📄️ What is an external set?
An external set is the definition of a data structure that is not stored in the database but is only relevant while a job is being executed.
📄️ File formats in external sets
The file formats supported for external sets are FIXED, FIXEDVLE, VARIABLE, CSV.
📄️ The VARIABLE file format in external sets
Records are terminated by a newline character.
📄️ The CSV file format in external sets
CSV format is that used for export and import by many applications, such as Microsoft's Access, Excel, and Word. The format is defined as follows.
📄️ Record Separators of external sets
For external sets, you can specify a record separator. This indicates how records are (to be) separated.
📄️ External Sets for Export tasks, Child sets
When used for an export task, the elements of an external set correspond to the fields in the external file into which the data is to be exported. For each field, you need to define the output data type. When you are using the FIXED or FIXEDVLE format, you also have to specify either the length or the (IO) format (except for the last field when using FIXEDVLE). The SQL statement determines which data is to be exported.
📄️ How to define HTML sets
You can turn an existing external set into an HTML set, or you can define a new HTML set yourself.
📄️ Exporting data to HTML files
You can use USoft Batch to export data in the form of HTML files to be read by a browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer. Once this has been done, the data in the HTML files is a copy of the database: to update it you need to export again.
📄️ Creating a Template for exporting to HTML
Using your own pre-defined templates, you can define exactly how pages are to look, including colors, fonts, and so on. You must save your templates in the \\\TEMPLATES\\HTML folder. You may want to look at the default templates to get an idea of what you can do in your own templates.
📄️ External Sets for Import Tasks
When used for an import task, an external set describes the structure, format, and record separator of the external file that contains the data to be imported. It also defines a temporary table, in memory or in the database, in which import data is temporarily stored during the import, and to which you can refer in import SQL statements.
📄️ Import Task Set Virtual: Example
A sales representative has been entering details about new clients from Sydney and some reservations they have booked. These new data must now be transferred from a laptop to the application (imported into the application).
📄️ Storing external set data in tables
When running a job, external set data needs to be stored temporarily. This applies to external data to be imported, input parameter values to be used in a job, and output parameter values that are set in a job.