GHOSTWRITER is a 4GL report program generator. If you already have a licence to use the PRONTO 4GL, you can dramatically reduce 4GL report development time (over 50%) by using GHOSTWRITER. This report program generator does all the repetitive boring programming bits, saving hours of programming time and freeing programmers to work on the really meaty bits.
A report written using GHOSTWRITER can output to either a standard Pronto spoolfile (#P or .xml) or a Pronto datagrid or both, or GHOSTWRITER can output to a file that can be directly opened by Microsoft Excel. If a report is run interactively, GHOSTWRITER can open the report in Excel immediately. If a report is run in batch mode, the output file can be opened later in Excel without the need to first open a spoolfile and then export the data to Excel.
Automatically create input parameter screens:
Tell GHOSTWRITER what fields to use for report parameters and GHOSTWRITER will create a neatly aligned input screen with full help-key links to master files and system tables. GHOSTWRITER handles batch queue and immediate report modes. GHOSTWRITER reports also have a unique in-built mode to allow users to re-use their own report parameters that have been previously saved to a batch.
GHOSTWRITER handles the full spoolfile report output formatting, with multi-line column headings, up to four levels of sorting with sub-headings, sub-totals and totals, and the parameter summary at the end. GHOSTWRITER options allow sort fields to be printed only when values change, and to not print an additional sub-total line if there is only one detail line in a block. GHOSTWRITER handles calculated fields automatically in detail, sub-total and total lines. GHOSTWRITER can automatically handle detail/no-detail modes where the user can select to suppress the last level of detail.
GHOSTWRITER can create reports that output directly to Excel, with correct column types, data formatting and column headings, and column totals. GHOSTWRITER can optionally automatically create new sheets in the Excel report when the leading sort field changes. For example, a sales report could be created with a separate sheet within Excel for each rep code. If separate sheets are used, GHOSTWRITER will automatically create an extra totals sheet showing the sub-totals from each sheet. In addition, GHOSTWRITER will add a notes sheet showing the input parameters and runtime information.
GHOSTWRITER works by using its own dictionary to specify additional information about PRONTO fields and user-defined fields. This includes details such as screen prompt, report heading, display picture, and help information. Once defined, this information is used every time you use this field in a report. For example, if you only use 10 characters of the stock-code field and you prefer to call the field 'Item Code', then you can set GHOSTWRITER to use these values on all the 4GL reports it creates. In addition, GHOSTWRITER stores the program code for user-defined fields and calculated fields, so that this code can be automatically used each time you specify these fields in a report.
GHOSTWRITER makes it extremely easy to make report changes. It only takes a couple of keystrokes to make changes such as move a column in a report, change the sort sequence, change the report output style, or move an output field from a column to a sub-heading. Without GHOSTWRITER these tasks would require a lot of tedious rewriting.
By using GHOSTWRITER, you can dramatically improve programmer productivity. You still need to program the actual data collection part of the program, but GHOSTWRITER handles almost all the rest. Our experience is that GHOSTWRITER can reduce programming time by over 50%. Even more importantly, GHOSTWRITER will improve report quality because it automatically applies consistent programming rules and field definitions. As GHOSTWRITER generates all reports as new reports, it will not for example accidentally forget to rename a variable as can happen when an existing program is manually copied and edited to create a new report from an old report. All reports generated using GHOSTWRITER have a consistent look and feel and do not look like reports that have been quickly cobbled together.
GHOSTWRITER was originally written for internal use by Lantana Systems and reflects over 17 years of Pronto programming experience by Stephen Wilbourne. We use GHOSTWRITER ourselves for all our custom report programming. The first version of GHOSTWRITER was written in 1999 and we have been continually adding new functionality as we identify programming features that can be automated.
You must have a licence from Pronto Software to use the PRONTO 4GL before you can use GHOSTWRITER.