Create a Session (QsnCrtSsn) API


  Required Parameter Group:

1 Session description Input Char(*)
2 Length of session description Input Binary(4)

  Omissible Parameter Group:

3 User extension information Input Char(*)
4 Length of user extension information Input Binary(4)
5 Start session flag Input Char(1)
6 Window description Input Char(*)
7 Length of window description Input Binary(4)
8 Low-level environment description Input Char(*)
9 Length of low-level environment description Input Binary(4)
10 Session handle Output Binary(4)
11 Error code I/O Char(*)

  Returned Value:

Session handle Output Binary(4)

  Default Public Authority: *USE

  Service Program: QSNAPI

  Threadsafe: No

The Create a Session (QsnCrtSsn) API creates a session and returns a handle for the created session. The session must be deleted using the Delete Low-Level Environment (QsnDltEnv) API.


Authorities and Locks

None.


Required Parameter Group

Session description
INPUT; CHAR(*)

The defined attributes of the session to be created. It must be declared aligned on a 16-byte boundary. The format of the session description is shown in Format of the Session Description.

Length of session description
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The length of the session description parameter.


Omissible Parameter Group

User extension information
INPUT; CHAR(*)

Information that is used to associate data and exit routines with the session. This parameter is required if the user extension information length parameter is supplied. This essentially enables the object-oriented programming concept of inheritance, allowing the session to be extended in a natural way. The user extension data cannot be changed once the session has been created. The format of this parameter is shown in the section Format of the Session User Extension Data.

Length of user extension information
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The length of the user extension information parameter.

Start session flag
INPUT; CHAR(1)

Whether or not the session should be displayed on screen when it is created. The possible values are:

0 Do not display the session on the screen when it is created. If you specify this value, you must use the Start a Window (QsnStrWin) API to display the session.
1 Display the session on the screen when it is created. This is the default.

Window description
INPUT; CHAR(*)

The defined attributes for the window containing the session. This parameter is required if the window description length parameter is supplied. The format of the window description is shown in Format of the Window Description. If this parameter is omitted, a window will be created with default values.

Length of window description
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The length of the window description parameter.

Low-level environment description
INPUT; CHAR(*)

operating environment for low-level operations used to create and manipulate the windows. This parameter is required if the low-level environment description length parameter is supplied. The format of the low-level environment description is shown in Format of the Low-Level Environment Description. If this parameter is omitted, a low-level environment will be created with default values.

Length of low-level environment description
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The length of the low-level environment description parameter.

Session handle
OUTPUT; BIN(4)

The variable containing a handle for the created session after the QsnCrtSsn API has completed. This handle can be used across activation groups if the activation group in which the handle was created is still active.

Error code
I/O; CHAR(*)

The structure in which to return error information. For the format of the structure, see Error code parameter. If this parameter is omitted, diagnostic and escape messages are issued to the application.


Returned Value

Session handle
OUTPUT; BINARY(4)

This API returns the value for the session handle parameter or -1 if an error occurs during processing.


Format of the Session Description

Offset Type Field
Dec Hex
0 0 PTR(PP) [24] Array of command key actions
384 180 BINARY(4) top row of scroller
388 184 BINARY(4) left column of scroller
392 188 BINARY(4) Number of rows in scroller
396 18C BINARY(4) Number of columns in scroller
400 190 BINARY(4) Default number of rows to roll scroller by
404 194 BINARY(4) Default number of columns to shift scroller by
408 198 BINARY(4) Scroller buffer initial size
412 19C BINARY(4) Scroller buffer maximum size
416 1A0 BINARY(4) Scroller buffer increment
420 1A4 BINARY(4) Number of rows for input line
424 1A8 CHAR(1) Reserved
425 1A9 CHAR(1) Wrap indication
426 1AA CHAR(1) Reserved
427 1AB CHAR(1) Display control characters indication
428 1AC CHAR(1) Echo session input
429 1AD CHAR(1) Show scroller lines
430 1AE CHAR(1) Show scroller characters
431 1AF CHAR(1) Show command key descriptions
432 1B0 CHAR(1) Command key attribute for a monochrome display
433 1B1 CHAR(1) Command key attribute for a color display
434 1B2 CHAR(1) Input line attribute for a monochrome display
435 1B3 CHAR(1) Input line attribute for a color display
436 1B4 BINARY(4) Offset to input line prompt
440 1B8 BINARY(4) Length of input line prompt
444 1BC BINARY(4) Offset to command key description line 1
448 1C0 BINARY(4) Length of command key description line 1
452 1C4 BINARY(4) Offset to command key description line 2
456 1C8 BINARY(4) Length of command key description line 2
460 1CC CHAR(20) Reserved.
* * CHAR(*) Input line prompt
* * CHAR(*) Command key description line 1
* * CHAR(*) Command key description line 2


Field Descriptions

In the following descriptions, the default value refers to the value set by the Initialize Session Description (QsnInzSsnD) API.

Array of command key actions. An array of 24 function pointers, each corresponding to the action to be performed when the associated command key is pressed. An element that is specified as a null pointer indicates that the command key is invalid. An element can also be set to the dummy routine QsnSameAction, in which case the current action routine for that key is used. If a command key action is set to the dummy routine QsnDefaultAction, then the default action for that key is used. The defaults for command key actions and the parameters passed to the action routines are described in Command Key Action Routines. The procedures are exported as part of the service program that contains the DSM session services.

Command key attribute for a color display. The default value is X'28' for red.

Command key attribute for a monochrome display. The default value is X'20' for normal attribute.

Command key description line 1. The text string for the first line of command key descriptions.

Command key description line 2. The text string for the second line of command key descriptions.

Default number of columns to shift scroller by. The default number of columns to shift scroller by for the Shift Scroller left (QsnShfSclL) and Shift Scroller center (QsnShfSclR) APIs. This value must be a positive integer value. If 0 is specified, the default is the number of columns in the scroller less two (two scroller columns are reserved for the prefix area).

Default number of rows to roll scroller by. The default number of rows to roll scroller by for the Roll Scroller Up (QsnRollSclUp) and Roll Scroller Down (QsnRollSclDown) APIs. This value must be a positive integer value. If 0 is specified, the default is the number of rows in the scroller.

Display control characters indication. Specifies whether or not scroller lines contain EBCDIC display control characters. If the data contains such control characters and this is not indicated, unexpected results can occur. (See EBCDIC Display Control Characters for details of the control characters supported and their interpretation.) The possible values are:

0 Scroller lines do not contain EBCDIC display control characters. This is the default when the display device or emulator does not support DBCS data.
1 Scroller lines contain EBCDIC display control characters. If 1 is specified, any data written to the session with a value below X'40' is converted to blank. This is the default when the display device or emulator supports DBCS data.

Echo session input. Specifies whether lines entered at the session command line are to be echoed to the scroller. The possible values are:

0 Do not echo session input lines to the scroller.
1 Echo session input lines to the scroller. This is the default.

Input line attribute for a color display. The default value is X'24' for green underline attribute. If X'00' is specified, the default value is used.

Input line attribute for a monochrome display. The default value is X'24' for underline attribute. If X'00' is specified, the default value is used.

Input line prompt. The text string for the input line prompt.

Left column of scroller. This position is relative to the left of the window which is column 1. The default is 1.

Length of command key description line 1. This value must not exceed the maximum number of columns in the window. The default value is 0. No space is used in the session for this line. If the description line cannot be displayed completely within the window, it is truncated to fit.

Length of command key description line 2. This value must not exceed the maximum number of columns in the window. The default value is 0. No space is used in the session for this line. If the description cannot be displayed completely in the window, it is truncated to fit.

Length of input line prompt. This value must not exceed the maximum number of columns in the window. A value of 0 specifies that there is no prompt. The default value is -1 and corresponds to the default input line prompt ===.

If the input line cannot be displayed completely within the window, it is truncated to fit. The input line will continue on the next window line.

Number of columns in scroller. This value must be a positive integer no greater than the number of columns in the session window. If 0 is specified, the default is the number of columns remaining in the window from the left column of the scroller. This value includes the 2 bytes used for the prefix area to the left of the scroller input line.

If the low level environment supports DBCS, this value must be greater than or equal to 6 to allow for the size of the prefix area, the shift control (SO/SI) characters and one DBCS character.

If the display device or emulator supports CCSID-based I/O, this value must be greater than or equal to 4 to allow for the size of the prefix area and one UCS2 character.

Number of rows for input line. The input line starts in the row specified by the formula: last window row less the number of rows required for input line less the number of rows required for the function key descriptions. The input line will start one column past the end of the input line prompt. If there is no input line prompt, then the input line starts one byte to the center of the leftmost usable column of the window. If this value is 0, then no input line is created. The default is 1.

Number of rows in scroller. This value must be a positive integer no greater than the number of rows in the session window. If 0 is specified, the default is the number of rows remaining in the window from the top row of the scroller.

Offset to command key description line 1. The offset from the beginning of the structure to the start of the command key description line 1. This field is ignored if the length of command key description line 1 field specifies no command key description. The offset plus the length must be less than the session description length.

Offset to command key description line 2. The offset from the beginning of the structure to the start of the command key description line 2. This field is ignored if the length of command key description line 2 field specifies no command key description. The offset plus the length must be less than the session description length.

Offset to input line prompt. The offset from the beginning of the structure to the start of the input line prompt. This field is ignored if the length of input line prompt field specifies no prompt or the default prompt. The offset plus the length must be less than the session description length.

Reserved. This field must be set to X'00'.

Scroller buffer increment. Specifies, in bytes, the amount to increment the scroller buffer size by when the buffer is full and the buffer-full action is to increment the buffer size. The default value is 2000 bytes.

If the scroller buffer cannot be incremented because of insufficient resources, data at the beginning of the scroller will be removed to create space for the new data.

Scroller buffer initial size. The initial buffer size, in number of bytes, that will be allocated for storing the session scroller lines. The default value is 2000 bytes.

Scroller buffer maximum size. The maximum buffer size, in bytes, that will be allocated for storing the session scroller lines. The default value is 0, indicating no maximum size.

Show command key descriptions. Whether or not the function key description lines are to be shown. The possible values are:

0 Do not show function key descriptions.
1 Show function key descriptions. This is the default.

Show scroller characters. Whether or not characters written to the scroller in character mode are shown immediately on the screen. You can use the scroller line and character display options together to specify that groups of characters are not displayed immediately, but each complete line is. The possible values are:

0 Do not show characters on the screen as they are written. Use the Display Scroller bottom (QsnDspSclB) API to display the scroller data on the screen. This is the default.
1 Show scroller characters on the screen as they are written.

Show scroller lines. Whether or not lines written to the scroller are shown immediately on the screen. The possible values are:

0 Do not show scroller lines on the screen as they are written. Use the Display Scroller bottom (QsnDspSclB) API to display the scroller lines on the screen. This is the default.
1 Show scroller lines on the screen as they are written.

Top row of scroller. This position is relative to the top of the window, which is row 1. The default is 1.

Wrap indication. How to handle lines that do not fit within the session window. Possible values are:

0 Truncate lines that do not fit. The truncated portion of the line may be viewed by scrolling to the center.
1 Wrap lines to the next line. This is the default.


Format of the Session User Extension Data

Offset Type Field
Dec Hex
0 0 PTR(SPP) User data associated with the session
16 10 PTR(PP) Exit routine to call when the session is changed
32 20 PTR(PP) Exit routine to call when window is deleted
48 30 PTR(PP) Exit routine to call when window coordinates are changed
64 40 PTR(PP) Exit routine to call when window is drawn
80 50 PTR(PP) Exit routine to call when this window made current


Field Descriptions

Exit routine to call when session changed. The exit routine to call when a session is changed using the Change Session (QsnChgSsn) API.

Exit routine to call when window coordinates changed. The exit routine to call when the window coordinates are changed using the QsnMovWin, Move Window by User (QsnMovWinUsr), Resize Window ( QsnRszWin), or Resize Window by User (QsnRszWinUsr), APIs.

Exit routine to call when window deleted. The exit routine to call when a window is deleted using the Delete Low-Level Environment (QsnDltEnv) API.

Exit routine to call when window drawn. The exit routine to call when a window is drawn using the Display Window (QsnDspWin) API.

Exit routine to call when window made current. The exit routine to call when this window is made current using the Set Current Window (QsnSetCurWin) API.

User data associated with the session. This is a pointer to any data that the user wants to associate with this session.


Session Exit Routines

Exit routines are user-supplied functions with a defined interface. The routines are called from certain APIs and allow the programmer to attach additional function to those APIs. For instance, if fields have been set up in a window, a Change Coordinates exit routine could be supplied to move the fields if the window is moved.


Change Session Exit Routine

This exit routine, if specified on the user extension information, is called when the session is changed. The following parameter is passed to the exit routine:


  Parameter Passed to Exit Routine

1 Session handle Input Binary(4)



Change Session Exit Routine Parameter

Session handle
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The session that was changed.


Delete Session Exit Routine

This exit routine, if specified on the user extension information, is called when the session is deleted. The following parameter is passed to the exit routine:


  Parameter Passed to Exit Routine

1 Session handle Input Binary(4)



Delete Session Exit Routine Parameter

Session handle
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The session that was deleted.


Change Session Coordinates Exit Routine

This exit routine, if specified on the user extension information, is called when the move or resize APIs are called. It is called after the session has been successfully moved or resized, but before the session is drawn on the screen. For this reason, you should not use this exit routine to draw anything in the session. The draw exit routine will be called when the session is moved or resized. The following parameters are passed to the exit routine:


  Parameters Passed to Exit Routine

1 Session handle Input Binary(4)
2 Top border offset Input Binary(4)
3 Left border offset Input Binary(4)
4 Bottom border offset Input Binary(4)
5 Center border offset Input Binary(4)



Change Session Coordinates Exit Routine Parameters

Session handle
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The Session for which the coordinates were changed.

Top border offset
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The offset, in screen rows, from the previous top session border to the current top session border (after the session coordinates have been changed). It can be positive, negative, or zero, depending on how the top session border was changed. For example, if the top border was moved down two rows, this value would be 2; if it was moved up 4 rows, this value would be -4; if the top row was not changed, this value would be 0.

Left border offset
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The offset, in screen columns, from the previous left session border to the current left session border (after the session coordinates have been changed). It can be positive, negative, or zero, depending on how the left session border was changed. For example, if the left border was moved two columns to the center, this value would be 2; if it was moved 4 columns to the left, this value would be -4, and if the left column was not changed, this value would be 0.

Bottom border offset
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The offset, in screen rows, from the previous bottom session border to the current bottom session border (after the session coordinates have been changed). It can be positive, negative, or zero, depending on how the bottom session border was changed. For example, if the border was moved down two rows, this value would be 2; if it was moved up 4 rows, this value would be -4; if the bottom row was not changed, this value would be 0.

Center border offset
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The offset, in screen columns, from the previous center session border to the current center session border (after the session coordinates have been changed). It can be positive, negative, or zero, depending on how the center session border was changed. For example, if the center border was moved two columns to the center, this value would be 2; if it was moved 4 columns to the left, this value would be -4; if the center column was not changed, this value would be 0.


Exit Routine Error Handling

If an exception occurs during the processing of an exit routine, the exception is ignored and processing continues. A CPFA318 will be issued as a diagnostic message only. You can explicitly handle errors in an exit routine by adding an exception handler to the routine.


Draw Session Exit Routine

This exit routine, if specified on the user extension information, is called when the Display Window (QsnDspWin) API is called, before the session is drawn. Because the exit routine is called before the session is drawn, you should only write inside the session using the command buffer parameter. Direct operations should not be used for the exit routine.

The following parameters are passed to the exit routine:


  Parameters Passed to Exit Routine

1 Session handle Input Binary(4)
2 Command buffer Input Binary(4)



Draw Session Exit Routine Parameters

Session handle
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The session to be drawn.

Command buffer
INPUT; BINARY(4)

The command buffer used to store the commands that re-create the window contents. The contents of the command buffer are written to the screen along with the window border. This allows the window and its contents to be redrawn in a single I/O operation.


Current Session Exit Routine

This exit routine, if specified on the user extension information, is called when the session is made current through the Set Current Window (QsnSetCurWin) API. The following parameter is passed to the exit routine:


  Parameter Passed to Exit Routine

1 Session handle Input Binary(4)



Current Session Exit Routine Parameter

Session handle
INPUT; BINARY(4)

A handle for the session that is made current.


Error Messages

Message ID Error Message Text
CPF24B4 E Severe error while addressing parameter list.
CPF3C1D E Length specified in parameter &1 not valid.
CPF3CF1 E Error code parameter not valid.
CPF3CF2 E Error(s) occurred during running of &1 API.
CPFA314 E Memory allocation error.
CPFA318 E Error calling exit routine.
CPFA327 E Low level environment description value incorrect.
CPFA31E E Required parameter &1 omitted.
CPFA343 E Output operation not done.
CPFA344 E The file &2 in library &3 is not valid.
CPFA345 E The invite active flag is not valid.
CPFA3A1 E Window description value is incorrect.
CPFA3AB E The value for &1 must be '0' or '1'.
CPFA3D1 E Session description value is incorrect.

Additional errors may be generated by this API. They are listed under the applicable API as follows:

Error Category (API) Page Reference
Environment description (QsnCrtEnv) Error Messages
Window description (QsnCrtWin) Error Messages

For examples of Create Session APIs, see Create Session and Read Data--Example.


API introduced: V2R3

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