PreviousSample Session with Dialog System UNIX Key Usage ChartNext

Chapter 5: Configuring Development Tools

This chapter describes how you can configure the Server Express development tools, using configuration files.

It covers the location and organization of the configuration files, but does not give details of the specific configuration options. These are described in the chapters relevant to each tool.

5.1 Overview

You can configure many of the development tools to modify their behavior or look and feel. The current configuration of a tool is held on disk so that it behaves the same whenever it is run.

The configuration information is held in two files: $COBDIR/etc/mfcobolrc and $HOME/.mfcobolrc. In both cases, the first is the global configuration file, and the second is the local configuration file. These two files contain the configuration information for many tools. To configure these tools you edit these two files, using any text editor.

Using two files enables the system to support a networked or multi-user environment. The global configuration file stores installation-wide defaults for the tools. The local configuration file for each user modifies these defaults without affecting any other user. This file must be in a directory that has write permissions.

5.2 Operation

When a tool starts, it reads its configuration information from both the global and local configuration files. The configuration details are stored in the configuration files under headings called tags. Under each tag are lines containing configuration details for each tool. A tool usually reads details from more than one tag.

See the chapter Application Configuration System in your Programmer's Guide to Writing Programs for details of the format.

The options stored in the local configuration file override those in the global one.

The global configuration file holds default configuration details and the local one holds differences from the defaults for a particular user. This enables defaults to be updated centrally and immediately affect all users, while still providing for individual preferences.

5.2.1 Example

As an example, let's look at how you change the colors used by the character mode interface. This in fact affects many tools, but the principle is the same for a feature used by an individual tool.

In the global configuration file are the following tag and configuration details:

[MF-ATTRIBUTES]
SYS-ATT-01 : BLACK ON BLACK
SYS-ATT-02 : YELLOW ON RED
SYS-ATT-03 : BROWN ON BLACK
SYS-ATT-04 : YELLOW ON BLACK
SYS-ATT-05 : CYAN ON BLACK
SYS-ATT-06 : WHITE ON BLACK
.
.
.

The word before -ATTRIBUTES is called the prefix and is the name of the tool. In this case it is MF- because this feature affects many tools. The tools read this to determine the colors to use on the screen.

The tags and details used to configure a tool are described in the documentation for each tool. Look there for information on the syntax used in a tool's configuration details.

Suppose you want to change the menus to have a black background with green text. You need to find out which SYS-ATT- line specifies the menu colors. Because color affects many tools, information on configuring color is not in a chapter for a specific tool. It is in the chapter Application Configuration System in your Programmer's Guide to Writing Programs.

From that chapter you find that the menu-text color is SYS-ATT-03.

If you are a system administrator in a network or multi-user environment you change the installation-wide default colors by editing the global configuration file. Just change the entry to:

SYS-ATT-03 : GREEN ON BLACK

If you want to make the change only for an individual user you change the local configuration file, adding:

[MF-ATTRIBUTES]
SYS-ATT-03 : GREEN ON BLACK

Now, after a tool reads the colors from the global configuration file, the menu color SYS-ATT-03 will be overridden by the setting defined in the local configuration file.

5.2.2 Overriding All Entries Under a Tag

The example of color configuration above shows how you can override a single item under a tag in the global configuration file by one line from the local configuration file.

Some tools read all the lines under a tag from the local configuration file only, or from the global configuration file only. An example of this is the tag [EDIT-USER], which describes the defaults to be used by the COBOL Editor. If this tag exists in the local configuration file, Animator reads the menu information from that file only, and ignores any entries under [EDIT-USER] in the global configuration file.

5.2.3 Location of the Configuration Files

The global configuration file is called mfcobolrc. When you install the COBOL system this file is put in the directory pointed to by the environment variable COBDIR. The local configuration file is called .mfcobolrc and the COBOL system always looks for it in your home directory. The COBOL system does not create this file. To change any local configuration details, create the file $HOME/.mfcobolrc containing the details you want.


Copyright © 2000 MERANT International Limited. All rights reserved.
This document and the proprietary marks and names used herein are protected by international law.

PreviousSample Session with Dialog System UNIX Key Usage ChartNext