An Example Script

Let's take a look at a simple example to become more familiar with some of the basics of a typical script. The listing below is an example of a small script which displays a message in the VectorScript message bar, then clears the message after five seconds:

 

PROCEDURE FirstExample;

CONST

kGREETING = 'Hello ';

VAR

MyMessage : STRING;

BEGIN

myMessage:='VectorScript';

Message(kGREETING,myMessage);

Wait(5);

SysBeep;

ClrMessage;

END;

Run(FirstExample);

The program begins with a statement which names the procedure and identifies it to the VectorScript compiler:

 

PROCEDURE FirstExample;	Identifies the script to the VectorScript compiler
CONST
kGREETING = 'Hello ';
VAR
myMessage : STRING;
BEGIN
myMessage:='VectorScript';
Message(kGREETING,myMessage);
Wait(5);
SysBeep;
ClrMessage;
END;
Run(FirstExample);

After this statement is what is known as the main program block. The main program block contains areas for declaring what data storage will be needed by the script when it is run along with an area for the source code of the script, which provides the instructions on what actions will be performed by the script:

 

PROCEDURE FirstExample;
CONST
kGREETING = 'Hello ';
VAR	Declares data storage for the script
myMessage : STRING;
BEGIN
myMessage:='VectorScript';
Message(kGREETING,myMessage);
Wait(5);
SysBeep;	The source code of the script
ClrMessage;
END;
Run(FirstExample);

The script ends with a special statement which tells the VectorScript compiler to execute the script code preceding it:

 

PROCEDURE FirstExample;
CONST
kGREETING = 'Hello ';
VAR
myMessage : STRING;
BEGIN
myMessage:='VectorScript';
Message(kGREETING,myMessage);
Wait(5);
SysBeep;
ClrMessage;
END;
Run(FirstExample);	Tells the VectorScript compiler to run the script

Even though some of the concepts behind the parts of the script may not be clear to you at this point, studying the example should give you an idea of what a script looks like and how it works. Later sections will explain the various parts of a script and their underlying concepts in greater detail.