Interacting with Fileman as a Programmer

This tutorial covered a lot of how to interact with Fileman when first making files and how end users may use it. We won’t cover programmer calls in detail, but here is a brief guide.

Fileman has two sets of APIs: the old generation (“Classic”) and new generation (Database Server, or DBS). The old generation APIs assume that you are interacting with Fileman via a terminal. The new generation APIs write nothing to the screen, and thus are designed to be used by client applications interfacing with Fileman via TCP. Internally, Fileman runs by and large by eating its own dog food: it calls the APIs itself.

Here is an example of one API which invokes the “select an entry” logic.:

GTM>SET DIC=1001,DIC(0)="AEQ" D ^DIC

Select BACH WERKE VERZEICHNIS BWV NUMBER: ?
Answer with BACH WERKE VERZEICHNIS BWV NUMBER
Choose from:
1046        Brandenburg Concerto No. 1     F MAJOR
1047        Brandenburg Concerto No. 2     F MAJOR
1048        Brandenburg Concerto No. 3     G MAJOR
1050        Brandenburg Concerto No. 5     D MAJOR
1051        Brandenburg Concerto No. 6     B FLAT MAJOR

Select BACH WERKE VERZEICHNIS BWV NUMBER: 1046
Brandenburg Concerto No. 1     F MAJOR
GTM>W X
1046
GTM>W Y
1^1046

The output of this is the variables X and Y. X is what the user typed in, and Y is the entry number ^ .01 field value.

The Fileman programmer manual can be found here: http://www.hardhats.org/fileman/pm/index.htm.

Standalone Fileman at the current time does not provide a TCP or Web Service interface.