TQL Commander User Guide

Version 4.0

Introduction

The TQL Commander is an application for running TQL queries. Unlike the TQL Editor, it does not support query creation or modification. The TQL Commander was specifically designed to facilitate execution of parameterized queries.

See the companion TQL Editor User Guide for a comprehensive description of the TQL language and the operation of the TQL Editor.

Installation

TQL Commander is automatically installed as part of the TQL Editor plug-in installation.

Operation

The TQL Commander is available as a floating panel in the DTS Editor by selecting Tools|New TQL Commander from the DTS Editor menu bar or clicking on the TQL Commander icon in the DTS Editor icon bar. See the Using the TQL Commander Plug-In section below.

The TQL Commander can also be run as a standalone application using the TQLCommander command from an appropriate batch file (see, for example TQLCommander.bat in the DTSInstall\bin\tqleditor folder). See the Using the TQL Commander Batch File section for further details.

Parameterized TQL queries can also be executed via a Java API. See the TQL Javadoc file in the DTSInstall\bin\tqleditor folder for details.

Using the TQL Commander Plug-In

Figure 1 below shows the layout of the TQL Commander. The Title Bar shows the name (if any) of the selected query file. The Menu Bar gives access to basic TQL Commander functions such as loading a query. The Parameter Entry Area is where the selected query’s parameter values are entered. The Button Area contains buttons for Commander actions. The Info Area has two tab panels: the Console panel shows status and diagnostic messages, while the Output panel is the default destination for query output. The Info Area performs the same functions as the comparable panel in the TQL Editor. Finally, the bottom Message Area shows status messages and contains the Stop button for terminating query execution.

Title Bar

Info Area

Message Area

Button Area

Parameter Entry Area

Menu Bar

Figure 1 – The TQL Commander Panel

Selecting a Query

Select File|Open in the Menu Bar to open a browser window. Browse to the desired .tql query file and click on Open. This will fill the Parameter Entry Area with the query’s parameters (if any). The query’s name will be written into the Title Bar and a status message will be written into the Message Area.

Entering Query Parameters

The Parameter Entry Area displays one line for each parameter in the query. The line’s prompt is the name of the parameter. Enter the value for the parameter into the text field. If the parameter is the name of a DTS Concept, a small “C” is shown at the right end of the field. If the parameter is the name of a DTS Term, a “T” is shown. These annotations mean that the field accepts Drag and Drop of Concepts or Terms from other DTS Editor panels. Hover the mouse over the question mark icon to see a help string for the value. Finally, if the parameter represents a file name, a Browse button is present. Click this button to open a file browser for selection of an existing file.

Hit ENTER to accept the value in a field. Validation rules applicable to the parameter are then performed. An error dialog is displayed if the value does not meet the required criteria.

Click on the Clear button in the Button Area to clear all parameter values.

Running a Query

After all values have been entered and validated, click on the Run button to run the query with these values substituted for the parameter elements. Log and error messages will be written to the Console tab of the Info Area. If output is not redirected to a file in the query, it will be written to the Output tab.

To terminate the query before it has completed, click on the Stop button in the Message Area. Query processing will be stopped, within the procedural granularity provided by the DTS API.

Getting Help

The Help menu item in the Menu Bar provides access to this User Guide and an About screen for the TQL Commander. The User Guide and About are also available in the DTS Editor’s Help menu.

Exiting TQL Commander

Exit the TQL Commander by selecting File|Exit or clicking on the close icon in the upper-right corner of the window.

Using the TQL Commander Batch File

The presentation and behavior of the standalone TQL Commander is the same as that of the plug-in, with the following exceptions:

- The addition of Connect and Disconnect (from the DTS database) options in the File menu.
- Elimination of support for Drag and Drop of DTS Concepts in the Parameter Entry Area.

As shown in the sample TQLCommander.bat file, a file name argument can be added to the TQLCommander command to pre-load a specific TQL query into the application.

Revision History

Version 1.0 Initial release. Plug-in and standalone versions.

Version 4.0 Renumbered for compatibility with TQL. Updated for new parameter types.