With the Recording utility, you can record a Natural session and later play back the recorded session.
The Recording Utility documentation covers the following topics:
The Recording utility can be used for the following purposes:
Demonstration
Instead of having to type in several commands, such as input data by hand, you can
play back a recorded sequence of keyboard actions to demonstrate a standard procedure.
Application development
When applying the same modifications to several objects (for example, programs or
maps), you can use a recording to reduce the amount of work involved and at the same
time ensure that the modifications are actually the same for all objects affected.
Testing
You can execute a standard testing procedure by simply playing back a recording.
Quality control
Before and after making changes to an application, you can play back a recording and
compare the results of the two runs to make sure that certain things were not affected
by the changes.
User training
You can incorporate the playback of recordings into training programs for users, to
show them specific procedures. Also, you can record user keyboard actions in a session
and then inform them of any errors they make or of ways to carry out actions more
efficiently. The recording of user actions can also help you to detect any flaws in an
application's user interface.
The Recording utility records the following:
All input data and commands (including terminal commands) entered on the screen.
Any function keys (PF keys) pressed.
The current cursor position as contained in the system variable *CURSOR (see
the System Variables documentation).
This section describes the steps required to activate and deactivate a recording.
To specify the library in which all subsequent recordings are to be stored
Enter the following terminal command:
%B=library-name
If you activate the recording process without having specified
library-name, the name of the library in which the
recording is stored is the same as the value of the system variable *INIT-USER
(see the System Variables documentation) at the time when the
recording process is activated.
When you log on to another library during a session being recorded, the library in
which the recording is being stored remains the same (that is, either the one specified
with %B= or the *INIT-USER
library); this means that one recording can record keyboard actions across multiple
applications.
To activate a recording
Enter the following terminal command:
%Bname
All subsequent keyboard actions are recorded.
name denotes the name under which the data recorded are saved in source form as a Natural object of the type Recording. You can treat this source as any other Natural source (for example, delete it, copy it), except that you must not edit it: recordings contain binary data an editor will destroy.
name can only be specified once. If a recording object of the
same name already exists in the library specified for recording, Natural returns the
message Error in recording activation.
Caution
Any situation that leads to a backout transaction or rollback (for example, a
non-activity timeout) while a recording is in progress, will delete part of the
recording thus making the entire recording useless.
Terminal command %Aname included
in a recording should be followed by terminal command %B as
described in Recording
%A.
To deactivate a recording
Enter the following terminal command:
%B
The recording has terminated.
When a recording is played back, the sequence of, for example, commands and function keys is actually executed again.
The recording is independent of the terminal type; that is, a session recorded on one terminal can be played back on a terminal of another type. You can also play back a recording in batch mode; a recorded online session may, of course, react differently when played back in batch.
This section covers the following topics:
A recording can be played back in two modes: background mode and step mode.
In background mode, the entire recording is played back invisibly; that is, all
keyboard actions of the recording are carried out without anything being displayed to
you on the terminal screen during the execution of the recording. You cannot interrupt a
recording that is played back in background mode, unless the recording contains the
terminal command %R as explained in Manipulating a Recording.
In step mode, a recording is played back step by step and all keyboard actions are displayed on the screen. By choosing any function key, you proceed from one step to the next. In step mode, it is also possible for you to interrupt the recording by pressing CLEAR as explained in Interrupting a Playback.
By default, a recording is played back in background mode.
To set modes
To activate step mode, enter the following terminal command:
%GON
To deactivate step mode and activate background mode, enter the following terminal command:
%GOFF
To toggle between step and background mode, enter the following terminal command:
%G
To play back a recording
Enter the following terminal command:
%Aname
The recording saved under the specified name is executed again.
%Aname If you issue the command %Aname
while a session is being recorded, the recording specified with
%Aname is not executed but the
command %Aname is included into
the object source that is being recorded. Thus, you can execute a recording from within
another recording and concatenate a series of recording to one another. However, you
cannot have nested recordings; the execution of the recording that contains the
%Aname command stops after
this command and is not resumed when the execution of name
finishes. As a result, the data recorded after
%Aname will never be played
back. To avoid this, you should enter %B immediately after
you have entered %Aname in a
recording.
To interrupt a recording that is played back in step mode
Press CLEAR.
Once you have interrupted a recording, you have the following options:
You can continue your session normally from the point where you stopped the recording.
You can insert additional keyboard actions into the recording: after you have
pressed CLEAR, enter the command %B and all
actions you perform are inserted into the source of the recording until you enter
%B again. Then, the execution of the recording is
resumed.
You can alter the next step in the recording: after you have pressed
CLEAR, enter the command %R, then enter the
input data for the next step. The newly entered input data overwrite the input data
for this step in the recorded source. When you press ENTER, this step is
executed with the new input data and subsequently the execution of the recording is
resumed.
You can execute any helproutine: after you have pressed CLEAR, enter the
command %J directly followed by the name of the desired
helproutine. The helproutine is invoked and the execution of the recording is
continued as soon as the execution of the helproutine ends.
By recording the terminal command %R, you can manipulate a
single step in a recording when it is played back. This applies in step mode and in
background mode. In background mode, %R is the only way to
interact with a recording that is being played back. Interaction, for example, may be
required to provide an input option for sensitive data, such as passwords which are
unknown at the time of the recording.
If the terminal command %R (redisplay last screen) has been
recorded, the subsequent screen is open for user input when the recording is played back;
that is, the input data for this screen are not taken from the recording but from what the
user enters. Subsequently, the execution of the recording is continued.