. If it is a numeric data item, then it is treated as if it were redefined as an alphanumeric data item.

Most configuration variables can be read with the ACCEPT FROM ENVIRONMENT verb. If the variable to be read is numeric, then the receiving field must be defined either as a numeric field or as an alphanumeric field of five or more characters. If it is defined as alphanumeric and is longer than five characters, then the value that is read from the environment will occupy the leftmost five characters of the field and the remainder will be space-filled.

Note: Variables that cannot be read with the ACCEPT FROM ENVIRONMENT statement are marked with an asterisk (*).

Nested Configuration Files

It is possible to use multiple configuration files by nesting one inside another. Within the configuration file, you can specify another file to process with the following syntax:

    !COPY filename

No name expansion will be done to filename (for example FILE_PREFIX is not applied), so you must specify a file that the runtime can find.

Note: You can include remote name syntax if you are using AcuServer or AcuLaunch. Otherwise, the file must be an absolute path or a path relative to the current directory.

For example, if you have some configuration variables in a global place such as /etc/cblconfig, then individual users can execute the runtime using this configuration file instead of the usual one. The settings in the usual configuration file take effect also, because their settings are copied in with !COPY:

     #Get all the standard variables
     !copy /etc/cblconfig

     #Now set personal settings
     USE_MOUSE 1