First steps in HicEst

1. Download and execute HicEst-setup.exe
2. start HicEst and test a couple of

   prefabricated scripts

   (recommended):
   • File → Open → introduction.hic and follow the comments
   • check Tutorial.hic as well
   • remember, there is context-sensitive help with F1 (HelpOnHelp)
   • change these scripts to check out whatsoever, but better do not save them
3. OK, try your

   first script

   :
   1. File → New → button "Menu template, this window"
   2. this opens a template:
      • CHARACTER MenuText*50, menus = "Replace; by your; own; menu; items; Help; items: Use MenuText or $$ in an if/then/elseif/else/endif construct; Good luck!;"
      •      WINDOW(Ti="you name it", Menu=menus, SelTxt=MenuText, x=1, Win=w1)
      • END
      • SUBROUTINE menus
      •     WRITE(win=w1, Name, ForeColor=$$) $$, MenuText
      •     IF( MenuText == "Help") DLG(Help="WINDOW()")
      • END
      • only strings and arrays need to be declared in HicEst. All numeric scalars are 8-byte floating point, even obvious integers as w1 or $$ in this example
      • the CHARACTER line defines the variables MenuText as a string of length 50, and menus as a string with the length defined by the initialization argument
      • the WINDOW line opens a window with the handle w1, a title, and a menu.
        1. The selected menu text is returned in MenuText.
        2. With the Menu=menus option a "SUBROUTINE menus" is required to do the work when a menu item is selected. This is called a CALLback subroutine.
        3. The x=1 option positions the window on the right border
      • the first END statement terminates the

        main program

      • "SUBROUTINE menus" is called on the selection of a

        menu item

        . The item number selected is always in the global variable $$. In addition, when the menu window was created with the SelTxt option, the text string of the menu item is returned in the SelTxt argument
      • the WRITE line writes the values of $$ and MenuText the window with handle w1. The Name option prefixes the values with their symbolic names. ForeColor=$$ paints the output, ⇒ Colors
      • the IF line is a very short example of a conditional execution. Instead of the display of the WINDOW help dialog it is usually replaced by something like
        • IF($$ == 1) THEN
        • ...
        • ELSEIF(MenuText == "Help") THEN
        • ...
        • ELSEIF( KEY(SHift) * ($$ > 5) ) THEN
        • ...
        • ELSE
        • ...
        • ENDIF
      • the conditions are evaluated from top to bottom. Any kind of mixed logical expressions is allowed, e.g. the test whether the shift key is pressed AND the menu item nr is > 5. This can come handy while debugging your script.
      • the second END statement terminates the callback subroutine menus
      After clicking a few menu items:
   3. Surely, the WINDOW-menu or the WINDOW-Toolbar options are nice for well structured scripts. But if you are in a real hurry select File → New → button "Blank template, this window". This will open a minimalistic script
      • END
      Here you are free to do the wildest things in the twinkling of an eye. But just remember this is bad style and it is not recommended. Unfortunately, most users seem do it anyhow, ourselves included
4. Make a few changes to the script to get the feeling:
   • close the window "you name it"
   • change the character string "menus". A ":" in a menu item will generate a

     drop-down-menus list

     of the following ";" separated items
   • highlight the WINDOW line and hit ↵ to create the window again with your own menu
   • While debugging you might insert breakpoints like
     • WRITE(Messagebox, Name) $$, MenuText
     or
     • DLG(Edit=some_of_your_variables, Button="OK", ...)
   • all changes are instantly in effect after you hit ↵ and can be undone (Ctrl+Z) and redone(Ctrl+Y)
5. ⇒ The elements of programming in HicEst