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UIL(5X)
OSF/Motif
NAME
UIL - The user interface language file format
SYNOPSIS
MODULE module_name
[NAMES = CASE_INSENSITIVE | CASE_SENSITIVE]
[CHARACTER_SET = character_set]
[OBJECTS = {widget_name = GADGET | WIDGET; [...]}]
{[
[value_section] |
[procedure_section] |
[list_section] |
[object_section] |
[identifier_section]
[...]
]}
END MODULE;
DESCRIPTION
The UIL language is used for describing the initial state of a user
interface for a widget based application. UIL describes the widgets used
in the interface, the resources of those widgets, and the callbacks of
those widgets. The UIL file is compiled into a UID file using the command
uil or by the callable compiler Uil(). The contents of the compiled UID
file can then by accessed by the various Motif Resource Management (MRM)
functions from within an application program.
FILE FORMAT
UIL is a free-form language. This means that high-level constructs such as
object and value declarations do not need to begin in any particular column
and can span any number of lines. Low-level constructs such as keywords
and punctuation characters can also begin in any column; however, except
for string literals and comments, they cannot span lines.
The UIL compiler accepts input lines up to 132 characters in length.
MODULE module_name
The name by which the UIL module is known in the UID file. This name
is stored in the UID file for later use in the retrieval of resources
by the MRM. This name is always stored in uppercase in the UID file.
NAMES = CASE_INSENSITIVE | CASE_SENSITIVE
Indicates whether names should be treated as case sensitive or case
insensitive. The default is case sensitive. The case-sensitivity
clause should be the first clause in the module header, and in any case
must precede any statement that contains a name. If names are case
sensitive in a UIL module, UIL keywords in that module must be in
lowercase. Each name is stored in the UIL file in the same case as it
appears in the UIL module. If names are case insensitive, then
keywords can be in uppercase, lowercase, or mixed case, and the
uppercase equivalent of each name is stored in the UID file.
CHARACTER_SET = character_set
Specifies the default character set for string literals in the module
that do not explicitly set their character set. The default character
set, in the absence of this clause is the codeset component of the LANG
environment variable, or the value of XmFALLBACK_CHARSET if LANG is not
set or has no codeset component. The value of XmFALLBACK_CHARSET is
defined by UIL supplier, but is usually ISO8859-1 (equivalent to
ISO_LATIN1). Use of this clause turns off all localized string literal
processing turned on by the compiler flag -s or the Uil_command_type
data structure element use_setlocale_flag.
OBJECTS = { widget_name = GADGET | WIDGET; }
Indicates whether the widget or gadget form of the control specified by
widget_name is used by default. By default the widget form is used, so
the gadget keyword is usually the only one used. The specified control
should be one that has both a widget and gadget version:
XmCascadeButton, XmLabel, XmPushButton, XmSeparator, and
XmToggleButton. The form of more than one control can be specified by
delimiting them with semicolons. The gadget or widget form of an
instance of a control can be specified with the GADGET and WIDGET
keywords in a particular object declaration.
value_section
Provides a way to name a value expression or literal. The value name
can then be referred to by declarations that occur elsewhere in the UIL
module in any context where a value can be used. Values can be forward
referenced. Value sections are described in more detail later in the
reference page.
procedure_section
Defines the callback routines used by a widget and the creation
routines for user-defined widgets. These definitions are used for
error checking. Procedure sections are described in more detail later
in the reference page.
list_section
Provides a way to group together a set of arguments, controls
(children), callbacks, or procedures for later use in the UIL module.
Lists can contain other lists, so that you can set up a hierarchy to
clearly show which arguments, controls, callbacks, and procedures are
common to which widgets. List sections are described in more detail
later in the reference page.
object_section
Defines the objects that make up the user interface of the application.
You can reference the object names in declarations that occur elsewhere
in the UIL module in any context where an object name can be used (for
example, in a controls list, as a symbolic reference to a widget ID, or
as the tag_value argument for a callback procedure). Objects can be
forward referenced. Object sections are described in more detail later
in the reference page.
identifier_section
Defines a run-time binding of data to names that appear in the UIL
module. Identifier sections are described in more detail later in the
reference page.
The UIL file can also contain comments and include directives, which are
described along with the main elements of the UIL file format in the
following sections.
Comments
Comments can take one of two forms, as follows:
· The comment is introduced with the sequence /* followed by the text of
the comment and terminated with the sequence */. This form of comment
can span multiple source lines.
· The comment is introduced with an ! (exclamation point), followed by
the text of the comment and terminated by the end of the source line.
Neither form of comment can be nested.
Value Sections
A value section consists of the keyword VALUE followed by a sequence of
value declarations. It has the following syntax:
VALUE value_name :
[EXPORTED | PRIVATE] value_expression |
IMPORTED value_type;
Where value_expression is assigned to value_name or a value_type is
assigned to an imported value name. A value declaration provides a way to
name a value expression or literal. The value name can be referred to by
declarations that occur later in the UIL module in any context where a
value can be used. Values can be forward referenced.
EXPORTED
A value that you define as exported is stored in the UID file as a
named resource, and therefore can be referenced by name in other UID
files. When you define a value as exported, MRM looks outside the
module in which the exported value is declared to get its value at run
time.
PRIVATE
A private value is a value that is not imported or exported. A value
that you define as private is not stored as a distinct resource in the
UID file. You can reference a private value only in the UIL module
containing the value declaration. The value or object is directly
incorporated into anything in the UIL module that references the
declaration.
IMPORTED
A value that you define as imported is one that is defined as a named
resource in a UID file. MRM resolves this declaration with the
corresponding exported declaration at application run time.
By default, values and objects are private. The following is a list of the
supported value types in UIL.
· ANY
· ARGUMENT
· BOOLEAN
· COLOR
· COLOR_TABLE
· COMPOUND_STRING
· FLOAT
· FONT
· FONT_TABLE
· FONTSET
· ICON
· INTEGER
· INTEGER_TABLE
· KEYSYM
· REASON
· SINGLE_FLOAT
· STRING
· STRING_TABLE
· TRANSLATION_TABLE
· WIDE_CHARACTER
· WIDGET
Procedure sections
A procedure section consists of the keyword PROCEDURE followed by a
sequence of procedure declarations. It has the following syntax:
PROCEDURE
procedure_name [([value_type])];
Use a procedure declaration to declare:
· A routine that can be used as a callback routine for a widget
· The creation function for a user-defined widget
You can reference a procedure name in declarations that occur later in the
UIL module in any context where a procedure can be used. Procedures can be
forward referenced. You cannot use a name you used in another context as a
procedure name.
In a procedure declaration, you have the option of specifying that a
parameter will be passed to the corresponding callback routine at run time.
This parameter is called the callback tag. You can specify the data type
of the callback tag by putting the data type in parentheses following the
procedure name. When you compile the module, the UIL compiler checks that
the argument you specify in references to the procedure is of this type.
Note that the data type of the callback tag must be one of the valid UIL
data types. You can use a widget as a callback tag, as long as the widget
is defined in the same widget hierarchy as the callback, that is they have
a common ancestor that is in the same UIL hierarchy.
The following list summarizes how the UIL compiler checks argument type and
argument count, depending on the procedure declaration:
No parameters
No argument type or argument count checking occurs. You can supply
either 0 or 1 arguments in the procedure reference.
( ) Checks that the argument count is 0.
(ANY)
Checks that the argument count is 1. Does not check the argument type.
Use the ANY type to prevent type checking on procedure tags.
(type)
Checks for one argument of the specified type.
(class_name)
Checks for one widget argument of the specified widget class.
While it is possible to use any UIL data type to specify the type of a tag
in a procedure declaration, you must be able to represent that data type in
the programming language you are using. Some data types (such as integer,
Boolean, and string) are common data types recognized by most programming
languages. Other UIL data types (such as string tables) are more
complicated and may require you to set up an appropriate corresponding data
structure in the application in order to pass a tag of that type to a
callback routine.
You can also use a procedure declaration to specify the creation function
for a user-defined widget. In this case, you specify no formal parameters.
The procedure is invoked with the standard three arguments passed to all
widget creation functions. (See the Motif Toolkit documentation for more
information about widget creation functions.)
List sections
A list section consists of the keyword LIST followed by a sequence of list
declarations. It has the following syntax:
LIST
list_name: {list_item; [...]}
[...]
You can also use list sections to group together a set of arguments,
controls (children), callbacks, or procedures for later use in the UIL
module. Lists can contain other lists, so that you can set up a hierarchy
to clearly show which arguments, controls, callbacks, and procedures are
common to which widgets. You cannot mix the different types of lists; a
list of a particular type cannot contain entries of a different list type
or reference the name of a different list type. A list name is always
private to the UIL module in which you declare the list and cannot be
stored as a named resource in a UID file.
The additional list types are described in the following sections.
Arguments List Structure
An arguments list defines which arguments are to be specified in the
arguments-list parameter when the creation routine for a particular object
is called at run time. An arguments list also specifies the values for
those arguments. Argument lists have the following syntax:
LIST
list_name: ARGUMENTS {
argument_name = value_expression;
[...] }
[...]
The argument name must be either a built-in argument name or a user-defined
argument name that is specified with the ARGUMENT function.
If you use a built-in argument name as an arguments list entry in an object
definition, the UIL compiler checks the argument name to be sure that it is
supported by the type of object that you are defining. If the same
argument name appears more than once in a given arguments list, the last
entry that uses that argument name supersedes all previous entries with
that name, and the compiler issues a message.
Some arguments, such as XmNitems and XmNitemCount, are coupled by the UIL
compiler. When you specify one of the arguments, the compiler also sets the
other. The coupled argument is not available to you.
The Motif Toolkit and the X Toolkit (intrinsics) support constraint
arguments. A constraint argument is one that is passed to children of an
object, beyond those arguments normally available. For example, the Form
widget grants a set of constraint arguments to its children. These
arguments control the position of the children within the Form.
Unlike the arguments used to define the attributes of a particular widget,
constraint arguments are used exclusively to define additional attributes
of the children of a particular widget. These attributes affect the
behavior of the children within their parent. To supply constraint
arguments to the children, you include the arguments in the arguments list
for the child.
See Appendix B in the OSF/Motif Programmer's Reference for information
about which arguments are supported by which widgets. See Appendix C, also
in the OSF/Motif Programmer's Reference for information about what the
valid value type is for each built-in argument.
Callbacks List Structure
Use a callbacks list to define which callback reasons are to be processed
by a particular widget at run time. Callback lists have the following
syntax:
LIST
list_name : CALLBACKS {
reason_name = PROCEDURE procedure_name
[ ([value_expression]) ]; |
reason_name = procedure_list;
[...]}
[...]
For Motif Toolkit widgets, the reason name must be a built-in reason name.
For a user-defined widget, you can use a reason name that you previously
specified using the REASON function. If you use a built-in reason in an
object definition, the UIL compiler ensures that reason is supported by the
type of object you are defining. Appendix B shows which reasons each
object supports.
If the same reason appears more than once in a callbacks list, the last
entry referring to that name supersedes all previous entries using the same
reason, and the UIL compiler issues a diagnostic message.
If you specify a named value for the procedure argument (callback tag), the
data type of the value must match the type specified for the callback tag
in the corresponding procedure declaration. When specifying a widget name
as a procedure value expression you must also specify the type of the
widget and a space before the name of the widget.
Because the UIL compiler produces a UID file rather than an object module
(.o), the binding of the UIL name to the address of the entry point to the
procedure is not done by the loader, but is established at run time with
the MRM function MrmRegisterNames. You call this function before fetching
any objects, giving it both the UIL names and the procedure addresses of
each callback. The name you register with MRM in the application program
must match the name you specified for the procedure in the UIL module.
Each callback procedure receives three arguments. The first two arguments
have the same form for each callback. The form of the third argument
varies from object to object.
The first argument is the address of the data structure maintained by the
Motif Toolkit for this object instance. This address is called the widget
ID for this object.
The second argument is the address of the value you specified in the
callbacks list for this procedure. If you do not specify an argument, the
address is NULL.
The third argument is the reason name you specified in the callbacks list.
Controls List Structure
A controls list defines which objects are children of, or controlled by, a
particular object. Each entry in a controls list has the following syntax:
LIST
list_name : CONTROLS {
[child_name] [MANAGED | UNMANAGED] object_definition;
[...]}
[...]
If you specify the keyword MANAGED at run time, the object is created and
managed; if you specify UNMANAGED at run time, the object is only created.
Objects are managed by default.
You can use child_name to specify resources for the automatically created
children of a particular control. Names for automatically created children
are formed by appending Xm_ to the name of the child widget. This name is
specified in the documentation for the parent widget.
Unlike the arguments list and the callbacks list, a controls list entry
that is identical to a previous entry does not supersede the previous
entry. At run time, each controls list entry causes a child to be created
when the parent is created. If the same object definition is used for
multiple children, multiple instances of the child are created at run time.
See Appendix B in the Programmer's Reference for a list of which widget
types can be controlled by which other widget types.
Procedures List Structure
You can specify multiple procedures for a callback reason in UIL by
defining a procedures list. Just as with other list types, procedures
lists can be defined in-line or in a list section and referenced by name.
If you define a reason more than once (for example, when the reason is
defined both in a referenced procedures list and in the callbacks list for
the object), previous definitions are overridden by the latest definition.
The syntax for a procedures list is as follows:
LIST
list_name : PROCEDURES {
procedure_name [([value_expression])];
[...]}
[...]
When specifying a widget name as a procedure value expression you must also
specify the type of the widget and a space before the name of the widget.
Object Sections
An object section consists of the keyword OBJECT followed by a sequence of
object declarations. It has the following syntax:
OBJECT object_name :
[EXPORTED | PRIVATE | IMPORTED] object_type
[PROCEDURE creation_function]
[object_name[WIDGET | GADGET] |
{list_definitions}]
Use an object declaration to define the objects that are to be stored in
the UID file. You can reference the object name in declarations that occur
elsewhere in the UIL module in any context where an object name can be used
(for example, in a controls list, as a symbolic reference to a widget ID,
or as the tag_value argument for a callback procedure). Objects can be
forward referenced; that is, you can declare an object name after you
reference it. All references to an object name must be consistent with the
type of the object, as specified in the object declaration. You can specify
an object as exported, imported, or private.
The object definition can contain a sequence of lists that define the
arguments, hierarchy, and callbacks for the widget. You can specify only
one list of each type for an object. When you declare a user-defined
widget, you must include a reference to the widget creation function for
the user-defined widget.
Use the GADGET or WIDGET keyword to specify the object type or to override
the default variant for this object type. You can use the Motif Toolkit
name of an object type that has a gadget variant (for example,
XmLabelGadget) as an attribute of an object declaration. The object_type
can be any object type, including gadgets. You need to specify the GADGET
or WIDGET keyword only in the declaration of an object, not when you
reference the object. You cannot specify the GADGET or WIDGET keyword for
a user-defined object; user-defined objects are always widgets.
Identifier sections
The identifier section allows you to define an identifier, a mechanism that
achieves run-time binding of data to names that appear in a UIL module.
The identifier section consists of the reserved keyword IDENTIFIER,
followed by a list of names, each name followed by a semicolon.
IDENTIFIER identifier_name; [...;]
You can later use these names in the UIL module as either the value of an
argument to a widget or the tag value to a callback procedure. At run time,
you use the MRM functions MrmRegisterNames and MrmRegisterNamesInHierarchy
to bind the identifier name with the data (or, in the case of callbacks,
with the address of the data) associated with the identifier.
Each UIL module has a single name space; therefore, you cannot use a name
you used for a value, object, or procedure as an identifier name in the
same module.
The UIL compiler does not do any type checking on the use of identifiers in
a UIL module. Unlike a UIL value, an identifier does not have a UIL type
associated with it. Regardless of what particular type a widget argument
or callback procedure tag is defined to be, you can use an identifier in
that context instead of a value of the corresponding type.
To reference these identifier names in a UIL module, you use the name of
the identifier wherever you want its value to be used.
Include directives
The include directive incorporates the contents of a specified file into a
UIL module. This mechanism allows several UIL modules to share common
definitions. The syntax for the include directive is as follows:
INCLUDE FILE file_name;
The UIL compiler replaces the include directive with the contents of the
include file and processes it as if these contents had appeared in the
current UIL source file.
You can nest include files; that is, an include file can contain include
directives. The UIL compiler can process up to 100 references (including
the file containing the UIL module). Therefore, you can include up to 99
files in a single UIL module, including nested files. Each time a file is
opened counts as a reference, so including the same file twice counts as
two references.
The character expression is a file specification that identifies the file
to be included. The rules for finding the specified file are similar to
the rules for finding header, or .h files using the include directive,
#include, with a quoted string in C. The uil uses the -I option for
specifying a search directory for include files.
· If you do not supply a directory, the UIL compiler searches for the
include file in the directory of the main source file.
· If the compiler does not find the include file there, the compiler
looks in the same directory as the source file.
· If you supply a directory, the UIL compiler searches only that
directory for the file.
LANGUAGE SYNTAX
Names and Strings
Names can consist of any of the characters A to Z, a to z, 0 to 9, $
(dollar sign), and _ (underscore). Names cannot begin with a digit (0 to
9). The maximum length of a name is 31 characters.
UIL gives you a choice of either case-sensitive or case-insensitive names
through a clause in the MODULE header. For example, if names are case
sensitive, the names "sample" and "Sample" are distinct from each other.
If names are case insensitive, these names are treated as the same name and
can be used interchangeably. By default, UIL assumes names are case
sensitive.
In CASE-INSENSITIVE mode, the compiler outputs all names in the UID file in
uppercase form. In CASE-SENSITIVE mode, names appear in the UIL file
exactly as they appear in the source.
The following table list the reserved keywords, which are not available for
defining programmer defined names.
______________________________________________
Reserved Keywords
______________________________________________
ARGUMENTS CALLBACKS CONTROLS END
EXPORTED FALSE GADGET IDENTIFIER
INCLUDE LIST MODULE OFF
ON OBJECT PRIVATE PROCEDURE
PROCEDURES TRUE VALUE WIDGET
______________________________________________
The following table list the UIL unreserved keywords. These keywords can
be used as programmer defined names, however, if you use any keyword as a
name, you cannot use the UIL-supplied usage of that keyword.
· Built-in argument names (for example: XmNx, XmNheight)
· Built-in reason names (for example: XmNactivateCallback,
XmNhelpCallback)
· Character set names (for example: ISO_LATIN1, ISO_HEBREW_LR)
· Constant value names (for example: XmMENU_OPTION, XmBROWSE_SELECT)
· Object types (for example: XmPushButton, XmBulletinBoard)
___________________________________________________________
Unreserved Keywords
___________________________________________________________
ANY ARGUMENT ASCIZ_STRING_TABLE
ASCIZ_TABLE BACKGROUND BOOLEAN
CASE_INSENSITIVE CASE_SENSITIVE CHARACTER_SET
COLOR COLOR_TABLE COMPOUND_STRING
COMPOUND_STRING_TABLE FILE FLOAT
FONT FONT_TABLE FONTSET
FOREGROUND ICON IMPORTED
INTEGER INTEGER_TABLE KEYSYM
MANAGED NAMES OBJECTS
REASON RGB RIGHT_TO_LEFT
SINGLE_FLOAT STRING STRING_TABLE
TRANSLATION_TABLE UNMANAGED USER_DEFINED
VERSION WIDE_CHARACTER WIDGET
XBITMAPFILE
___________________________________________________________
String literals can be composed of the upper- and lower-case letters,
digits, and punctuation characters. Spaces, tabs, and comments are special
elements in the language. They are a means of delimiting other elements,
such as two names. One or more of these elements can appear before or
after any other element in the language. However, spaces, tabs, and
comments that appear in string literals are treated as character sequences
rather than delimiters.
Data Types
UIL provides literals for several of the value types it supports. Some of
the value types are not supported as literals (for example, pixmaps and
string tables). You can specify values for these types by using functions
described in the Functions section. UIL directly supports the following
literal types:
· String literal
· Integer literal
· Boolean literal
· Floating-point literal
UIL also includes the data type ANY, which is used to turn off compile time
checking of data types.
String Literals
A string literal is a sequence of zero or more 8-bit or 16-bit characters
or a combination delimited by ' (single quotation marks) or " (double
quotation marks). String literals can also contain multibyte characters
delimited with double quotation marks. String literals can be no more than
2000 characters long.
A single-quoted string literal can span multiple source lines. To continue
a single-quoted string literal, terminate the continued line with a \
(backslash). The literal continues with the first character on the next
line.
Double-quoted string literals cannot span multiple source lines. (Because
double-quoted strings can contain escape sequences and other special
characters, you cannot use the backslash character to designate
continuation of the string.) To build a string value that must span
multiple source lines, use the concatenation operator described later in
this section.
The syntax of a string literal is one of the following:
'[character_string]'
[#char_set]"[character_string]"
Both string forms associate a character set with a string value. UIL uses
the following rules to determine the character set and storage format for
string literals:
· A string declared as 'string' is equivalent to #cur_charset"string",
where cur_charset will be the codeset portion of the value of the LANG
environment variable if it is set or the value of XmFALLBACK_CHARSET
if LANG is not set or has no codeset component. By default
XmFALLBACK_CHARSET is ISO8859-1 (equivalent to ISO_LATIN1), but
vendors may define a different default.
· A string declared as "string" is equivalent to #char_set"string" if
you specified char_set as the default character set for the module. If
no default character set has been specified for the module, then if
the -s option is provided to the uil command or the use_setlocale_flag
is set for the callable compiler, Uil(), the string will be
interpreted to be a string in the current locale. This means that the
string is parsed in the locale of the user by calling setlocale and
its charset is XmFONTLIST_DEFAULT_TAG, and that if the string is
converted to a compound string, it is stored as a locale encoded text
segment. Otherwise, "string" is equivalent to #cur_charset"string",
where cur_charset is interpreted as described for single quoted
strings.
· A string of the form "string" or #char_set"string" is stored as a
null-terminated string.
The following table lists the character sets supported by the UIL compiler
for string literals. Note that several UIL names map to the same character
set. In some cases, the UIL name influences how string literals are read.
For example, strings identified by a UIL character set name ending in _LR
are read left-to-right. Names that end in a different number reflect
different fonts (for example, ISO_LATIN1 or ISO_LATIN6). All character sets
in this table are represented by 8 bits.
______________________________________________________
Supported Character Sets
UIL Name Description
______________________________________________________
ISO_LATIN1 GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-1 Supplement
ISO_LATIN2 GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-2 Supplement
ISO_ARABIC GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-Arabic Supplement
ISO_LATIN6 GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-Arabic Supplement
ISO_GREEK GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-Greek Supplement
ISO_LATIN7 GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-Greek Supplement
ISO_HEBREW GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-Hebrew Supplement
ISO_LATIN8 GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-Hebrew Supplement
ISO_HEBREW_LR GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-Hebrew Supplement
ISO_LATIN8_LR GL: ASCII, GR: Latin-Hebrew Supplement
JIS_KATAKANA GL: JIS Roman, GR: JIS Katakana
______________________________________________________
Following are the parsing rules for each of the character sets:
All character sets
Character codes in the range 00...1F, 7F, and 80...9F are control
characters including both bytes of 16-bit characters. The compiler
flags these as illegal characters.
ISO_LATIN1 ISO_LATIN2 ISO_ARABIC ISO_LATIN3 ISO_GREEK
ISO_LATIN4
These sets are parsed from left to right. The escape sequences for
null-terminated strings are also supported by these character sets.
ISO_HEBREW ISO_LATIN8
These sets are parsed from right to left; for example, the string
#ISO_HEBREW"012345" generates a primitive string "543210" with
character set ISO_HEBREW. A DDIS descriptor for such a string has this
segment marked as being right_to_left. The escape sequences for null-
terminated strings are also supported by these character sets, and the
characters that compose the escape sequences are in left-to-right
order. For example, you type \n, not n\.
ISO_HEBREW_LR ISO_LATIN8_LR
These sets are parsed from left to right; for example, the string
#ISO_HEBREW_LR"012345" generates a primitive string "012345" with
character set ISO_HEBREW. A DDIS descriptor for such a string marks
this segment as being left_to_right. The escape sequences for null-
terminated strings are also supported by these character sets.
JIS_KATAKANA
This set is parsed from left to right. The escape sequences for null-
terminated strings are also supported by this character set. Note that
the \ (backslash) may be displayed as a yen symbol.
In addition to designating parsing rules for strings, character set
information remains an attribute of a compound string. If the string is
included in a string consisting of several concatenated segments, the
character set information is included with that string segment. This gives
the Motif Toolkit the information it needs to decipher the compound string
and choose a font to display the string.
For an application interface displayed only in English, UIL lets you ignore
the distinctions between the two uses of strings. The compiler recognizes
by context when a string must be passed as a null-terminated string or as a
compound string.
The UIL compiler recognizes enough about the various character sets to
correctly parse string literals. The compiler also issues errors if you use
a compound string in a context that supports only null-terminated strings.
Since the character set names are keywords, you must put them in lowercase
if case-sensitive names are in force. If names are case insensitive,
character set names can be uppercase, lowercase, or mixed case.
In addition to the built-in character sets recognized by UIL, you can
define your own character sets with the CHARACTER_SET function. You can
use the CHARACTER_SET function anywhere a character set can be specified.
String literals can contain characters with the eighth (high-order) bit
set. You cannot type control characters (00..1F, 7F, and 80..9F) directly
in a single-quoted string literal. However, you can represent these
characters with escape sequences. The following list shows the escape
sequences for special characters:
\b Backspace
\f Form-feed
\n Newline
\r Carriage return
\t Horizontal tab
\v Vertical tab
\' Single quotation mark
\"" Double quotation mark
\ Backslash
\integer\
Character whose internal representation is given by integer (in the
range 0 to 255 decimal)
Note that escape sequences are processed literally in strings that are
parsed in the current locale (localized strings).
The UIL compiler does not process newline characters in compound strings.
The effect of a newline character in a compound string depends only on the
character set of the string, and the result is not guaranteed to be a
multiline string.
Compound String Literals
A compound string consists of a string of 8-bit, 16-bit, or multibyte
characters, a named character set, and a writing direction. Its UIL data
type is compound_string.
The writing direction of a compound string is implied by the character set
specified for the string. You can explicitly set the writing direction for
a compound string by using the COMPOUND_STRING function.
A compound string can consist of a sequence of concatenated compound
strings, null-terminated strings, or a combination of both, each of which
can have a different character set property and writing direction. Use the
concatenation operator & (ampersand) to create a sequence of compound
strings.
Each string in the sequence is stored, including the character set and
writing direction information.
Generally, a string literal is stored in the UID file as a compound string
when the literal consists of concatenated strings having different
character sets or writing directions, or when you use the string to specify
a value for an argument that requires a compound string value. If you want
to guarantee that a string literal is stored as a compound string, you must
use the COMPOUND_STRING function.
Data Storage Consumption for String Literals
The way a string literal is stored in the UID file depends on how you
declare and use the string. The UIL compiler automatically converts a
null-terminated string to a compound string if you use the string to
specify the value of an argument that requires a compound string. However,
this conversion is costly in terms of storage consumption.
PRIVATE, EXPORTED, and IMPORTED string literals require storage for a
single allocation when the literal is declared; thereafter, storage is
required for each reference to the literal. Literals declared in-line
require storage for both an allocation and a reference.
The following table summarizes data storage consumption for string
literals. The storage requirement for an allocation consists of a fixed
portion and a variable portion. The fixed portion of an allocation is
roughly the same as the storage requirement for a reference (a few bytes).
The storage consumed by the variable portion depends on the size of the
literal value (that is, the length of the string). To conserve storage
space, avoid making string literal declarations that result in an
allocation per use.
____________________________________________________________________
Data Storage Consumption for String Literals
Declaration Data Type Used As
Storage
Requirements Per
Use
____________________________________________________________________
In-line Null-terminated Null-terminated
An allocation and
a reference
(within the
module)
Private Null-terminated Null-terminated
A reference
(within the
module)
Exported Null-terminated Null-terminated
A reference
(within the UID
hierarchy)
Imported Null-terminated Null-terminated
A reference
(within the UID
hierarchy)
In-line Null-terminated Compound
An allocation and
a reference
(within the
module)
Private Null-terminated Compound
An allocation and
a reference
(within the
module)
Exported Null-terminated Compound
A reference
(within the UID
hierarchy)
Imported Null-terminated Compound
A reference
(within the UID
hierarchy)
In-line Compound Compound
An allocation and
a reference
(within the
module)
Private Compound Compound
A reference
(within the
module)
Exported Compound Compound
A reference
(within the UID
hierarchy)
Imported Compound Compound
A reference
(within the UID
hierarchy)
____________________________________________________________________
Integer Literals
An integer literal represents the value of a whole number. Integer literals
have the form of an optional sign followed by one or more decimal digits.
An integer literal must not contain embedded spaces or commas.
Integer literals are stored in the UID file as long integers. Exported and
imported integer literals require a single allocation when the literal is
declared; thereafter, a few bytes of storage are required for each
reference to the literal. Private integer literals and those declared in-
line require allocation and reference storage per use. To conserve storage
space, avoid making integer literal declarations that result in an
allocation per use.
The following table shows data storage consumption for integer literals.
_______________________________________________________________
Data Storage Consumption for Integer Literals
Declaration Storage Requirements Per Use
_______________________________________________________________
In-line An allocation and a reference (within the module)
Private An allocation and a reference (within the module)
Exported A reference (within the UID hierarchy)
Imported A reference (within the UID hierarchy)
_______________________________________________________________
Boolean Literal
A Boolean literal represents the value True (reserved keyword TRUE or On)
or False (reserved keyword FALSE or Off). These keywords are subject to
case-sensitivity rules.
In a UID file, TRUE is represented by the integer value 1 and FALSE is
represented by the integer value 0.
Data storage consumption for Boolean literals is the same as that for
integer literals.
Floating-Point Literal
A floating-point literal represents the value of a real (or float) number.
Floating-point literals have the following form:
[+|-][integer].integer[E|e[+|-]exponent]
For maximum portability a floating-point literal can represent values in
the range 1.0E-37 to 1.0E+37 with at least 6 significant digits. On many
machines this range will be wider, with more significant digits. A
floating-point literal must not contain embedded spaces or commas.
Floating-point literals are stored in the UID file as double-precision,
floating-point numbers. The following table gives examples of valid and
invalid floating-point notation for the UIL compiler.
________________________________________________________________
Floating Point Literals
Valid Floating-Point Literals Invalid Floating-Point Literals
________________________________________________________________
1.0 1e1 (no decimal point)
.1 E-1 (no decimal point or digits)
3.1415E-2 (equals .031415) 2.87 e6 (embedded blanks)
-6.29e7 (equals -62900000) 2.0e100 (out of range)
________________________________________________________________
Data storage consumption for floating-point literals is the same as that
for integer literals.
The ANY Data Type
The purpose of the ANY data type is to shut off the data-type checking
feature of the UIL compiler. You can use the ANY data type for the
following:
· Specifying the type of a callback procedure tag
· Specifying the type of a user-defined argument
You can use the ANY data type when you need to use a type not supported by
the UIL compiler or when you want the data-type restrictions imposed by the
compiler to be relaxed. For example, you might want to define a widget
having an argument that can accept different types of values, depending on
run-time circumstances.
If you specify that an argument takes an ANY value, the compiler does not
check the type of the value specified for that argument; therefore, you
need to take care when specifying a value for an argument of type ANY. You
could get unexpected results at run time if you pass a value having a data
type that the widget does not support for that argument.
Expressions
UIL includes compile-time value expressions. These expressions can contain
references to other UIL values, but cannot be forward referenced.
The following table lists the set of operators in UIL that allow you to
create integer, real, and Boolean values based on other values defined with
the UIL module. In the table, a precedence of 1 is the highest.
__________________________________________________________
Valid Operators
Operator Operand Types Meaning Precedence
__________________________________________________________
~ Boolean NOT 1
integer One's complement
- float Negate 1
integer Negate
+ float NOP 1
integer NOP
* float,float Multiply 2
integer,integer Multiply
/ float,float Divide 2
integer,integer Divide
+ float,float Add 3
integer,integer Add
- float,float Subtract 3
integer,integer Subtract
>> integer,integer Shift right 4
<< integer,integer Shift left 4
& Boolean,Boolean AND 5
integer,integer Bitwise AND
string,string Concatenate
| Boolean,Boolean OR 6
integer,integer Bitwise OR
^ Boolean,Boolean XOR 6
integer,integer Bitwise XOR
__________________________________________________________
A string can be either a single compound string or a sequence of compound
strings. If the two concatenated strings have different properties (such
as writing direction or character set), the result of the concatenation is
a multisegment compound string.
The string resulting from the concatenation is a null-terminated string
unless one or more of the following conditions exists:
· One of the operands is a compound string
· The operands have different character set properties
· The operands have different writing directions
Then the resulting string is a compound string. You cannot use imported or
exported values as operands of the concatenation operator.
The result of each operator has the same type as its operands. You cannot
mix types in an expression without using conversion routines.
You can use parentheses to override the normal precedence of operators. In
a sequence of unary operators, the operations are performed in right-to-
left order. For example, - + -A is equivalent to -(+(-A)). In a sequence
of binary operators of the same precedence, the operations are performed in
left-to-right order. For example, A*B/C*D is equivalent to ((A*B)/C)*D.
A value declaration gives a value a name. You cannot redefine the value of
that name in a subsequent value declaration. You can use a value containing
operators and functions anywhere you can use a value in a UIL module. You
cannot use imported values as operands in expressions.
Several of the binary operators are defined for multiple data types. For
example, the operator for multiplication (*) is defined for both floating-
point and integer operands.
For the UIL compiler to perform these binary operations, both operands must
be of the same type. If you supply operands of different data types, the
UIL compiler automatically converts one of the operands to the type of the
other according to the following conversions rules.
· If the operands are an integer and a boolean, the boolean is converted
to an integer.
· If the operands are an integer and a floating-point, the integer is
converted to an floating-point.
· If the operands are a floating-point and a boolean, the boolean is
converted to a floating-point.
You can also explicitly convert the data type of a value by using one of
the conversion functions INTEGER, FLOAT or SINGLE_FLOAT.
Functions
UIL provides functions to generate the following types of values:
· Character sets
· Keysyms
· Colors
· Pixmaps
· Single-precision, floating-point numbers
· Double-precision, floating-point numbers
· Fonts
· Fontsets
· Font tables
· Compound strings
· Compound string tables
· ASCIZ (null-terminated) string tables
· Wide character strings
· Widget class names
· Integer tables
· Arguments
· Reasons
· Translation tables
Remember that all examples in the following sections assume case-
insensitive mode. Keywords are shown in uppercase letters to distinguish
them from user-specified names, which are shown in lowercase letters. This
use of uppercase letters is not required in case-insensitive mode. In
case-sensitive mode, keywords must be in lowercase letters.
CHARACTER_SET(string_expression[, property[, ...]])
You can define your own character sets with the CHARACTER_SET function.
You can use the CHARACTER_SET function anywhere a character set can be
specified.
The result of the CHARACTER_SET function is a character set with the
name string_expression and the properties you specify.
String_expression must be a null-terminated string. You can optionally
include one or both of the following clauses to specify properties for
the resulting character set:
RIGHT_TO_LEFT = boolean_expression
SIXTEEN_BIT = boolean_expression
The RIGHT_TO_LEFT clause sets the default writing direction of the
string from right to left if boolean_expression is True, and right to
left otherwise.
The SIXTEEN_BIT clause allows the strings associated with this
character set to be interpreted as 16-bit characters if
boolean_expression is True, and 8-bit characters otherwise.
KEYSYM(string_literal)
The KEYSYM function is used to specify a keysym for a mnemonic
resource. The string_literal must contain exactly one character.
COLOR(string_expression[,FOREGROUND|BACKGROUND])
The COLOR function supports the definition of colors. Using the COLOR
function, you can designate a value to specify a color and then use
that value for arguments requiring a color value. The string
expression names the color you want to define; the optional keywords
FOREGROUND and BACKGROUND identify how the color is to be displayed on
a monochrome device when the color is used in the definition of a color
table.
The UIL compiler does not have built-in color names. Colors are a
server-dependent attribute of an object. Colors are defined on each
server and may have different red-green-blue (RGB) values on each
server. The string you specify as the color argument must be
recognized by the server on which your application runs.
In a UID file, UIL represents a color as a character string. MRM calls
X translation routines that convert a color string to the device-
specific pixel value. If you are running on a monochrome server, all
colors translate to black or white. If you are on a color server, the
color names translate to their proper colors if the following
conditions are met:
· The color is defined.
· The color map is not yet full.
If the color map is full, even valid colors translate to black or white
(foreground or background).
Interfaces do not, in general, specify colors for widgets, so that the
selection of colors can be controlled by the user through the
.Xdefaults file.
To write an application that runs on both monochrome and color devices,
you need to specify which colors in a color table (defined with the
COLOR_TABLE function) map to the background and which colors map to the
foreground. UIL lets you use the COLOR function to designate this
mapping in the definition of the color. The following example shows
how to use the COLOR function to map the color red to the background
color on a monochrome device:
VALUE c: COLOR ( 'red',BACKGROUND );
The mapping comes into play only when the MRM is given a color and the
application is to be displayed on a monochrome device. In this case,
each color is considered to be in one of the following three
categories:
· The color is mapped to the background color on the monochrome
device.
· The color is mapped to the foreground color on the monochrome
device.
· Monochrome mapping is undefined for this color.
If the color is mapped to the foreground or background color, MRM
substitutes the foreground or background color, respectively. If you
do not specify the monochrome mapping for a color, MRM passes the color
string to the Motif Toolkit for mapping to the foreground or background
color.
RGB(red_integer, green_integer, blue_integer)
The three integers define the values for the red, green, and blue
components of the color, in that order. The values of these components
can range from 0 to 65,535, inclusive.
In a UID file, UIL represents an RGB value as three integers. MRM calls
X translation routines that convert the integers to the device-specific
pixel value. If you are running on a monochrome server, all colors
translate to black or white. If you are on a color server, RGB values
translate to their proper colors if the colormap is not yet full. If
the colormap is full, values translate to black or white (foreground or
background).
COLOR_TABLE(color_expression='character'[,...])
The color expression is a previously defined color, a color defined in
line with the COLOR function, or the phrase BACKGROUND COLOR or
FOREGROUND COLOR. The character can be any valid UIL character.
The COLOR_TABLE function provides a device-independent way to specify a
set of colors. The COLOR_TABLE function accepts either previously
defined UIL color names or in line color definitions (using the COLOR
function). A color table must be private because its contents must be
known by the UIL compiler to construct an icon. The colors within a
color table, however, can be imported, exported, or private.
The single letter associated with each color is the character you use
to represent that color when creating an icon. Each letter used to
represent a color must be unique within the color table.
ICON([COLOR_TABLE=color_table_name,] row[,...)
The color table name must refer to a previously defined color table and
the row is a character expression giving one row of the icon.
The ICON function describes a rectangular icon that is x pixels wide
and y pixels high. The strings surrounded by single quotation marks
describe the icon. Each string represents a row in the icon; each
character in the string represents a pixel.
The first row in an icon definition determines the width of the icon.
All rows must have the same number of characters as the first row. The
height of the icon is dictated by the number of rows.
The first argument of the ICON function (the color table specification)
is optional and identifies the colors that are available in this icon.
By using the single letter associated with each color, you can specify
the color of each pixel in the icon. The icon must be constructed of
characters defined in the specified color table.
A default color table is used if you omit the argument specifying the
color table. To make use of the default color table, the rows of your
icon must contain only spaces and asterisks. The default color table is
defined as follows:
COLOR_TABLE( BACKGROUND COLOR = ' ', FOREGROUND COLOR = '*' )
You can define other characters to represent the background color and
foreground color by replacing the space and asterisk in the BACKGROUND
COLOR and FOREGROUND COLOR clauses shown in the previous statement. You
can specify icons as private, imported, or exported. Use the MRM
function MrmFetchIconLiteral to retrieve an exported icon at run time.
XBITMAPFILE(string_expression)
The XBITMAPFILE function is similar to the ICON function in that both
describe a rectangular icon that is x pixels wide and y pixels high.
However, XBITMAPFILE allows you to specify an external file containing
the definition of an X bitmap, whereas all ICON function definitions
must be coded directly within UIL. X bitmap files can be generated by
many different X applications. UIL reads these files through the
XBITMAPFILE function, but does not support creation of these files. The
X bitmap file specified as the argument to the XBITMAPFILE function is
read at application run time by MRM.
The XBITMAPFILE function returns a value of type pixmap and can be used
anywhere a pixmap data type is expected.
SINGLE_FLOAT(real_number_literal)
The SINGLE_FLOAT function lets you store floating-point literals in UIL
files as single-precision, floating-point numbers. Single-precision
floating-point numbers can often be stored using less memory than
double-precision, floating-point numbers. The real_number_literal can
be either an integer literal or a floating-point literal. A value
defined using this function cannot be used in an arithmetic expression.
FLOAT(real_number_literal)
The FLOAT function lets you store floating-point literals in UIL files
as double-precision, floating-point numbers. The real_number_literal
can be either an integer literal or a floating-point literal.
FONT(string_expression[, CHARACTER_SET=char_set])
You define fonts with the FONT function. Using the FONT function, you
designate a value to specify a font and then use that value for
arguments that require a font value. The UIL compiler has no built-in
fonts.
Each font makes sense only in the context of a character set. The FONT
function has an additional parameter to let you specify the character
set for the font. This parameter is optional; if you omit it, the
default character set depends on the value of the LANG environment
variable if it is set of the value of XmFALLBACK_CHARSET if LANG is not
set.
The string expression specifies the name of the font and the clause
CHARACTER_SET = char_set specifies the character set for the font. The
string expression used in the FONT function cannot be a compound
string.
FONTSET(string_expression[,...][, CHARACTER_SET=charset])
You define fontsets with the FONTSET function. Using the FONTSET
function, you designate a set of values to specify fonts and then use
those values for arguments that require a fontset. The UIL compiler
has no built-in fonts.
Each font makes sense only in the context of a character set. The
FONTSET function has an additional parameter to let you specify the
character set for the font. This parameter is optional; if you omit it,
the default character set depends on the value of the LANG environment
variable if it is set of the value of XmFALLBACK_CHARSET if LANG is not
set.
The string expression specifies the name of the font and the clause
CHARACTER_SET = char_set specifies the character set for the font. The
string expression used in the FONTSET function cannot be a compound
string.
FONT_TABLE(font_expression[,...])
A font table is a sequence of pairs of fonts and character sets. At
run time when an object needs to display a string, the object scans the
font table for the character set that matches the character set of the
string to be displayed. UIL provides the FONT_TABLE function to let you
supply such an argument. The font expression is created with the FONT
and FONTSET functions.
If you specify a single font value to specify an argument that requires
a font table, the UIL compiler automatically converts a font value to a
font table.
COMPOUND_STRING(string_expression[,property[,...]])
Use the COMPOUND_STRING function to set properties of a null-terminated
string and to convert it into a compound string. The properties you
can set are the character set, writing direction, and separator.
The result of the COMPOUND_STRING function is a compound string with
the string expression as its value. You can optionally include one or
more of the following clauses to specify properties for the resulting
compound string:
CHARACTER_SET = character_set
RIGHT_TO_LEFT = boolean_expression
SEPARATE = boolean_expression
The CHARACTER_SET clause specifies the character set for the string. If
you omit the CHARACTER_SET clause, the resulting string has the same
character set as string_expression.
The RIGHT_TO_LEFT clause sets the writing direction of the string from
right to left if boolean_expression is True, and left to right
otherwise. Specifying this argument does not cause the value of the
string expression to change. If you omit the RIGHT_TO_LEFT argument,
the resulting string has the same writing direction as
string_expression.
The SEPARATE clause appends a separator to the end of the compound
string if boolean_expression is True. If you omit the SEPARATE clause,
the resulting string does not have a separator.
You cannot use imported or exported values as the operands of the
COMPOUND_STRING function.
COMPOUND_STRING_TABLE(string_expression[,...])
A compound string table is an array of compound strings. Objects
requiring a list of string values, such as the XmNitems and
XmNselectedItems arguments for the list widget, use string table
values. The COMPOUND_STRING_TABLE function builds the values for these
two arguments of the list widget. The COMPOUND_STRING_TABLE function
generates a value of type string_table. The name STRING_TABLE is a
synonym for COMPOUND_STRING_TABLE.
The strings inside the string table can be simple strings, which the
UIL compiler automatically converts to compound strings.
ASCIZ_STRING_TABLE(string_expression[,...])
An ASCIZ string table is an array of ASCIZ (null-terminated) string
values separated by commas. This function allows you to pass more than
one ASCIZ string as a callback tag value. The ASCIZ_STRING_TABLE
function generates a value of type asciz_table. The name ASCIZ_TABLE
is a synonym for ASCIZ_STRING_TABLE.
WIDE_CHARACTER(string_expression)
Use the WIDE_CHARACTER function to generate a wide character string
from null-terminated string in the current locale.
CLASS_REC_NAME(string_expression)
Use the CLASS_REC_NAME function to generate a widget class name. For a
widget class defined by the toolkit, the string argument is the name of
the class. For a user-defined widget, the string argument is the name
of the creation routine for the widget.
INTEGER_TABLE(integer_expression[,...])
An integer table is an array of integer values separated by commas.
This function allows you to pass more than one integer per callback tag
value. The INTEGER_TABLE function generates a value of type
integer_table.
ARGUMENT(string_expression[, argument_type])
The ARGUMENT function defines the arguments to a user-defined widget.
Each of the objects that can be described by UIL permits a set of
arguments, listed in Appendix B. For example, XmNheight is an argument
to most objects and has integer data type. To specify height for a
user-defined widget, you can use the built-in argument name XmNheight,
and specify an integer value when you declare the user-defined widget.
You do not use the ARGUMENT function to specify arguments that are
built into the UIL compiler.
The string_expression name is the name the UIL compiler uses for the
argument in the UID file. the argument_type is the type of value that
can be associated with the argument. If you omit the second argument,
the default type is ANY and no value type checking occurs. Use one of
the following keywords to specify the argument type:
· ANY
· ASCIZ_TABLE
· BOOLEAN
· COLOR
· COLOR_TABLE
· COMPOUND_STRING
· FLOAT
· FONT
· FONT_TABLE
· FONTSET
· ICON
· INTEGER
· INTEGER_TABLE
· REASON
· SINGLE_FLOAT
· STRING
· STRING_TABLE
· TRANSLATION_TABLE
· WIDE_CHARACTER
· WIDGET
You can use the ARGUMENT function to allow the UIL compiler to
recognize extensions to the Motif Toolkit. For example, an existing
widget may accept a new argument. Using the ARGUMENT function, you can
make this new argument available to the UIL compiler before the updated
version of the compiler is released.
REASON(string_expression)
The REASON function is useful for defining new reasons for user-defined
widgets.
Each of the objects in the Motif Toolkit defines a set of conditions
under which it calls a user-defined function. These conditions are
known as callback reasons. The user-defined functions are termed
callback procedures. In a UIL module, you use a callbacks list to
specify which user-defined functions are to be called for which
reasons.
Appendix B lists the callback reasons supported by the Motif Toolkit
objects.
When you declare a user-defined widget, you can define callback reasons
for that widget using the REASON function. The string expression
specifies the argument name stored in the UID file for the reason.
This reason name is supplied to the widget creation routine at run
time.
TRANSLATION_TABLE(string_expression[,...])
Each of the Motif Toolkit widgets has a translation table that maps X
events (for example, mouse button 1 being pressed) to a sequence of
actions. Through widget arguments, such as the common translations
argument, you can specify an alternate set of events or actions for a
particular widget. The TRANSLATION_TABLE function creates a
translation table that can be used as the value of a argument that is
of the data type translation_table.
You can use one of the following translation table directives with the
TRANSLATION_TABLE function: #override, #augment, or #replace. The
default is #replace. If you specify one of these directives, it must be
the first entry in the translation table.
The #override directive causes any duplicate translations to be
ignored. For example, if a translation for <Btn1Down> is already
defined in the current translations for a PushButton, the translation
defined by new_translations overrides the current definition. If the
#augment directive is specified, the current definition takes
precedence. The #replace directive replaces all current translations
with those specified in the XmNtranslations resource.
SEE ALSO
uil(1X), Uil(3X)
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