SDF menu mode

There are two ways of using the SDF menu mode to control the compiler:

Permanent menu mode

The user switches to the SDF main menu by entering the SDF command:
/MODIFY-SDF-OPTIONS GUIDANCE = MAXIMUM / MEDIUM / MINIMUM
The available commands for calling the compiler are given there under the entry “PROGRAMMING-SUPPORT”. Specifying the associated number in the input line calls up the PROGRAMMING-SUPPORT menu. The compiler can then be called from this menu by entering the command number.

The values of the MODIFY-SDF-OPTIONS commands have the following meanings:
MAXIMUM	Maximum help level, i.e. all operand values with options, help texts for commands and operands.
MEDIUM	All operand values without options; help texts for commands only.
MINIMUM	Minimum help level, i.e. only default values for the operands; no options, no help texts.

The permanent menu mode remains active until the user explicitly switches back to expert mode by entering the command:
MODIFY-SDF-OPTION GUIDANCE=EXPERT

Temporary menu mode

There are two ways of controlling the compiler in the temporary menu mode:

1. By moving from the SDF menu to the operand form in steps

   When the user enters a question mark at the system level, the SDF main menu is displayed.

   /?
        The SDF main menu appears
      User specifies the number of the PROGRAMMING-SUPPORT menu
          The PROGRAMMING-SUPPORT menu appears
      User specifies the number of the command to call the compiler
          The operand form appears
   

2. By directly switching to the operand form

   A question mark is appended immediately after START-COBOL2000-COMPILER.

   /START-COBOL2000-COMPILER? [options]
           Switch to operand form
   

   Entering START-COBOL2000-COMPILER? causes control to switch to menu mode, and the first page of the operand form is opened.
   The form may contain the operand values of options that were specified immediately after START-COBOL2000-COMPILER?.

   The user can immediately return to expert mode from any menu by specifying *CANCEL in the NEXT line or by pressing the K1 key.

   After the compilation has terminated, the user is back in expert mode (indicated by /).

Notes on processing the operand form

The operand form is largely self-explanatory. During processing the main thing to note is that only the entry in the input line (“NEXT:...”) determines which operation will be executed. The permitted inputs are listed below this line.

The most important control characters for processing the operand form are summarized below.
A detailed description of the best way to use SDF is given in the manual “Introductory Guide to the SDF Dialog Interface” [5].

Control characters for processing the operand form

?	as an operand value provides a help text and indicates the value range for this operand. If SDF produced the message “CORRECT INCORRECT OPERANDS” after a previous invalid input, the question mark supplies additional detailed error messages. The remainder of the line does not have to be deleted.
!	as an operand value reinserts the default value for this operand if the displayed default value was previously overwritten. The remainder of the line does not have to be deleted.
<operand>(	An open parenthesis after a structure-initiating operand produces the sub-form for the associated structure. Operands specified after the open parenthesis are displayed in the sub-form.
–	as the last character in an input line causes a continuation line to be output (up to 9 continuation lines are possible per operand).
Line (LZF) key	deletes all characters in the input line from the cursor position.