little help: max function name lenght

[getaguru]

Ok, I swear I looked for it, with no luck.
How much characters could be the name of a function long?
The wizard to create new functions stops me after 24 chars, but if manually edit the code I can create longer names.
I would like to understand is 24 chars is a real limit, and for example, if A5 has problem selecting between different functions with the same first 24 chars.
Maybe it's just a limit for the wizard.
Thanks for all the help you give me!
E.

[Stan Mathews]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Maybe it's just a limit for the wizard.

Yes. The wizard is just a starting point much as you can do much more than the report genie allows upon initial setup.

[getaguru]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

OK, just another doubt.
If I want to create a new function I must use "new" or "duplicate", and I'm forced to the 24 chars limit.
Now, if I change the definition in the code editor, I can completely change the name, but it will remain unchanged in the function list.
This is somehow weird 'cos if I want to call a function I cannot rely on the name displayed but I must refer to the name coded.
Do you confirm it? or I'm doing something wrong?
Is there a sort of workaround for it?
thx, E.

[Stan Mathews]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Not sure what your issues is. If you define a function via the wizard.

function sayHello as c (name as c )
sayHello = "Hello: " + name
end function
Save it.
Open it in design mode
Save it with the name ------ my_big_long_say_hello_custom_function
Edit the first line to
function my_big_long_say_hello_custom_function as c (name as c )
sayHello = "Hello: " + name
end function

You will see that function on the code tab and you can calli it with that name.

[csda1]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Hi Enrico,

OK, just another doubt.
If I want to create a new function I must use "new" or "duplicate", and I'm forced to the 24 chars limit.
Now, if I change the definition in the code editor, I can completely change the name, but it will remain unchanged in the function list.
This is somehow weird 'cos if I want to call a function I cannot rely on the name displayed but I must refer to the name coded.
Do you confirm it? or I'm doing something wrong?
Is there a sort of workaround for it?
thx, E.

First of all, see my Code Editor, Function and Variable Limits tips and Variable & Code Naming Limits tips on my tips page.

Global Function names are essentially variables names that are pointers to a global object in Alpha that has a type of "F". Thus it is essentially limited in naming to variable names.

While Alpha Five can tolerate longer names in some places, and in fact violates their own rules in system functions they have created, it is a bad idea.

Long names can be useful, but too long of names can be tedious and overly complex. I don't think you can come up with a really good reason for a longer than 24 character name for a function.

Also, Alpha Software can potentially changes things in the future (e.g. they had experimented with a code compiler in the past, that maybe only looks at the 1st 24 characters). They also, may not test that really long names work in all places. E.g the code editor. The storage of code in the alb, alm and alx file, only have space for 24 characters in the name. When you compile code into an AEX, it takes the name from the function definition line in the code, and thus could be longer. But if you try editing two functions with the same 1st 24 characters, I believe they would overwrite each other. I suggest not playing with fire.

You may also want to read AIMS (Cal Locklin) tips on Alpha Five naming. There is a link near the top of my tips page.

[getaguru]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

thx everybody for the answers.

@Stan

Open it in design mode
Save it with the name ------ my_big_long_say_hello_custom_function

Did you really try doing it?
Because if I try to use the "save as" command, or the rename command, or the copy to command, or whatever else command that can rename the function, A5 limits the chars to 24.
If I try to put in a longer names simply the keyboard stops affecting what I'm writing.
Instead, I can choose the name I want in the definition inside code editor, in other words function this_name_can_really_be_long_as_I_would_like_to_be_name_fuction as c (name as c ) is accepted.
I guess that I can call the function in other scripts with this name and it will works.

@Ira
the page you linked me is a gold mine.
and what you wrote in the post is exactly what I was trying to understand.
The point is that I must disagree (even if I'm short experienced with A5), I think that 24 chars is a disheartening limitation.
I love to keep my code in order, and it would be great if A5 permits me to organize my functions in folders, for example.
Instead, I must see my functions thrown in a pot with scripts, menus, toolbars, porks, beans and bitmaps (bitmaps??????, yes, bitmaps)
So I started using a personal code to name it, and names became things like A_I_P_link_service_2_invoice_by_year_by_user as L (invoice_id as n, user_id as n etc...)
Yes, I can short it: A_I_P_ln_srv_inv_by_y_usr as L (....), but readability is much harder...
Well, my two cents. Any advice is welcome.

[Mike Wilson]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Naming conventions have been discussed on this board many times. A good convention for script names is as essential as for table names, form names, etc. I certainly have a fairly strict convention that I use. All bmps are named zzbm_<name>, and all toolbars are zztb_<name> to keep them together, and utility scripts are all util_<name> (as the one I have attached is in my db). But the name limitation is a limitation, and when you get to 300+ scripts in an app, you need something more. So I have come to add commented out keywords within my scripts that relate to source of call (form object, parent script, etc), script objective and actions, tables addressed, and other language that optimize retrieving them quickly, and use the attached script called from a button on my Control Panel toolbar which allows me to search a scripts content and retrieve them. Therefore, I have something well beyond the name of the script as a resource for retrieval.

[getaguru]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Thanks! great advice, I haven't thought about commented keywords system,... and I like it.
But... is there not a built-in function to search inside the text of all the code of a project?

...and thank you for sharing your code! E.

[Raymond Lyons]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Mike,

Your script does not work for me with v10.5. To clarify how I tested, I put a line in a script in the Code tab of the CP as follows:

'test

Saved, then ran your script from a button on a form and I get nothing in the FOUND dialog box.

Am I doing something wrong? (Probably!)

Raymond Lyons

[Mike Wilson]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Ray,
Sorry. I use all UDFs. You probably use scripts. Try this one (attached) which searches both.

[Raymond Lyons]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Ray,
Sorry. I use all UDFs. You probably use scripts. Try this one (attached) which searches both.

Mike, I use UDF's and scripts (autoexec if nothing else) with everything password protected. So now if I put my password into your 2nd script, it does find the UDF's but it does NOT find any scripts with the test word in them, whether the script is password protected or not.

Ray

[Mike Wilson]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Ray,
download the file again in a little bit. I grabbed the wrong txt file. Sorry again. I'll post a correct version in a minute.

Later: OK here it is and I think it now does work

[Raymond Lyons]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Ray,
download the file again in a little bit. I grabbed the wrong txt file. Sorry again. I'll post a correct version in a minute.

Later: OK here it is and I think it now does work

Mike,

Now it works like a charm. Users just have to remember that if they use passwords, they have to change your "mypassword" in the script.

Wait, they'll have to remember something else too: The word you choose to use as a key word to find UDF's and scripts has to in a certain sense be unique. For example, I have many UDF's and scripts that have the word "APR" in commented lines (it's a word to me!), with "APR" usually in the middle of a commented sentence, not at the beginning. Thus if I were to use "APR" as a key word for this purpose searching for "APR" would find tons of unwanted things. Not sure this is a real problem, but if it were I suppose Mike could limit the search to the first n characters of the commented line (with ' always being the 1st character and n being the length of the search string + 1). Mike, if you make a change like that, please post it back here for use by others. I think this system of yours makes a lot of sense whenever an app grows to have lots of UDF's and scripts.

Thanks Mike.

Ray

[Mike Wilson]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Ray,
Certainly that can happen. I keep my keyword within a delineator boundary of 'xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. If that convention is used, then if the user writes the keyword text within that boundary is that which is inspected in the search of this script can be easily achieved. However, the primary reason I wrote this script is to evaluate the presence of nested UDFs, and therefore wanted to look through the entire script. The keyword component came after the fact as a bonus. All in all, do with it as is needed.

And BTW, the script will not "detect and evaluate" a script that open in design mode.

[csda1]

Re: little help: max function name lenght

Hi Mike,

See this post about my LIBMAKE function of the CSDA Code Utility. It uses directives in comments that are very similar to things you have to determine the dependencies of various code pieces on each other, and to build an AEX based upon these. In particular, look at the PACKAGES, INCLUDE and EXTERNAL directives.

There are also various flags in LIBMAKE() that try to return the user functions and scripts referenced by each script (albeit, not perfect), and allow other related information returned.

Also, for others, press F6 in the code editor to do a global search of the code. It doesn't work with password protected code (unless previously opened in the code editor I believe), so it has limitations. I have a replacement Global Search function that actually prompts for passwords, but it is unreleased.

Also, I haven't looked at your search code, but I would recommend adding a password parameter that allows one or more passwords to be specified, which is what my code that requires passwords for code processing does.