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W$MESSAGEBOX documentation

  • January 4, 2013
  • 3 replies
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D

I'm modifying an old program that makes use of W$MESSAGEBOX, and I'm not able to find any documentation on it. I'd specifically like to know if the string containing the message to be shown needs to be terminated with low-values. The fact that it's not documented or included in a list of AcuCOBOL library routines makes me wonder if we should be using something else instead.

Is anyone familiar with W$MESSAGEBOX and know why it can't be found in the documentation? Is it deprecated and there's something else we should use instead?

Thanks.

    3 replies

    Stephen Hjerpe
    • Stephen Hjerpe
    • Participating Frequently
    • 1100 replies
    • January 4, 2013

    I'm modifying an old program that makes use of W$MESSAGEBOX, and I'm not able to find any documentation on it. I'd specifically like to know if the string containing the message to be shown needs to be terminated with low-values. The fact that it's not documented or included in a list of AcuCOBOL library routines makes me wonder if we should be using something else instead.

    Is anyone familiar with W$MESSAGEBOX and know why it can't be found in the documentation? Is it deprecated and there's something else we should use instead?

    Thanks.

    I do not believe you need to terminate the string you are using with low-values. I believe the W$MESSAGEBOX routine was made as a method to display a message (whether the platform was GUI or character). I do not know why it did not get documented. There is a sample program that uses it ... \\AcuGT\\sample\\message.cbl

    D
    • Dominique SacreRocketeer
    • Author
    • Rocketeer
    • 19312 replies
    • January 7, 2013

    I'm modifying an old program that makes use of W$MESSAGEBOX, and I'm not able to find any documentation on it. I'd specifically like to know if the string containing the message to be shown needs to be terminated with low-values. The fact that it's not documented or included in a list of AcuCOBOL library routines makes me wonder if we should be using something else instead.

    Is anyone familiar with W$MESSAGEBOX and know why it can't be found in the documentation? Is it deprecated and there's something else we should use instead?

    Thanks.

    I'm pretty sure W$MessageBox was deprecated in favor of the DISPLAY MESSAGE BOX statement (see Format 15 of the DISPLAY statement in Chapter 6, Section 6.6 of the ACUCOBOL-GT Reference Manual).

    D
    • Dominique SacreRocketeer
    • Author
    • Rocketeer
    • 19312 replies
    • January 8, 2013

    I'm modifying an old program that makes use of W$MESSAGEBOX, and I'm not able to find any documentation on it. I'd specifically like to know if the string containing the message to be shown needs to be terminated with low-values. The fact that it's not documented or included in a list of AcuCOBOL library routines makes me wonder if we should be using something else instead.

    Is anyone familiar with W$MESSAGEBOX and know why it can't be found in the documentation? Is it deprecated and there's something else we should use instead?

    Thanks.

    Thanks for the answers. This old program I was working on seems to be a modified version of message.cbl. I'll give DISPLAY MESSAGE BOX a try and see how that looks.


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