You can use an operator interface or a programmatic interface to maintain reference station names.
Note: If you want to create your own reference station names, ensure your names begin with a period (.) and are followed by up to 16 characters.
Operator Interface
You can send commands to the Reference Station Library, by sending AX commands to NGEN28/1/LIBRARY, in the form
mix AX command
Here mix is the mix number of NGEN28/1/LIBRARY. Commands are listed in the following table. More detail of each command is included following the table.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| CLOSE ALIAS | Close alias file for reference station library |
| EXPORT ALIAS | Create file containing user-defined reference stations |
| IMPORT ALIAS | Read file containing user-defined reference stations |
| PRINT ALIAS | Prints all current reference stations and their full names |
| STATION | Display reference station and its full name |
CLOSE ALIAS
This command closes the alias file for the reference station library. Use the following syntax:
CLOSE ALIAS
EXPORT ALIAS
This command writes all the current station names and their reference station names to a data file in a format suitable for using with the IMPORT ALIAS command.
Use the following syntax:
EXPORT ALIAS fileExtract is a valid synonym for EXPORT.
IMPORT ALIAS
This command loads a set of full station names and user-specified reference station names into the reference station library. Before loading, the reference station names are checked to ensure that they are unique. A print file is produced listing any errors.
Use the following syntax:
IMPORT ALIAS fileThe data file should be formatted as a CANDE file of type DATA or ALGOL, with data in the first 72 characters, followed by an optional 8 digit record number.
Each reference station name definition consists of the following:
| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| Reference station name | Period character (.) in position 1, followed by up to 16 alphanumeric or underscore (_) characters |
| Delimiter | One or more spaces |
| Full station name | Alphanumeric or slash (/) characters, for the remainder of the record, continuing over subsequent records as required |
PRINT ALIAS
This command prints (with an optional line width) a list of all current reference station names and their associated full station names. Use the following syntax:
PRINT ALIAS [width]STATION
This command displays the reference station name and full station name for a given full station name or reference station name. Use the following syntax:
STATION stationIf you enter a full station name that does not have an existing reference station name, a new reference station name is not created.
Programmatic Interface
The programmatic interface to the reference station library is through a support library (SL) function LINCSTNALIAS.
Entry points to the library can be accessed from ALGOL, COBOL, and Agile Business Suite. The EBCDIC ARRAY parameter used in ALGOL should be interpreted as an 01-record in COBOL, and as Glb.Param in Agile Business Suite.
Entry points for the function are described below.
GETALIAS
Use this entry point to obtain a reference station name for a supplied full station name. If the full station name is not present in the alias file for the reference station library, a new reference station name is generated automatically and added to the file before being returned.
Details of this entry point are included in the following table.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | EBCDIC ARRAY of at least 274 characters |
| Input | Full station name |
| Output | 17 characters offset 251 characters replaced with reference station name |
GETNAME
Use this entry point to find the full station name for a supplied reference station name. Details of this entry point are included in the following table.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | EBCDIC ARRAY of at least 274 characters |
| Input | Reference station name, 17 characters offset 251 characters |
| Output | Full station name in first 251 characters, alias file index in 6 characters offset 268 characters, with no change to following characters. If the reference station is invalid, five asterisks (*****) is returned as the full station name |
GETVERSION
Use this entry point to obtain the version number of the reference station library. Details of this entry point are included in the following table.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | EBCDIC ARRAY of at least 6 characters |
| Input | None |
| Output | 6 characters (version 16.2.345 is returned as 162345) |