Handling problems – PB Docs 2017

If problems occur when a script is compiled, PowerBuilder
displays messages in a Message window below the script.

There are three kinds of messages:

Understanding errors

Errors indicate serious problems that you must fix before a
script will compile and before you can close the Script view or open
another script in the same view. Errors are shown in the Message
window as:

Understanding warnings

Warnings indicate problems that you should be aware of but that
do not prevent a script from compiling.

There are three kinds of warnings.

Compiler warnings. Compiler warnings inform you of syntactic problems, such as
undeclared variables. PowerBuilder lets you compile a script that
contains compiler warnings, but you must fix the problem in the
script before you can save the object that the script is for, such
as the window or menu.Compiler warnings are shown in the Message
window as:

Obsolete warnings. Obsolete warnings inform you when you use any obsolete
functions or syntax in your script. Obsolete functions, although
they still compile and run, have been replaced by more efficient
functions and will be discontinued in a future release of
PowerBuilder. You should replace all references to obsolete
functions as soon as possible. Obsolete warnings are shown in the
Message window as:

Database warnings. Database warnings come from the database manager you are
connected to. PowerBuilder connects to the database manager when you
compile a script containing embedded SQL. Typically, these warnings
arise because you are referencing a database you are not connected
to. Database warnings are shown in the Message window as:

PowerBuilder lets you compile scripts with database warnings and
also lets you save the associated object. It does this because it does
not know whether the problem will apply during execution, since the
execution environment might be different from the compile-time
environment.

You should study database warnings carefully to make sure the
problems will not occur at runtime.

Understanding information
messages

Information messages are issued when there is a potential
problem. For example, an information message is issued when you have
used a global variable name as a local variable, because that might
result in a conflict later.

Information messages are shown in the Message window as:

Displaying warnings and
messages

To specify which messages display when you compile, select
Design>Options to open the Options dialog box, select the Script
tab page, and check or clear the Display Compiler Warnings, Display
Obsolete Messages, Display Information Messages, and Display Database
Warnings check boxes. The default is to display compiler and database
warning messages. Error messages always display.

Fixing problems

To fix a problem, click the message. The Script view scrolls to
display the statement that triggered the message. After you fix all
the problems, compile the script again.

Disabling database connection when
compiling and building

When PowerBuilder compiles an application that contains embedded
SQL, it connects to the database profile last used in order to check
for database access errors during the build process. For applications
that use multiple databases, this can result in spurious warnings
during the build since the embedded SQL can be validated only against
that single last-used database and not against the databases actually
used by the application. In addition, an unattended build, such as a
lengthy overnight rebuild, can stall if the database connection cannot
be made.

To avoid these issues, you can select the Disable Database
Connection When Compiling and Building check box on the General page
of the System Options dialog box.