Template Guide
==============

ictemplates.1.27 (Draft)

1. Introduction
===============

Interchange is designed to build its pages based on templates from a
database. This document describes how to build templates using the
Interchange Tag Language (ITL) and explains the different options you
can use in a template.

1.1. Overview
-------------

The search builder can be used to generate very complex reports on the
database, or to help in the construction of ITL templates. Select a
"Base table" that will be the foundation for the report. Specify the
maximum number of rows to be returned at one time, and whether to show
only unique entries.

The "Search filter" narrows down the list of rows returned by matching
table columns based on various criteria. Up to three separate
conditions can be specified. The returned rows must match all
criteria.

Finally, select any sorting options desired for displaying the
results, and narrow down the list of columns returned if desired.
Clicking "Run" will run the search immediately and display the
results. "Generate definition" will display an ITL tag that can be
placed in a template and that will return the results when executed.

To build complex order forms and reports, Interchange has a complete
tag language with over 80 different functions called Interchange Tag
Language (ITL). It allows access to and control over any of an
unlimited number of database tables, multiple shopping carts, user
name/address information, discount, tax, and shipping information,
search of files and databases, and much more.

There is some limited conditional capability with the [if ...] tag,
but when doing complex operations, use of embedded Perl/ASP should be
strongly considered. Most of the tests use Perl code, but Interchange
uses the Safe.pm module with its default restrictions to help ensure
that improper code will not crash the server or modify the wrong data.

Perl can also be embedded within the page and, if given the proper
permission by the system administrator, call upon resources from other
computers and networks.

2. About Variable Replacement
=============================

Variable substitution is a simple and often used feature of
Interchange templates. It allows you to set a variable to a particular
value in the catalog.cfg directory. Then, by placing that variable
name on a page, you envoke that value to be used. Before anything else
is done on a template, all variable tokens are replaced by variable
values. There are three types of variable tokens:

__VARIABLENAME__ is replaced by the catalog variable called
VARIABLENAME.

@@VARIABLENAME@@ is replaced by the global variable called
VARIABLENAME.

@_VARIABLENAME_@ is replaced by the catalog variable VARIABLENAME if
it exists; otherwise, it is replaced by the global variable
VARIABLENAME.

For more information on how to use the Variable configuration file
directive to set global variables in interchange.cfg and catalog
variables in catalog.cfg, see the Red Hat Interchange 4.8: Development
Guide.

3. Using Interchange Template Tags
==================================

This section describes the different template specific tags and
functions that are used when building a your templates.

3.1. Understanding Tag Syntax
-----------------------------

Interchange uses a style similar to HTML, but with [square brackets]
replacing <chevrons>. The parameters that can be passed are similar,
where a parameter="parameter value" can be passed.

Summary:

   [tag parameter]             Tag called with positional parameter
   [tag parameter=value]       Tag called with named parameter
   [tag parameter="the value"] Tag called with space in parameter
   [tag 1 2 3]                 Tag called with multiple positional parameters
   [tag foo=1 bar=2 baz=3]     Tag called with multiple named parameters
   [tag foo=`2 + 2`]           Tag called with calculated parameter
   [tag foo="[value bar]"]     Tag called with tag inside parameter
   [tag foo="[value bar]"]
       Container text.         Container tag.
   [/tag]

Most tags can accept some positional parameters. This makes parsing
faster and is, in most cases, simpler to write.

The follwoing is an example tag:

   [value name=city]

This tag causes Interchange to look in the user form value array and
return the value of the form parameter city, which might have been set
with:

   City: <INPUT TYPE=text NAME=city VALUE="[value city]">

Note: Keep in mind that the value was pre-set with the value of city
(if any). It uses the positional style, meaning name is the first
positional parameter for the [value ...] tag. Positional parameters
cannot be derived from other Interchange tags. For example, [value
[value formfield]] will not work. But, if the named parameter syntax
is used, parameters can contain other tags. For example:

   [value name="[value formfield]"]

There are exceptions to the above rule when using list tags such as
[item-list], [loop ...], [sql ...], and more. These tags, and their
exceptions, are explained in their corresponding sections.

Many Interchange tags are container tags. For example:

   [set Checkout]
       mv_nextpage=ord/checkout
       mv_todo=return
   [/set]

Tags and parameter names are not case sensitive, so [VALUE
NAME=something] and [value name=something] work the same. The
Interchange development convention is to type HTML tags in upper case
and Interchange tags in lower case. This makes pages and tags easier
to read.

Single quotes work the same as double quotes, and can prevent
confusion. For example:

   [value name=b_city set='[value city]']

Backticks should be used with extreme caution since they cause the
parameter contents to be evaluated as Perl code using the [calc] tag.
For example:

   [value name=row_value set=`$row_value += 1`]

is the same as

   [value name=row_value set="[calc]$row_value += 1[/calc]"]

Pipes can also be used as quoting characters, but have the unique
behavior of stripping leading and trailing whitespace. For example:

       [loop list="code        field    field2  field3
       k1    A1    A2    A3
       k2    B1    B2    B3"]
       [loop-increment][loop-code]
       [/loop]

could be better expressed as:

    [loop list=|
            k1    A1    A2    A3
            k2    B1    B2    B3"]
    |]
        [loop-increment][loop-code]
    [/loop]

How the result of the tag is displayed depends on if it is a container
or a standalone tag. A container tag has a closing tag (for example,
[tag] stuff [/tag]). A standalone tag has no end tag (for example,
[area href=somepage]). [page ...] and [order ..] are not container
tags.

A container tag will have its output re-parsed for more Interchange
tags by default. To inhibit this behavior, set the attribute reparse
to 0.  However, it has been found that the default re-parsing is
almost always desirable. On the other hand, the output of a standalone
tag will not be re-interpreted for Interchange tag constructs (with
some exceptions, like ([include file]).

Most container tags will not have their contents interpreted before
being passed the container text. Exceptions include [calc] .. [/calc]
and [currency] ... [/currency]. All tags accept the INTERPOLATE=1 tag
modifier, which causes the interpretation to take place. It is not
necessary to interpret the contents of a [set variable] TAGS [/set]
pair, as they might contain tags which should only be upon evaluating
an order profile, search profile, or mv_click operation. If the
evaluation is performed at the time a variable is set, use [set
name=variable interpolate=1] TAGS [/set].

3.2. The DATA and FIELD Tags
----------------------------

The [data ...] and [field ...] tags access elements of Interchange
databases. They are the form used outside of the iterating lists, and
are used to do lookups when the table, column/field, or key/row is
conditional based on a previous operation.

The following are equivalent for attribute names:

   table ---> base
   col   ---> field --> column
   key   ---> code  --> row

The [field ...] tag looks in any tables defined as ProductFiles, in
that order, for the data and returns the first non-empty value. In
most catalogs, where ProductFiles is not defined, i.e., the demo,
[field title 00-0011] is equivalent to [data products title 00-0011].
For example, [field col=foo key=bar] will not display something from
the table "category" because "category" is not in the directive
ProductFiles or there are multiple ProductFiles and an earlier one has
an entry for that key.

[data table column key]

     named attributes: [data base="database" field="field" key="key"
     value="value" op="increment]

     Returns the value of the field in any of the arbitrary databases,
     or from the variable namespaces. If the option increment=1 is
     present, the field will be automatically incremented with the
     value in value.

     If a DBM-based database is to be modified, it must be flagged
     writable on the page calling the write tag. For example, use [tag
     flag write]products[/tag] to mark the products database writable.

     In addition, the [data ...] tag can access a number of elements
     in the Interchange session database:

              accesses      Accesses within the last 30 seconds
              arg           The argument passed in a [page ...] or [area ...] tag
              browser       The user browser string
              host          Interchange's idea of the host (modified by DomainTail)
              last_error    The last error from the error logging
              last_url      The current Interchange path_info
              logged_in     Whether the user is logged in via UserDB
              pageCount     Number of unique URLs generated
              prev_url      The previous path_info
              referer       HTTP_REFERER string
              ship_message  The last error messages from shipping
              source        Source of original entry to Interchange
              time          Time (seconds since Jan 1, 1970) of last access
              user          The REMOTE_USER string
              username      User name logged in as (UserDB)

     Databases will hide variables, so if a database is named
     "session," "scratch," or any of the other reserved names it won't
     be able to use the [data ...] tag to read them. Case is
     sensitive, so the database could be called "Session," but this is
     not recommended practice.

[field name code]

     named attributes: [field code="code" name="fieldname"]

     Expands into the value of the field name for the product as
     identified by code found by searching the products database. It
     will return the first entry found in the series of Product Files
     in the products database. If this needs to constrained to a
     particular table, use a [data table col key] call.

3.3. set, seti, scratch and scratchd
------------------------------------

Scratch variables are maintained in the user session, which is
separate from the form variable values set on HTML forms. Many things
can be controlled with scratch variables, particularly search and
order processing, the mv_click multiple variable setting facility, and
key Interchange conditions session URL display.

There are three tags that are used to set the space, [set
name]value[/set], [seti name]value[/seti], [tmp name]value[/tmp], and
two variations (or shortcuts).

[set variable]value[/set]

     named attributes: [set name="variable"] value [/set]

     Sets a scratchpad variable to a value.

     Most of the mv_* variables that are used for search and order
     conditionals are in another namespace. They can be set through
     hidden fields in a form.

     An order profile would be set with:

            [set checkout]
            name=required Please enter your name.
            address=required No address entered.
            [/set]
            <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_order_profile VALUE="checkout">

     A search profile would be set with:

            [set substring_case]
            mv_substring_match=yes
            mv_case=yes
            [/set]
            <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_profile VALUE="substring_case">

     To do the same as [set foo]bar[/set] in embedded Perl:

              [calc]$Scratch->{foo} = 'bar'; return;[/calc]

[seti variable][value something][/seti]

     The same as [set] [/set], except it interpolates the container
     text. The above is the same as:

              [set name=variable interpolate=1][value something][/set]

[tmp name]value[/tmp]

     The same as [seti] but it does not persist.

[scratch name]

     Returns the contents of a scratch variable to the page. [scratch
     foo] is the same as, but faster than:

              [perl]$Scratch->{foo}[/perl]

[scratchd]

     The same as [scratch name], except it deletes the value. Same as
     [scratch foo][set foo][/set].

[if scratch name op* compare*] yes [else] no [/else] [/if]

     Tests a scratch variable. See the IF tag for more information.

3.4. loop
---------

Loop lists can be used to construct arbitrary lists based on the
contents of a database field, a search, or other value (like a fixed
list). Loop accepts a search parameter that will do one-click searches
on a database table (or file).

To iterate over all keys in a table, use the idiom ([loop
search="ra=yes/ml=9999"] [/loop]. ra=yes sets mv_return_all, which
means "match everything". ml=9999 limits matches to that many records.
If the text file for searching an Interchange DBM database is not
used, set st=db (mv_searchtype).

When using st=db, returned keys may be affected by TableRestrict. See
catalog.cfg. Both can be sorted with [sort table:field:mod -start
+number] modifiers. See Sorting.

[loop item item item] LIST [/loop]

     named attributes: [loop prefix=label* list="item item item"*
     search="se=whatever"*]

     Returns a string consisting of the LIST, repeated for every item
     in a comma-separated or space-separated list. This tag works the
     same way as the [item-list] tag, except for order-item-specific
     values. It is intended to pull multiple attributes from an item
     modifier, but can be useful for other things, like building a
     pre-ordained product list on a page.

     Loop lists can be nested by using different prefixes:

              [loop prefix=size list="Small Medium Large"]
                  [loop prefix=color list="Red White Blue"]
                      [color-code]-[size-code]<BR>
                  [/loop]
                  <P>
              [/loop]

     This will output:

                          Red-Small
                          White-Small
                          Blue-Small
          
                          Red-Medium
                          White-Medium
                          Blue-Medium
          
                          Red-Large
                          White-Large
                          Blue-Large

     The search="args" parameter will return an arbitrary search, just
     as in a one-click search:

              [loop search="se=Americana/sf=category"]
                  [loop-code] [loop-field title]
              [/loop]

     The above will show all items with a category containing the
     whole world "Americana."

[if-loop-data table field] IF [else] ELSE [/else][/if-loop-field]

     Outputs the IF if the field in the table is not empty, and the
     ELSE (if any) otherwise.

Note: This tag does not nest with other [if-loop-data ...] tags.

[if-loop-field field] IF [else] ELSE [/else][/if-loop-field]

     Outputs the IF if the field in the products table is not empty,
     and the ELSE (if any) otherwise.

Note: This tag does not nest with other [if-loop-field ...] tags.

[loop-alternate N] DIVISIBLE [else] NOT DIVISIBLE
[/else][/loop-alternate]

     Set up an alternation sequence. If the loop-increment is
     divisible by N, the text will be displayed. If [else]NOT
     DIVISIBLE TEXT [/else] is present, then the NOT DIVISIBLE TEXT
     will be displayed. For example:

              [loop-alternate 2]EVEN[else]ODD[/else][/loop-alternate]
              [loop-alternate 3]BY 3[else]NOT by 3[/else][/loop-alternate]

[/loop-alternate]

     Terminates the alternation area.

[loop-change marker]

     Same as [item-change], but within loop lists.

[loop-code]

     Evaluates to the first returned parameter for the current
     returned record.

[loop-data database fieldname]

     Evaluates to the field name fieldname in the arbitrary database
     table database for the current item.

[loop-description]

     Evaluates to the product description for the current item.
     Returns the <Description Field> from the first products database
     where that item exists.

[loop-field fieldname]

     The [loop-field ...] tag is special in that it looks in any of
     the tables defined as ProductFiles, in that order, for the data,
     and returns the value only if that key is defined. In most
     catalogs, where ProductFiles is not defined [loop-field title] is
     equivalent to [loop-data products title].

     Evaluates to the field name fieldname in the database for the
     current item.

[loop-increment]

     Evaluates to the number of the item in the list. Used for
     numbering items in the list. Starts from one (1).

[loop-last]tags[/loop-last]

     Evaluates the output of the ITL tags encased in the [loop-last]
     tags. If it evaluates to a numerical non-zero number (for
     example, 1, 23, or -1), the loop iteration will terminate. If the
     evaluated number is negative, the item itself will be skipped. If
     the evaluated number is positive, the item itself will be shown,
     but will be last on the list.

                [loop-last][calc]
                  return -1 if '[loop-field weight]' eq '';
                  return 1 if '[loop-field weight]' < 1;
                  return 0;
                  [/calc][/loop-last]

     If this is contained in your [loop list] and the weight field is
     empty, a numerical -1 will be output from the [calc][/calc] tags;
     the list will end and the item will not be shown. If the
     product's weight field is less than 1, a numerical 1 is output.
     The item will be shown, but it will be the last item on the list.

[loop-next]tags[/loop-next]

     Evaluates the output of the ITL tags encased in the [loop-next]
     tags. If it evaluates to a numerical non-zero number (for
     example, 1, 23, or -1), the loop will be skipped with no output.
     Example:

                [loop-next][calc][loop-field weight] < 1[/calc][/loop-next]

     If this is contained in your [loop list] and the product's weight
     field is less than 1, a numerical 1 will be output from the
     [calc][/calc] operation. The item will not be shown.

[loop-price n* noformat*]

     Evaluates to the price for the optional quantity n (from the
     products file) of the current item, with currency formatting. If
     the optional "noformat" is set, then currency formatting will not
     be applied.

[loop-calc]PERL[/loop-calc]

     Calls embedded Perl with the code in the container. All
     [loop-...] tags can be placed inside except for [loop-filter
     ...][/loop-filter], [loop-exec routine][/loop-exec],
     [loop-last][/loop-last], and [loop-next][/loop-next.

Note: All normal embedded Perl operations can be used, but be careful
to pre-open any database tables with a [perl tables="tables you
need"][/perl] tag prior to the opening of the [loop].

[loop-exec routine]argument[/loop-exec]

     Calls a subroutine predefined either in catalog.cfg with Sub, or
     in a [loop...] with [loop-sub routine]PERL[/loop-sub]. The
     container text is passed as $_[0], and the array (or hash) value
     of the current row is $_[1].

[loop-sub routine]PERL[/loop-sub]

     Defines a subroutine that is available to the current (and
     subsequent) [loop-...] tags within the same page. See Interchange
     Programming.

3.5. if
-------

[if type field op* compare*]

     named attributes: [if type="type" term="field" op="op"
     compare="compare"]

[if !type field op* compare*]

     named attributes: [if type="!type" term="field" op="op"
     compare="compare"]

Allows the conditional building of HTML based on the setting of
various Interchange session and database values. The general form is:

         [if type term op compare]
         [then]
                                     If true, this text is printed on the document.
                                     The [then] [/then] is optional in most
                                     cases. If ! is prepended to the type
                                     setting, the sense is reversed and
                                     this textwill be output for a false condition.
         [/then]
         [elsif type term op compare]
                                     Optional, tested when if fails.
         [/elsif]
         [else]
                                     Optional, printed on the document when all above fail.
         [/else]
         [/if]

The [if] tag can also have some variants:

         [if explicit][condition] CODE [/condition]
                     Displayed if valid Perl CODE returns a true value.
         [/if]

Some Perl-style regular expressions can be written, and combine
conditions:

         [if value name =~ /^mike/i]
                                     This is the if with Mike.
         [elsif value name =~ /^sally/i]
                                     This is an elsif with Sally.
         [/elsif]
         [elsif value name =~ /^barb/i]
         [or value name =~ /^mary/i]
                                     This is an elsif with Barb or Mary.
         [elsif value name =~ /^pat/i]
         [and value othername =~ /^mike/i]
                                     This is an elsif with Pat and Mike.
         [/elsif]
         [else]
                                     This is the else, no name I know.
         [/else]
         [/if]

While the named parameter tag syntax works for [if ...], it is more
convenient to use the positional syntax in most cases. The only
exception is when you are planning to do a test on the results of
another tag sequence:

This will not work:

   [if value name =~ /[value b_name]/]
       Shipping name matches billing name.
   [/if]

Do this instead:

   [if type=value term=name op="=~" compare="/[value b_name]/"]
       Shipping name matches billing name.
   [/if]

As an alternative:

   [if type=value term=high_water op="<" compare="[shipping noformat=1]"]
       The shipping cost is too high, charter a truck.
   [/if]

There are many test targets available. The following is a list of some
of the available test targets.

config Directive

     The Interchange configuration variables. These are set by the
     directives in the Interchange configuration file.

              [if config CreditCardAuto]
              Auto credit card validation is enabled.
              [/if]

data  database::field::key

     The Interchange databases. Retrieves a field in the database and
     returns true or false based on the value.

              [if data products::size::99-102]
              There is size information.
              [else]
              No size information.
              [/else]
              [/if]
          
              [if data products::size::99-102 =~ /small/i]
              There is a small size available.
              [else]
              No small size available.
              [/else]
              [/if]

     If another tag is needed to select the key, and it is not a
     looping tag construct, named parameters must be used:

              [set code]99-102[/set]
              [if type=data term="products::size::[scratch code]"]
              There is size information.
              [else]
              No size information.
              [/else]
              [/if]

discount

     Checks to see if a discount is present for an item.

              [if discount 99-102]
              This item is discounted.
              [/if]

explicit

     A test for an explicit value. If Perl code is placed between a
     [condition] [/condition] tag pair, it will be used to make the
     comparison. Arguments can be passed to import data from user
     space, just as with the [perl] tag.

              [if explicit]
              [condition]
                  $country = $ values =~{country};
                  return 1 if $country =~ /u\.?s\.?a?/i;
                  return 0;
              [/condition]
              You have indicated a US address.
              [else]
              You have indicated a non-US address.
              [/else]
              [/if]

     The same thing could be accomplished with [if value country =~
     /u\.?s\.?a?/i], but there are many situations where this example
     could be useful.

file

     Tests for the existence of a file. This is useful for placing
     image tags only if the image is present.

              [if file /home/user/www/images/[item-code].gif]
              <IMG SRC="[item-code].gif">
              [/if]
          
              or
          
              [if type=file term="/home/user/www/images/[item-code].gif"]
              <IMG SRC="[item-code].gif">
              [/if]

     The file test requires that the SafeUntrap directive contain
     ftfile (which is the default).

items

     The Interchange shopping carts. If not specified, the cart used
     is the main cart. This is usually used to test to see if anything
     is in the cart. For example:

            [if items]You have items in your shopping cart.[/if]
          
            [if items layaway]You have items on layaway.[/if]

ordered

     Order status of individual items in the Interchange shopping
     carts. Unless otherwise specified, the cart used is the main
     cart. The following items refer to a part number of 99-102.

            [if ordered 99-102] ... [/if]
              Checks the status of an item on order, true if item
              99-102 is in the main cart.
          
            [if ordered 99-102 layaway] ... [/if]
              Checks the status of an item on order, true if item
              99-102 is in the layaway cart.
          
            [if ordered 99-102 main size] ... [/if]
              Checks the status of an item on order in the main cart,
              true if it has a size attribute.
          
            [if ordered 99-102 main size =~ /large/i] ... [/if]
              Checks the status of an item on order in the main cart,
              true if it has a size attribute containing 'large'.
              THE CART NAME IS REQUIRED IN THE OLD SYNTAX. The new
              syntax for that one would be:
          
              [if type=ordered term="99-102" compare="size =~ /large/i"]
          
              To make sure it is the size that is large, and not another attribute, you could use:
          
              [if ordered 99-102 main size eq 'large'] ... [/if]
          
            [if ordered 99-102 main lines] ... [/if]
                Special case -- counts the lines that the item code is
                present on. (Only useful, of course, when mv_separate_items
                or SeparateItems is defined.)

scratch

     The Interchange scratchpad variables, which can be set with the
     [set name]value[/set] element.

              [if scratch mv_separate_items]
              Ordered items will be placed on a separate line.
              [else]
              Ordered items will be placed on the same line.
              [/else]
              [/if]

session

     The Interchange session variables. Of particular interest are
     logged_in, source, browser, and username.

validcc

     A special case, it takes the form [if validcc no type exp_date].
     Evaluates to true if the supplied credit card number, type of
     card, and expiration date pass a validity test. It performs a
     LUHN-10 calculation to weed out typos or phony card numbers.

value

     The Interchange user variables, typically set in search, control,
     or order forms. Variables beginning with mv_ are Interchange
     special values, and should be tested and used with caution.

variable

     See Interchange Variable values.

The field term is the specifier for that area. For example, [if
session frames] would return true if the frames session parameter was
set.

As an example, consider buttonbars for frame-based setups. You might
decide to display a different buttonbar with no frame targets for
sessions that are not using frames:

   [if session frames]
       [buttonbar 1]
   [else]
       [buttonbar 2]
   [/else]
   [/if]

Another example might be the when search matches are displayed. If
using the string [value mv_match_count] titles found, it will display
a plural result even if there is only one match. Use:

   [if value mv_match_count != 1]
       [value mv_match_count] matches found.
   [else]
       Only one match was found.
   [/else]
   [/if]

The op term is the compare operation to be used. Compare operations
are the same as they are in Perl:

   ==  numeric equivalence
   eq  string equivalence
   >   numeric greater-than
   gt  string greater-than
   <   numeric less-than
   lt  string less-than
   !=  numeric non-equivalence
   ne  string equivalence

Any simple Perl test can be used, including some limited regex
matching. More complex tests should be done with [if explicit].

[then] text [/then]

     This is optional if not nesting "if" conditions. The text
     immediately following the [if ..] tag is used as the
     conditionally substituted text. If nesting [if ...] tags, use
     [then][/then] on any outside conditions to ensure proper
     interpolation.

[elsif type field op* compare*]

     named attributes: [elsif type="type" term="field" op="op"
     compare="compare"]

     Additional conditions for test, applied if the initial [if ..]
     test fails.

[else] text [/else]

     The optional else-text for an if or if-item-field conditional.

[condition] text [/condition]

     Only used with the [if explicit] tag. Allows an arbitrary
     expression in Perl to be placed inside, with its return value
     interpreted as the result of the test. If arguments are added to
     [if explicit args], those will be passed as arguments in the
     [perl] construct.

[/if]

     Terminates an if conditional.

4. Programming
==============

Interchange has a powerful paradigm for extending and enhancing its
functionality. It uses two mechanisms, user-defined tags and user
subroutines on two different security levels, global and catalog. In
addition, embedded Perl code can be used to build functionality into
pages.

User-defined tags are defined with the UserTag directive in either
interchange.cfg or catalog.cfg. The tags in interchange.cfg are global
and they are not constrained by the Safe Perl module as to which
opcodes and routines they may use. The user-defined tags in
catalog.cfg are constrained by Safe. However, if the AllowGlobal
global directive is set for the particular catalog in use, its UserTag
and Sub definitions will have global capability.

4.1. Overriding Interchange Routines
------------------------------------

Many of the internal Interchange routines can be accessed by
programmers who can read the source and find entry points. Also, many
internal Interchange routines can be overridden:

   GlobalSub <<EOS
   sub just_for_overriding {
       package Vend::Module;
       use MyModule;
       sub to_override {
           &MyModule::do_something_funky($Values->{my_variable});
       }
   }
   EOS

The effect of the above code is to override the to_override routine in
the module Vend::Module. This is preferable to hacking the code for
functionality changes that are not expected to change frequently. In
most cases, updating the Interchange code will not affect the
overridden code.

Note: Internal entry points are not guaranteed to exist in future
versions of Interchange.

4.2. Embedding Perl Code
------------------------

Perl code can be directly embedded in Interchange pages. The code is
specified as:

   [perl]
       $name    = $Values->{name};
       $browser = $Session->{browser};
       return "Hi, $name! How do you like your $browser?";
   [/perl]

ASP syntax can be used with:

   [mvasp]
       <%
       $name    = $Values->{name};
       $browser = $Session->{browser};
       %>
       Hi, <%= $name %>!
       <%
           HTML "How do you like your $browser?";
       %>
   [/mvasp]

The two examples above are essentially equivalent.  See the perl and 
mvasp tags for usage details.

The [perl] tag enforces Safe.pm checking, so many standard Perl
operators are not available. This prevents user access to all files
and programs on the system without the Interchange daemon's
permissions. See GlobalSub and User-defined Tags for ways to make
external files and programs available to Interchange.

     Named parameters:

     See the perl tag for a description of the tag parameters and
     attributes.  These include:

       [perl tables="tables-to-open"*
               subs=1*
             global=1*
          no_return=1*
            failure="Return value in case of compile or runtime error"*
               file="include_file"*]

     Required parameters: none

Any Interchange tag (except ones using SQL) can be accessed using the
$Tag object. If using SQL queries inside a Perl element, AllowGlobal
permissions are required and and the global=1 parameter must be set.
Installing the module Safe::Hole along with sharing the database table
with <tables=tablename> will enable SQL use.

     For example:

             # If the item might contain a single quote
             [perl]
             $comments = $Values->{comments};
             [/perl]

Important Note: Global subroutines are not subject to the stringent
security check from the Safe module. This means that the subroutine
will be able to modify any variable in Interchange, and will be able
to write to read and write any file that the Interchange daemon has
permission to write. Because of this, the subroutines should be used
with caution. They are defined in the main interchange.cfg file, and
can't be reached by from individual users in a multi-catalog system.

Global subroutines are defined in interchange.cfg with the GlobalSub
directive, or in user catalogs which have been enabled through
AllowGlobal. Catalog subroutines are defined in catalog.cfg, with the
Sub directive and are subject to the stringent Safe.pm security
restrictions that are controlled by the global directive SafeUntrap.

The code can be as complex as you want them to be, but cannot be used
by operators that modify the file system or use unsafe operations like
"system," "exec," or backticks. These constraints are enforced with
the default permissions of the standard Perl module Safe. Operations
may be untrapped on a system-wide basis with the SafeUntrap directive.

The result of this tag will be the result of the last expression
evaluated, just as in a subroutine. If there is a syntax error or
other problem with the code, there will be no output.

Here is a simple one which does the equivalent of the classic hello.pl
program:

   [perl] my $tmp = "Hello, world!"; $tmp; [/perl]

There is no need to set the variable. It is there only to show the
capability.

To echo the user's browser, but within some HTML tags:

   [perl]
   my $html = '<H5>';
   $html .= $Session->{browser};
   $html .= '</H5>';
   $html;
   [/perl]

To show the user their name and the current time:

   [perl arg=values]

   my $string = "Hi, " . $Values->{name} ". The time is now ";
   $string .= $Tag->time();
   $string;

   [/perl]

4.3. ASP-Like Perl
------------------

Interchange supports an ASP-like syntax using the [mvasp] tag.

   [mvasp]
   <HTML><BODY>
       This is HTML.<BR>

   <% HTML "This is code<BR>"; %>
       More HTML.<BR>
   <% $Document->write("Code again.<BR>") %>
   [/mvasp]

If no closing [/mvasp] tag is present, the remainder of the page will
also be seen as ASP.

ASP is simple. Anything between <% and %> is code, and the string %>
can not occur anywhere inside. Anything not between those anchors is
plain HTML that is placed unchanged on the page. Interchange
variables, [L][/L], and [LC][/LC] areas will still be inserted, but
any Interchange tags will not.

There is a shorthand <% = $foo %>, which is equivalent to <%
$Document->write($foo); %> or <% HTML $foo; %>

   [mvasp]
   <HTML><BODY>
       This is HTML.<BR>
       [value name] will show up as &#91;value name].<BR>

       &#95_VARIABLE__ value is equal to: __VARIABLE__

   <% = "This is code<BR>" %>

The __VARIABLE__ will be replaced by the value of Variable VARIABLE,
but [value name] will be shown unchanged.

Important Note: If using the SQL::Statement module, the catalog must
be set to AllowGlobal in interchange.cfg. It will not work in "Safe"
mode due to the limitations of object creation in Safe. Also, the
Safe::Hole module must be installed to have SQL databases work in Safe
mode.



4.4. Error Reporting
--------------------

If your Perl code fails with a compile or runtime error, Interchange
writes the error message from the Perl interpreter into the catalog's
error log. This is usually 'catalog_root/error.log'. Error messages do
not appear on your web page as the return value of the Perl tag or
routine.

You will not have direct access to the 'strict' and 'warnings' pragmas
where Interchange runs your perl code under Safe (for example, within
a [perl] or [mvasp] tag).

5. Interchange Perl Objects
===========================

You can access all objects associated with the catalog and the user
settings with opcode restrictions based on the standard Perl module
Safe.pm. There are some unique things to know about programming with
Interchange.

Under Safe, certain things cannot be used. For instance, the following
can not be used when running Safe:

   $variable = `cat file/contents`;

The backtick operator violates a number of the default Safe opcode
restrictions. Also, direct file opens can not be used. For example:

   open(SOMETHING, "something.txt")
       or die;

This will also cause a trap, and the code will fail to compile.
However, equivalent Interchange routines can be used:

   # This will work if your administrator doesn't have NoAbsolute set
   $users = $Tag->file('/home/you/list');

   # This will always work, file names are based in the catalog directory
   $users = $Tag->file('userlist');

The following is a list of Interchange Perl standard objects are:

$CGI

     This is a hash reference to %CGI::values, the value of user
     variables as submitted in the current page/form. To get the value
     of a variable submitted as

              <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=foo VALUE=bar>

     use

              <% $Document->write("Value of foo is $CGI->{foo}"); %>

     Remember, multiple settings of the same variable are separated by
     a NULL character. To get the array value, use $CGI_array.

$CGI_array

     This is a hash reference to %CGI::values_array, arrays containing
     the value or values of user variables as submitted in the current
     page/form. To get the value of a variable submitted as

              <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=foo VALUE='bar'>
              <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=foo VALUE='baz'>

     use

              <% = "The values of foo are", join (' and ', @{$CGI_array->{'foo'}}) %>

     Remember, multiple settings of the same variable are separated by
     a NULL character. To get the array value, use $CGI_array.

$Carts

     A reference to the shopping cart hash $Vend::Session->{carts}.
     The normal default cart is "main". A typical alias is $Items.

     Shopping carts are an array of hash references. Here is an
     example of a session cart array containing a main and a layaway
     cart.

              {
                  'main' => [
                              {
                                  'code' => '00-0011',
                                  'mv_ib' => 'products',
                                  'quantity' => 1,
                                  'size' => undef,
                                  'color' => undef
                              },
                              {
                                  'code' => '99-102',
                                  'mv_ib' => 'products',
                                  'quantity' => 2,
                                  'size' => 'L',
                                  'color' => 'BLUE'
                              }
                          ],
                  'layaway' => [
                              {
                                  'code' => '00-341',
                                  'mv_ib' => 'products',
                                  'quantity' => 1,
                                  'size' => undef,
                                  'color' => undef
                              }
                          ]
              }

     In this cart array, $Carts->{main}[1]{code} is equal to 99-102.
     Normally, it would be equivalent to $Items->[1]{code}.

$Config

     A reference to the $Vend::Cfg array. This is normally used with a
     large amount of the Interchange source code, but for simple
     things use something like:

    # Allow searching the User database this page only
    $Config->{NoSearch} =~ s/\buserdb\b//;

     Changes are not persistent -- they are reset upon the next page
     access.

%Db

     A hash of databases shared with the [mvasp tables="foo"]
     parameter to the tag call. Once the database is shared, it is
     open and can be accessed by any of its methods. This will not
     work with SQL unless AllowGlobal is set for the catalog.

     To get a reference to a particular table, specify its hash
     element:

              $ref = $Db{products};

     The available methods are:

              # access an element of the table
              $field = $ref->field($key, $column);
          
              # set an element of the table
              $ref->set_field($key, $column_name, $value);
          
              # atomic increment of an element of the table
              $ref->inc_field($key, $column_name, 1);
          
              # see if element of the table is numeric
              $is_numeric = $ref->numeric($column_name);
          
              # Quote for SQL query purposes
              $quoted = $ref->quote($value, $column_name);
          
              # Check configuration of the database
              $delimiter = $ref->config('DELIMITER');
          
              # Find the names of the columns (not including the key)
              @columns = $ref->columns();
              # Insert the key column name
              unshift @columns, $ref->config('KEY');
          
              # See if a column is in the table
              $is_a_column = defined $ref->test_column($column_name);
          
              # See if a row is in the table
              $is_present = $ref->record_exists($key);
          
              # Create a subroutine to return a single column from the table
              $sub = $ref->field_accessor($column);
              for (@keys) {
                  push @values, $sub->($key);
              }
          
              # Create a subroutine to set a single column in the database
              $sub = $ref->field_settor($column);
              for (@keys) {
                  $sub->($key, $value);
              }
          
              # Create a subroutine to set a slice of the database
              $sub = $ref->row_settor(@columns);
              for (@keys) {
                  $sub->($key, @values);
              }
          
              # Retrurn a complete array of the database (minus the key)
              @values = $ref->row($key);
          
              # Retrurn a complete hash of the database row (minus the key)
              $hashref = $ref->row_hash($key);
          
              # Delete a record/row from the table
              $ref->delete_record($key);

%Sql

     A hash of SQL databases that you shared with the [mvasp
     tables="foo"] parameter to the tag call. It returns the DBI
     database handle, so operations like the following can be
     performed:

            <%
              my $dbh = $Sql{products}
                  or return HTML "Database not shared.";
              my $sth = $dbh->prepare('select * from products')
                  or return HTML "Couldn't open database.";
              $sth->execute();
              my @record;
              while(@record = $sth->fetchrow()) {
                  foo();
              }
              $sth = $dbh->prepare('select * from othertable')
                  or return HTML "Couldn't open database.";
              $sth->execute();
              while(@record = $sth->fetchrow()) {
                  bar();
              }
            %>

     This will not work with unless AllowGlobal is set for your
     catalog.

$DbSearch

     A search object that will search a database without using the
     text file. It is the same as Interchange's db searchtype. Options
     are specified in a hash and passed to the object. All
     multiple-field options should be passed as array references.
     Before using the $DbSearch object, it must be told which table to
     search. For example, to use the table foo, it must have been
     shared with [mvasp foo].

     There are three search methods: array, hash, and list.

              array    Returns a reference to an array of arrays (best)
              hash     Returns a reference to an array of hashes (slower)
              list     Returns a reference to an array of tab-delimited lines

     \Example:

              $DbSearch->{table} = $Db{foo};
          
              $search = {
          
                      mv_searchspec => 'Mona Lisa',
                      mv_search_field => [ 'title', 'artist', 'price' ],
                      mv_return_fields    => [ 'title' ]
          
                  };
          
              my $ary = $DbSearch->array($search);
          
              if(! scalar @$ary) {
                  return HTML "No match.\n";
              }
          
              for(@$ary) {

$Document

     This is an object that has several routines associated with it.

           HTML $foo;                     # Append $foo to the write buffer array
           $Document->write($foo);        # object call to append $foo to the write
                                          # buffer array
           $Document->insert($foo);       # Insert $foo to front of write buffer array
           $Document->header($foo, $opt); # Append $foo to page header
           $Document->send();             # Send write buffer array to output, done
                                          # automatically upon end of ASP, clears buffer
                                          # and invalidates $Document->header()
           $Document->hot(1);             # Cause writes to send immediately
           $Document->hot(0);             # Stop immediate send
           @ary = $Document->review();    # Place contents of write buffer in @ary
           $Document->replace(@ary)       # Replace contents of write buffer with @ary
           $ary_ref = $Document->ref();   # Return ref to output buffer

$Document->write($foo)

     Write $foo to the page in a buffered fashion. The buffer is an
     array containing the results of all previous $Document->write()
     operations. If $Document->hot(1) has been set, the output
     immediately goes to the user.

$Document->insert($foo)

     Insert $foo to the page buffer. The following example will output
     "123"

              $Document->write("23");
              $Document->insert("1");
              $Document->send();

     while this example will output "231"

              $Document->write("23");
              $Document->write("1");
              $Document->send();

     will output "231".

$Document->header($foo, $opt)

     Add the header line $foo to the HTTP header. This is used to
     change the page content type, cache options, or other attributes.
     The code below changes the content type (MIME type) to
     text/plain:

              $Document->header("Content-type: text/plain");

     There is an optional hash that can be sent with the only valid
     value being "replace." The code below scrubs all previous header
     lines:

              $Document->header("Content-type: text/plain", { replace => 1 } );

     Once output has been sent with $Document->send(), this can no
     longer be done.

$Document->hot($foo)

     If the value of $foo is true (in a Perl sense), then all
     $Document->write() operations will be immediately sent until a
     $Document->hot(0) is executed.

$Document->send()

     Causes the document write buffer to be sent to the browser and
     empties the buffer. Any further $Document->header() calls will be
     ignored. Can be used to implement non-parsed-header operation.

$Document->review()

     Returns the value of the write buffer.

              @ary = $Document->review();

$Document->replace(@new)

     Completely replaces the write buffer with the arguments.

$Document->ref()

     Returns a reference to the write buffer.

              # Remove the first item in the write buffer
              my $ary_ref = $Document->ref();
              shift @$ary_ref;

HTML

     Writes a string (or list of strings) to the write buffer array.
     The call

              HTML $foo, $bar;

     is exactly equivalent to

              $Document->write($foo, $bar);

     Honors the $Document->hot() setting.

$Items

     A reference to the current shopping cart. Unless an Interchange
     [cart ...] tag is used, it is normally the same as
     $Carts->{main}.

$Scratch

     A reference to the scratch values ala [scratch foo].

             <% $Scratch->{foo} = 'bar'; %>

     is equivalent to:

              [set foo]bar[/set]

$Session

     A reference to the session values ala [data session username].

              <%
                  my $out = $Session->{browser};
                  $Document->write($out);
              %>

     is equivalent to:

              [data session browser]

     Values can also be set. If the value of [data session source]
     needed to be changed, for example, set:

              <%
                  $Session->{source} = 'New_partner';
              %>

$Tag

     Using the $Tag object, any Interchange tag including user-defined
     tags can be accessed.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If the tag will access a database that has not been
previously opened, the table name must be passed in the ASP call. For
example:

     HTML style:

              <HTML MV="mvasp" MV.TABLES="products pricing">

     or

     Named parameters:

              [mvasp tables="products pricing"]

     or

     Positional parameters:

              [mvasp products pricing]

     Any tag can be called.

              <%
                  my $user = $Session->{username};
                  my $name_from_db = $Tag->data('userdb', 'name', $user );
                  $Document->write($name_from_db);
              %>

     is the same as:

              [data table=userdb column=name key="[data session username]"]

     If the tag has a dash (-) in it, use an underscore instead:

              # WRONG!!!
              $Tag->shipping-desc('upsg');
              # Right
              $Tag->shipping_desc('upsg');

     There are two ways of specifying parameters. Either use the
     positional parameters as documented (for an authoritative look at
     the parameters, see the %Routine value in Vend::Parse), or
     specify it all with an option hash parameter names as in any
     named parameters as specified in an Interchange tag. The calls

              $Tag->data('products', 'title', '00-0011');

     and

              my $opt = {
                              table   => 'products',
                              column  => 'title',
                              key     => '00-0011',
                          };
          
              $Tag->data( $opt );

     are equivalent for the data tag.

     If using the option hash method, and the tag has container text,
     either specify it in the hash parameter body or add it as the
     next argument. The two calls:

              $Tag->item_list( {
                                  'body' => "[item-code] [item-field title]",
                              });

     and

              $Tag->item_list( { }, "[item-code] [item-field title]")

     are equivalent.

     Parameter names are ALWAYS lower case.

$Values

     A reference to the user form values ala [value foo].

              <% $Document->write($Values->{foo}); %>

     is equivalent to:

              [value foo]

&Log

     Send a message to the error log (same as ::logError in GlobalSub
     or global UserTag).

              <%
                  Log("error log entry");
              %>

     It prepends the normal timestamp with user and page information.
     To supress that information, begin the message with a backslash
     (\).

              <%
                  Log("\\error log entry without timestamp");
                  Log('\another error log entry without timestamp');
                  Log("error log entry with timestamp");
              %>

6. Debugging
============

No debug output is provided by default. The source files contain
commented-out '::logDebug(SOMETHING)' statements which can be edited
to activate them. Set the value of DebugFile to a file that will be
written to:

   DebugFile /tmp/mvdebug

6.1. Export
-----------

     Named Parameters: [export table="dbtable"]

     Positional Parameters: [export db_table]

     The attribute hash reference is passed to the subroutine after
     the parameters as the last argument. This may mean that there are
     parameters not shown here. Must pass named parameter
     interpolate=1 to cause interpolation.

     Invalidates cache: YES

     Called Routine:

     ASP/perl tag calls:

              $Tag->export(
                  {
                   table => VALUE,
                  }
              )

     OR

              $Tag->export($table, $ATTRHASH);

     Attribute aliases:

                  base ==> table
                  database ==> table

6.2. Time
---------

     Named Parameters: [time locale="loc"]

     Positional Parameters: [time loc]

     The attribute hash reference is passed after the parameters but
     before the container text argument. This may mean that there are
     parameters not shown here. Must pass named parameter
     interpolate=1 to cause interpolation.

     This is a container tag, i.e., [time] FOO [/time].

     Nesting: NO.

     Invalidates cache: NO.

     Called Routine:

     ASP/perl tag calls:

              $Tag->time(
                  {
                   locale => VALUE,
                  },
                  BODY
              )

     OR

              $Tag->time($locale, $ATTRHASH, $BODY);

6.3. Import
-----------

     Named Parameters: [import table=table_name
     type=(TAB|PIPE|CSV|%%|LINE) continue=(NOTES|UNIX|DITTO)
     separator=c]

     Positional Parameters: [import table_name TAB]

     The attribute hash reference is passed after the parameters but
     before the container text argument. This may mean that there are
     parameters not shown here. Interpolates container text by
     default>.

     This is a container tag, i.e., [import] FOO [/import].

     Nesting: NO

     Invalidates cache: YES.

     Called Routine:

     ASP/perl tag calls:

              $Tag->import(
                  {
                   table => VALUE,
                   type => VALUE,
                  },
                  BODY
              )

     OR

              $Tag->import($table, $type, $ATTRHASH, $BODY);

     Attribute aliases:

                  base ==> table
                  database ==> table

     Description:

     Import one or more records into a database. The type is any of
     the valid Interchange delimiter types, with the default being
     defined by the setting of the database DELIMITER. The table must
     already be a defined Interchange database table; it cannot be
     created on-the-fly. (Use SQL for on-the-fly tables.)

     The type of LINE and continue setting of NOTES is particularly
     useful, for it allows the naming of fields so that the order in
     which they appear in the database will not have to be remembered.
     The following two imports are identical in effect:

              [import table=orders]
              code: [value mv_order_number]
              shipping_mode: [shipping-description]
              status: pending
              [/import]
          
              [import table=orders]
              shipping_mode: [shipping-description]
              status: pending
              code: [value mv_order_number]
              [/import]

     The code or key must always be present, and is always named code.
     If NOTES mode is not used, import the fields in the same order as
     they appear in the ASCII source file. The [import ....] TEXT
     [/import] region may contain multiple records. If using NOTES
     mode, use a separator, which by default is a form-feed character
     (^L).

6.4. Log
--------

     Named Parameters: [log file=file_name]

     Positional Parameters: [log file_name]

     The attribute hash reference is passed after the parameters but
     before the container text argument. This may mean that there are
     parameters not shown here. Must pass named parameter
     interpolate=1 to cause interpolation. This is a container tag,
     i.e., [log] FOO [/log].

     Nesting: NO.

     Invalidates cache: NO.

     Called Routine:

     ASP/perl tag calls:

              $Tag->log(
                  {
                   file => VALUE,
                  },
                  BODY
              )

     OR

              $Tag->log($file, $ATTRHASH, $BODY);

     Attribute aliases:

                  arg ==> file

6.5. Header
-----------

6.6. price, description, accessories
------------------------------------

[price code quantity* database* noformat*]

     named attributes: [price code="code" quantity="N" base="database"
     noformat=1* optionX="value"]

     Expands into the price of the product identified by code as found
     in the products database. If there is more than one products file
     defined, they will be searched in order unless constrained by the
     optional argument base. The optional argument quantity selects an
     entry from the quantity price list. To receive a raw number, with
     no currency formatting, use the option noformat=1.

     If an named attribute corresponding to a product option is
     passed, and that option would cause a change in the price, the
     appropriate price will be displayed.

     Demo example: The T-Shirt (product code 99-102), with a base
     price of $10.00, can vary in price depending on size and color.
     S, the small size, is 50 cents less; XL, the extra large size, is
     $1.00 more, and the color RED is 0.75 extra. There are also
     quantity pricing breaks (see the demo pricing database. So the
     following will be true:

              [price  code=99-102
                      size=L]              is $10.00
          
              [price  code=99-102
                      size=XL]             is $11.00
          
              [price  code=99-102
                      color=RED
                      size=XL]             is $11.75
          
              [price  code=99-102
                      size=XL
                      quantity=10]         is $10.00
          
              [price  code=99-102
                      size=S]              is $9.50

     An illustration of this is on the simple flypage template when
     passed that item code.

[description code table*]

     named attributes: [description code="code" base="database"]

     Expands into the description of the product identified by code as
     found in the products database. If there is more than one
     products file defined, they will be searched in order unless
     constrained by the optional argument table.

[accessories code attribute*, type*, field*, database*, name*,
outboard*]

     named attributes: [accessories code="code" arg="attribute*,
     type*, field*, database*, name*, outboard*"]

     Initiates special processing of item attributes based on entries
     in the product database. See Item Attributes for a complete
     description of the arguments.

     When called with an attribute, the database is consulted and
     looks for a comma-separated list of attribute options. They take
     the form:

              name=Label Text, name=Label Text*

     The label text is optional. If none is given, the name will be
     used.

     If an asterisk is the last character of the label text, the item
     is the default selection. If no default is specified, the first
     will be the default. An example:

              [accessories TK112 color]

     This will search the product database for a field named "color."
     If an entry "beige=Almond, gold=Harvest Gold, White*,
     green=Avocado" is found, a select box like this will be built:

              <SELECT NAME="mv_order_color">
              <OPTION VALUE="beige">Almond
              <OPTION VALUE="gold">Harvest Gold
              <OPTION SELECTED>White
              <OPTION VALUE="green">Avocado
              </SELECT>

     In combination with the mv_order_item and mv_order_quantity
     variables, this can be used to allow entry of an attribute at
     time of order.

6.7. FILE and INCLUDE
---------------------

These elements read a file from the disk and insert the contents in
the location of the tag. [include ...] will allow insertion of
Interchange variables and ITL tags.

[file ...]

     named: [file name="name" type="dos|mac|unix"*]

     positional: [file name]

     Inserts the contents of the named file. The file should normally
     be relative to the catalog directory. File names beginning with /
     or .. are only allowed if the Interchange server administrator
     has disabled NoAbsolute. The optional type parameter will do an
     appropriate ASCII translation on the file before it is sent.

[include file]

     named attributes: [include file="name"]

     Same as [file name] except interpolates for all Interchange tags
     and variables.

6.8. Banner/Ad rotation
-----------------------

Interchange has a built-in banner rotation system designed to show ads
or other messages according to category and an optional weighting.

The [banner ...] ITL tag is used to implement it.

The weighting system pre-builds banners in the directory 'Banners,'
under the temporary directory. It will build one copy of the banner
for every one weight. If one banner is weighted 7, one 2, and one 1,
then a total of 10 pre-built banners will be made. The first will be
displayed 70 percent of the time, the second 20 percent, and the third
10 percent, in random fashion. If all banners need to be equal, give
each a weight of 1.

Each category may have separate weighting. If the above is placed in
category tech, then it will behave as above when placed in [banner
category=tech] in the page. A separate category, say art, would have
its own rotation and weighting.

The [banner ...] tag is based on a database table, named banners by
default. It expects a total of five (5) fields in the table:

code

     This is the key for the item. If the banners are not weighted,
     this should be a category specific code.

category

     To choose to categorize weighted ads, this contains the category
     to select. If empty, it will be placed in the default (or blank)
     category.

weight

     Must be an integer number 1 or greater to include this ad in the
     weighting. If 0 or blank, the ad will be ignored when weighted
     ads are built.

rotate

     If the weighted banners are not used, this must contain some
     value. If the field is empty, the banner will not be displayed.
     If the value is specifically 0 (zero), then the entire contents
     of the banner field will be displayed when this category is used.
     If it is non-zero, then the contents of the banner field will be
     split into segments (by the separator {or}). For each segment,
     the banners will rotate in sequence for that user only.
     Obviously, the first banner in the sequence is more likely to be
     displayed than the last.

     Summary of values of rotate field:

              non-zero, non-blank: Rotating ads
              blank:               Ad not displayed
              0:                   Ad is entire contents of banner field

banner

     This contains the banner text. If more than one banner is in the
     field, they should be separated by the text {or} (which will not
     be displayed).

Interchange expects the banner field to contains the banner text. It
can contain more than one banner, separated by the string '{or}.' To
activate the ad, place any string in the field rotate.

The special key "default" is the banner that is displayed if no
banners are found. (Doesn't apply to weighted banners.)

Weighted banners are built the first time they are accessed after
catalog reconfiguration. They will not be rebuilt until the catalog is
reconfigured, or the file tmp/Banners/total_weight and
tmp/Banners/<category>/total_weight is removed.

If the option once is passed (i.e., [banner once=1 weighted=1], then
the banners will not be rebuilt until the total_weight file is
removed.

The database specification should make the weight field numeric so
that the proper query can be made. Here is the example from
Interchange's demo:

   Database   banner   banner.txt   TAB
   Database   banner   NUMERIC      weight

Examples:

weighted, categorized

     To select categorized and weighted banners:

     The banner table would look like this:

              code    category   weight   rotate   banner
              t1      tech       1                 Click here for a 10% banner
              t2      tech       2                 Click here for a 20% banner
              t3      tech       7                 Click here for a 70% banner
              a1      art        1                 Click here for a 10% banner
              a2      art        2                 Click here for a 20% banner
              a3      art        7                 Click here for a 70% banner

     Tag would be:

              [banner weighted=1 category="tech"]

     This will find *all* banners with a weight >= 1 where the
     category field is equal to tech. The files will be made into the
     director tmp/Banners/tech.

weighted

     To select weighted banners:

              [banner weighted=1]

     This will find *all* banners with a weight >= 1. (Remember,
     integers only.) The files will be made into the director
     tmp/Banners.

              code    category   weight   rotate   banner
              t1      tech       1                 Tech banner 1
              t2      tech       2                 Tech banner 2
              t3      tech       7                 Tech banner 3
              a1      art        1                 Art banner 1
              a2      art        2                 Art banner 2
              a3      art        7                 Art banner 3

     Each of the above with a weight of 7 will actually be displayed
     35 percent of the time.

categorized, not rotating

              [banner category="tech"]

     This is equivalent to:

              [data table=banner col=banner key=tech

     The differences are that it is not selected if "rotate" field is
     blank; if not selected, the default banner is displayed.

     The banner table would look like this:

              code    category   weight   rotate   banner
              tech               0        0        Tech banner

     Interchange tags can be inserted in the category parameter, if
     desired:

              [banner category="[value interest]"]

categorized and rotating

              [banner category="tech"]

     The difference between this and above is the database.

     The banner table would look like this:

              code    category   weight   rotate   banner
              tech               0        1        Tech banner 1{or}Tech banner 2
              art                0        1        Art banner 1{or}Art banner 2

     This would rotate between banner 1 and 2 for the category tech
     for each user. Banner 1 is always displayed first. The art banner
     would never be displayed unless the tag [banner category=art] was
     used, of course.

     Interchange tags can be inserted in the category parameter, if
     desired:

              [banner category="[value interest]"]

multi-level categorized

              [banner category="tech:hw"] or [banner category="tech:sw"]

     If have a colon-separated category, Interchange will select the
     most specific ad available. If the banner table looks like this:

              code    category   weight   rotate   banner
              tech               0        1        Tech banner 1{or}Tech banner 2
              tech:hw            0        1        Hardware banner 1{or}HW banner 2
              tech:sw            0        1        Software banner 1{or}SW banner 2

     This works the same as single-level categories, except that the
     category tech:hw will select that banner. The category tech:sw
     will select its own. But, the category tech:html would just get
     the "tech" banner. Otherwise, it works just as in other
     categorized ads. Rotation will work if set non-zero/non-blank,
     and it will be inactive if the rotate field is blank. Each
     category rotates on its own.

Advanced

     All parameters are optional since they are marked with an
     asterisk (*).

     Tag syntax:

              [banner
                  weighted=1*
                  category=category*
                  once=1*
                  separator=sep*
                  delimiter=delim*
                  table=banner_table*
                  a_field=banner_field*
                  w_field=weight_field*
                  r_field=rotate_field*
              ]

     Defaults are blank except:

              table       banner    selects table used
              a_field     banner    selects field for banner text
              delimiter   {or}      delimiter for rotating ads
              r_field     rotate    rotate field
              separator   :         separator for multi-level categories
              w_field     weight    rotate field

6.9. Tags for Summarizing Shopping Basket/Cart
----------------------------------------------

The following elements are used to access common items which need to
be displayed on baskets and checkout pages.

* marks an optional parameter

[item-list cart*]

     named attributes: [item-list name="cart"]

     Places an iterative list of the items in the specified shopping
     cart, the main cart by default. See Item Lists for a description.

[/item-list]

     Terminates the [item-list] tag.

[nitems cart*]

     Expands into the total number of items ordered so far. Takes an
     optional cart name as a parameter.

[subtotal]

     Expands into the subtotal cost, exclusive of sales tax, of all
     the items ordered so far.

[salestax cart*]

     Expands into the sales tax on the subtotal of all the items
     ordered so far. If there is no key field to derive the proper
     percentage, such as state or zip code, it is set to 0. See SALES
     TAX for more information.

[shipping-description mode*]

     named attributes: [shipping-description name="mode"]

     The text description of mode. The default is the shipping mode
     currently selected.

[shipping mode*]

     named attributes: [shipping name="mode"]

     The shipping cost of the items in the basket via mode. The
     default mode is the shipping mode currently selected in the
     mv_shipmode variable. See SHIPPING.

[total-cost cart*]

     Expands into the total cost of all the items in the current
     shopping cart, including sales tax, if any.

[currency convert*]

     named attributes: [currency convert=1*]

     When passed a value of a single number, formats it according to
     the currency specification. For instance:

              [currency]4[/currency]

     will display:

              4.00

     Uses the Locale and PriceCommas settings as appropriate, and can
     contain a [calc] region. If the optional "convert" parameter is
     set, it will convert according to PriceDivide> for the current
     locale. If Locale is set to fr_FR, and PriceDivide for fr_FR is
     0.167, using the following sequence:

              [currency convert=1] [calc] 500.00 + 1000.00 [/calc] [/currency]

     will cause the number 8.982,04 to be displayed.

[/currency]

     Terminates the currency region.

[cart name]

     named attributes: [cart name="name"]

     Sets the name of the current shopping cart for display of
     shipping, price, total, subtotal, and nitems tags. If a different
     price is used for the cart, all of the above except [shipping]
     will reflect the normal price field. Those operations must be
     emulated with embedded Perl or the [item-list], [calc], and
     [currency] tags, or use the PriceAdjustment feature to set it.

[row nn]

     named attributes: [row width="nn"]

     Formats text in tables. Intended for use in emailed reports or
     <PRE></PRE> HTML areas. The parameter nn gives the number of
     columns to use. Inside the row tag, [col param=value ...] tags
     may be used.

[/row]

     Terminates a [row nn] element.

[col width=nn wrap=yes|no gutter=n align=left|right|input spacing=n]

     Sets up a column for use in a [row]. This parameter can only be
     contained inside a [row nn] [/row] tag pair. Any number of
     columns (that fit within the size of the row) can be defined.

     The parameters are:

              width=nn        The column width, including the gutter. Must be
                              supplied, there is no default. A shorthand method
                              is to just supply the number as the first parameter,
                              as in [col 20].
          
              gutter=n        The number of spaces used to separate the column (on
                              the right-hand side) from the next. Default is 2.
          
              spacing=n       The line spacing used for wrapped text. Default is 1,
                              or single-spaced.
          
              wrap=(yes|no)   Determines whether text that is greater in length than
                              the column width will be wrapped to the next line. Default
                              is yes.
          
              align=(L|R|I)   Determines whether text is aligned to the left (the default),
                              the right, or in a way that might display an HTML text
                              input field correctly.

[/col]

     Terminates the column field.

6.10. Item Lists
----------------

Within any page, the [item-list cart*] element shows a list of all the
items ordered by the customer so far. It works by repeating the source
between [item-list] and [/item-list] once for each item ordered.

Note: The special tags that reference item within the list are not
normal Interchange tags, do not take named attributes, and cannot be
contained in an HTML tag (other than to substitute for one of its
values or provide a conditional container). They are interpreted only
inside their corresponding list container. Normal Interchange tags can
be interspersed, though they will be interpreted after all of the
list-specific tags.

Between the item_list markers the following elements will return
information for the current item:

[if-item-data table column]

     If the database field column in table table is non-blank, the
     following text up to the [/if-item-data] tag is substituted. This
     can be used to substitute IMG or other tags only if the
     corresponding source item is present. Also accepts a [else]else
     text[/else] pair for the opposite condition.

Note: This tag does not nest with other [if-item-data ...] tags.

[if-item-data table column]

     Reverses sense for [if-item-data].

[/if-item-data]

     Terminates an [if-item-data table column] element.

[if-item-field fieldname]

     If the products database field fieldname is non-blank, the
     following text up to the [/if-item-field] tag is substituted. If
     there are more than one products database table (see
     ProductFiles), it will check them in order until a matching key
     is found. This can be used to substitute IMG or other tags only
     if the corresponding source item is present. Also accepts a
     [else]else text[/else] pair for the opposite condition.

Note: This tag does not nest with other [if-item-field ...] tags.

[if-item-field fieldname]

     Reverses sense for [if-item-field].

[/if-item-field]

     Terminates an [if-item-field fieldname] element.

[item-accessories attribute*, type*, field*, database*, name*]

     Evaluates to the value of the Accessories database entry for the
     item. If passed any of the optional arguments, initiates special
     processing of item attributes based on entries in the product
     database.

[item-alternate N] DIVISIBLE [else] NOT DIVISIBLE
[/else][/item-alternate]

     Sets up an alternation sequence. If the item-increment is
     divisible by N, the text will be displayed. If an [else]NOT
     DIVISIBLE TEXT[/else] is present, the NOT DIVISIBLE TEXT will be
     displayed.

     For example:

              [item-alternate 2]EVEN[else]ODD[/else][/item-alternate]
              [item-alternate 3]BY 3[else]NOT by 3[/else][/item-alternate]

[/item-alternate]

     Terminates the alternation area.

[item-code]

     Evaluates to the product code for the current item.

[item-data database fieldname]

     Evaluates to the field name fieldname in the arbitrary database
     table database for the current item.

[item-description]

     Evaluates to the product description (from the products file) for
     the current item.

[item-field fieldname]

     The [item-field ...] tag is special in that it looks in any of
     the tables defined as ProductFiles, in that order, for the data,
     returning the value only if that key is defined. In most
     catalogs, where ProductFiles is not defined (i.e., the demo),
     [item-field title] is equivalent to [item-data products title].

     Evaluates to the field name fieldname in the products database
     for the current item. If the item is not found in the first of
     the ProductFiles, all will be searched in sequence.

[item-increment]

     Evaluates to the number of the item in the match list. Used for
     numbering search matches or order items in the list.

[item-last]tags[/item-last]

     Evaluates the output of the Interchange tags encased inside the
     tags. If it evaluates to a numerical non-zero number (i.e., 1,
     23, or -1), the list iteration will terminate. If the evaluated
     number is negative, the item itself will be skipped. If the
     evaluated number is positive, the item itself will be shown but
     will be last on the list.

                [item-last][calc]
                  return -1 if '[item-field weight]' eq '';
                  return 1 if '[item-field weight]' < 1;
                  return 0;
                  [/calc][/item-last]

     If this is contained in the [item-list] (or [search-list] or
     flypage) and the weight field is empty, a numerical -1 will be
     output from the [calc][/calc] tags; the list will end and the
     item will not be shown. If the product's weight field is less
     than 1, a numerical 1 is output. The item will be shown, but will
     be the last item shown. (If it is an [item-list], any price for
     the item will still be added to the subtotal.) NOTE: there is no
     equivalent HTML style.

[item-modifier attribute]

     Evaluates to the modifier value of attribute for the current
     item.

[item-next]tags[/item_next]

     Evaluates the output of the Interchange tags encased inside. If
     it evaluates to a numerical non-zero number (i.e., 1, 23, or -1),
     the item will be skipped with no output. Example:

                [item-next][calc][item-field weight] < 1[/calc][/item-next]

     If this is contained in the [item-list] (or [search-list] or
     flypage) and the product's weight field is less than 1, a
     numerical 1 will be output from the [calc][/calc] operation. The
     item will not be shown. (If it is an [item-list], any price for
     the item will still be added to the subtotal.)

[item-price n* noformat*]

     Evaluates to the price for quantity n (from the products file) of
     the current item, with currency formatting. If the optional
     "noformat" is set, currency formatting will not be applied.

[discount-price n* noformat*]

     Evaluates to the discount price for quantity n (from the products
     file) of the current item, with currency formatting. If the
     optional "noformat" is set, currency formatting will not be
     applied. Returns regular price if not discounted.

[item-discount]

     Returns the difference between the regular price and the
     discounted price.

[item-quantity]

     Evaluates to the quantity ordered for the current item.

[item-subtotal]

     Evaluates to the subtotal (quantity * price) for the current
     item. Quantity price breaks are taken into account.

[modifier-name attribute]

     Evaluates to the name to give an input box in which the customer
     can specify the modifier to the ordered item.

[quantity-name]

     Evaluates to the name to give an input box in which the customer
     can enter the quantity to order.

7. Interchange Page Display
===========================

Interchange has several methods for displaying pages:

o    Display page by name

     If a page with [page some_page] or <A HREF="[area some_page]"> is
     called and that some_page.html exists in the pages directory
     (PageDir), it will be displayed.

o    On-the-fly page

     If a page with [page 00-0011] or <A HREF="[area 00-0011]"> is
     called and 00-0011 exists as a product in one of the products
     databases (ProductFiles), Interchange will use the special page
     descriptor flypage as a template and build based on that part
     number. This is partly for convenience; the same thing can be
     accomplished by calling [page your_template 00-0011] and using
     the [data session arg] to perform the templating. But there is
     special logic associated with the PageSelectField configuration
     attribute to allow pages to be built with varying templates.

o    Determine page via form action and variables

     If a form action, in almost all cases the page to display will be
     determined by the mv_nextpage form value. Example:

              <FORM ACTION="[process]">
              <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_todo VALUE=return>
              <SELECT NAME=mv_nextpage>
              <OPTION VALUE=index>Main page
              <OPTION VALUE=browse>Product listing
              <OPTION VALUE="ord/basket">Shopping cart
              </SELECT>
              <INPUT TYPE=submit VALUE=Go>
              </FORM>

     The mv_nextpage dropdown will determine the page the user goes
     to.

7.1. On-the-fly Catalog Pages
-----------------------------

If an item is displayed on the search list (or order list) and there
is a link to a special page keyed on the item, Interchange will
attempt to build the page "on the fly." It will look for the special
page flypage.html, which is used as a template for building the page.
If [item-field fieldname], [item-price], and similar elements are used
on the page, complex and information-packed pages can be built. The
[if-item-field fieldname] HTML [/if-item-field] pair can be used to
insert HTML only if there is a non-blank value in a particular field.

Important note: Because the tags are substituted globally on the page,
[item-*] tags cannot be used on the default on-the-fly page. To use a
[search-region] or [item-list] tag, change the default with the prefix
parameter. Example:

   [item-list prefix=cart]
   [cart-code] -- title=[cart-data products title]
   [/item-list]

To have an on-the-fly page mixed in reliably, use the idiom [fly-list
prefix=fly code="[data session arg]"] [/flylist] pair.

[fly-list code="product_code" base="table"] ... [/fly-list]

     Other parameters:

              prefix=label     Allows [label-code], [label-description]

     Defines an area in a random page which performs the flypage
     lookup function, implementing the tags below:

             [fly-list code="[data session arg]"]
              (contents of flypage.html)
             [/fly-list]

     If placed around the contents of the demo flypage, in a file
     named <flypage2.html>, it will make these two calls display
     identical pages:

              [page 00-0011] One way to display the Mona Lisa [/page]
              [page flypage2 00-0011] Another way to display the Mona Lisa [/page]

If the directive PageSelectField is set to a valid product database
field which contains a valid Interchange page name (relative to the
catalog pages directory, without the .html suffix), it will be used to
build the on-the-fly page.

Active tags in their order of interpolation:

[if-item-field field]    Tests for a non-empty, non-zero value in field
[if-item-data db field]  Tests for a non-empty, non-zero field in db
[item-code]              Product code of the displayed item
[item-accessories args]  Accessory information (see accessories)
[item-description]       Description field information
[item-price quantity*]   Product price (at quantity)
[item-field field]       Product database field
[item-data db field]     Database db entry for field

7.2. Special Pages
------------------

A number of HTML pages are special for Interchange operation.
Typically, they are used to transmit error messages, status of search
or order operations, and other out of boundary conditions.

Note: The distributed demo does not use all of the default values.

The names of these pages can be set with the SpecialPage directive.
The standard pages and their default locations:

canceled (special_pages/canceled.html)

     The page displayed by Interchange when an order has been canceled
     by the user.

catalog (special_pages/catalog.html)

     The main catalog page presented by Interchange when another page
     is not specified.

failed (special_pages/failed.html)

     If the sendmail program could not be invoked to email the
     completed order, the failed.html page is displayed.

flypage (special_pages/flypage.html)

     If the catalog page for an item was not found when its
     [item-link] is clicked, this page is used as a template to build
     an on-the-fly page. See On-the-fly Catalog Pages.

interact (special_pages/interact.html)

     Displayed if an unexpected response was received from the
     browser, such as not getting expected fields from submitting a
     form. This would probably happen from typos in the html pages,
     but could be a browser bug.

missing (special_pages/missing.html)

     This page is displayed if the URL from the browser specifies a
     page that does not have a matching .html file in the pages
     directory. This can happen if the customer saved a bookmark to a
     page that was later removed from the database, for example, or if
     there is a defect in the code.

     Essentially this is the same as a 404 error in HTTP. To
     deliberately display a 404 error, just put this in
     special_pages/missing.html:

              [tag op=header]Status: 404 missing[/tag]

noproduct (special_pages/noproduct.html)

     This page is displayed if the URL from the browser specifies the
     ordering of a product code which is not in the products file.

order (ord/backet.htm)

     This page is displayed when the customer orders an item. It can
     contain any or all of the customer-entered values, but is
     commonly used as a status display (or "shopping basket").

search (results.html)

     Contains the default output page for the search engine results.
     Also required is an input page, which can be the same as
     search.html or an additional page. By convention Interchange
     defines this as the page results.

              SpecialPage   search   results

violation (special pages/violation.html)

     Displayed if a security violation is noted, such as an attempt to
     access a page denied by an access_gate. See UserDB.

7.3. Checking Page HTML
-----------------------

Interchange allows debugging of page HTML with an external page
checking program.  Because leaving this enabled on a production system
is potentially a very bad performance degradation, the program is set
in a the global configuration file with the CheckHTML directive. To
check a page for validity, set the global directive CheckHTML to the
name of the program (don't do any output redirection). A good choice
is the freely available program Weblint. It would be set in
minivend.cfg with:

   CheckHTML  /usr/local/bin/weblint -s -

Of course, the server must be restarted for it to be recognized. The
full path to the program should be used. If having trouble, check it
from the command line (as with all external programs called by
Interchange).

Insert [flag type=checkhtml][/tag] at the top or bottom of pages to
check, and the output of the checker should be appended to the browser
output as a comment, visible if the page or frame source are viewed.
To do this occasionally, use a Variable setting:

   Variable  CHECK_HTML    [flag type=checkhtml]

and place __CHECK_HTML__ in the pages.  Then set the Variable to the
empty string to disable it.

8. Forms and Interchange
========================

Interchange uses HTML forms for many of its functions, including
ordering, searching, updating account information, and maintaining
databases. Order operations possibly include ordering an item,
selecting item size or other attributes, and reading user information
for payment and shipment. Search operations may also be triggered by a
form.

Interchange supports file upload with the multipart/form-data type.
The file is placed in memory and discarded if not accessed with the
[value-extended name=filevar file_contents=1] tag or written with
[value-extended name=filevar outfile=your_file_name]. See Extended
Value Access and File Upload.

Interchange passes variables from page to page automatically. Every
user session that is started by Interchange automatically creates a
variable set for the user. As long as the user session is maintained,
and does not expire, any variables you set on a form will be
"remembered" in future sessions.

Don't use the prefix mv_ for your own variables. Interchange treats
these specially and they may not behave as you wish. Use the mv_
variables only as they are documented.

Interchange does not unset variables it does not find on the current
form. That means you can't expect a checkbox to become unchecked
unless you explicitly reset it.

8.1. Special Form Fields
------------------------

Interchange treats some form fields specially, to link to the search
engine and provide more control over user presentation. It has a
number of predefined variables, most of whose names are prefixed with
mv_ to prevent name clashes with your variables. It also uses a few
variables which are post-fixed with integer digits; those are used to
provide control in its iterating lists.

Most of these special fields begin with mv_, and include:

(O = order, S = search, C = control, A = all, X in scratch space)

Name               scan Type  Description

mv_all_chars         ac  S   Turns on punctuation matching
mv_arg[0-9]+             A   Parameters for mv_subroutine (mv_arg0,mv_arg1,...)
mv_base_directory    bd  S   Sets base directory for search file names
mv_begin_string      bs  S   Pattern must match beginning of field
mv_case              cs  S   Turns on case sensitivity
mv_cartname              O   Sets the shopping cart name
mv_check                 A   Any form, sets multiple user variables after update
mv_click                 A   Any form, sets multiple form variables before update
mv_click                 XA  Default mv_click routine, click is mv_click_arg
mv_click <name>          XA  Routine for a click <name>, sends click as arg
mv_click_arg             XA  Argument name in scratch space
mv_coordinate        co  S   Enables field/spec matching coordination
mv_column_op         op  S   Operation for coordinated search
mv_credit_card*          O   Discussed in order security (some are read-only)
mv_dict_end          de  S   Upper bound for binary search
mv_dict_fold         df  S   Non-case sensitive binary search
mv_dict_limit        di  S   Sets upper bound based on character position
mv_dict_look         dl  S   Search specification for binary search
mv_dict_order        do  S   Sets dictionary order mode
mv_doit                  A   Sets default action
mv_email                 O   Reply-to address for orders
mv_exact_match       em  S   Sets word-matching mode
mv_failpage          fp  O,S Sets page to display on failed order check/search
mv_field_file        ff  S   Sets file to find field names for Glimpse
mv_field_names       fn  S   Sets field names for search, starting at 1
mv_first_match       fm  S   Start displaying search at specified match
mv_head_skip         hs  S   Sets skipping of header line(s) in index
mv_index_delim       id  S   Delimiter for search fields (TAB default)
mv_matchlimit        ml  S   Sets match page size
mv_max_matches       mm  S   Sets maximum match return (only for Glimpse)
mv_min_string        ms  S   Sets minimum search spec size
mv_negate            ne  S   Records NOT matching will be found
mv_nextpage          np  A   Sets next page user will go to
mv_numeric           nu  S   Comparison numeric in coordinated search
mv_order_group           O   Allows grouping of master item/sub item
mv_order_item            O   Causes the order of an item
mv_order_number          O   Order number of the last order (read-only)
mv_order_quantity        O   Sets the quantity of an ordered item
mv_order_profile         O   Selects the order check profile
mv_order_receipt         O   Sets the receipt displayed
mv_order_report          O   Sets the order report sent
mv_order_subject         O   Sets the subject line of order email
mv_orsearch          os  S   Selects AND/OR of search words
mv_profile           mp  S   Selects search profile
mv_range_alpha       rg  S   Sets alphanumeric range searching
mv_range_look        rl  S   Sets the field to do a range check on
mv_range_max         rx  S   Upper bound of range check
mv_range_min         rm  S   Lower bound of range check
mv_record_delim      dr  S   Search index record delimiter
mv_return_all        ra  S   Return all lines found (subject to range search)
mv_return_delim      rd  S   Return record delimiter
mv_return_fields     rf  S   Fields to return on a search
mv_return_file_name  rn  S   Set return of file name for searches
mv_return_spec       rs  S   Return the search string as the only result
mv_save_session          C   Set to non-zero to prevent expiration of user session
mv_search_field      sf  S   Sets the fields to be searched
mv_search_file       fi  S   Sets the file(s) to be searched
mv_search_line_return lr S   Each line is a return code (loop search)
mv_search_match_count    S   Returns the number of matches found (read-only)
mv_search_page       sp  S   Sets the page for search display
mv_searchspec        se  S   Search specification
mv_searchtype        st  S   Sets search type (text, glimpse, db or sql)
mv_separate_items        O   Sets separate order lines (one per item ordered)
mv_session_id        id  A   Suggests user session id (overridden by cookie)
mv_shipmode              O   Sets shipping mode for custom shipping
mv_sort_field        tf  S   Field(s) to sort on
mv_sort_option       to  S   Options for sort
mv_spelling_errors   er  S   Number of spelling errors for Glimpse
mv_substring_match   su  S   Turns off word-matching mode
mv_successpage           O   Page to display on successful order check
mv_todo                  A   Common to all forms, sets form action
mv_todo.map              A   Contains form imagemap
mv_todo.checkout.x       O   Causes checkout action on click of image
mv_todo.return.x         O   Causes return action on click of image
mv_todo.submit.x         O   Causes submit action on click of image
mv_todo.x                A   Set by form imagemap
mv_todo.y                A   Set by form imagemap
mv_unique            un  S   Return unique search results only
mv_value             va  S   Sets value on one-click search (va=var=value)

8.2. Form Actions
-----------------

Interchange form processing is based on an action and a todo. The
predefined actions at the first level are:

   process       process a todo
   search        form-based search
   scan          path-based search
   order         order an item
   minimate      get access to a database via MiniMate

Any action can be defined with ActionMap.

The process action has a second todo level called with mv_todo or
mv_doit. The mv_todo takes preference over mv_doit, which can be used
to set a default if no mv_todo is set.

The action can be specified with any of:

page name

     Calling the page "search" will cause the search action. process
     will cause a form process action, etc. Examples:

              <FORM ACTION="/cgi-bin/simple/search" METHOD=POST>
              <INPUT NAME=mv_searchspec>
              </FORM>

     The above is a complete search in Interchange. It causes a simple
     text search of the default products database(s). Normally
     hard-coded paths are not used, but a Interchange tag can be used
     to specify it for portability:

              <FORM ACTION="[area search]" METHOD=POST>
              <INPUT NAME=mv_searchspec>
              </FORM>

     The tag [process] is often seen in Interchange forms. The above
     can be called equivalently with:

              <FORM ACTION="[process]" METHOD=POST>
              <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_todo VALUE=search>
              <INPUT NAME=mv_searchspec>
              </FORM>

mv_action

     Setting the special variable mv_action causes the page name to be
     ignored as the action source. The above forms can use this as a
     synonym:

              <FORM ACTION="[area foo]" METHOD=post>
              <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_action VALUE=search>
              <INPUT NAME=mv_searchspec>
              </FORM>

     The page name will be used to set mv_nextpage, if it is not
     otherwise defined. If mv_nextpage is present in the form, it will
     be ignored.

The second level todo for the process action has these defined by
default:

   back         Go to mv_nextpage, don't update variables
   search   Trigger a search
   submit   Submit a form for validation (and possibly a final order)
   go       Go to mv_nextpage (same as return)
   return   Go to mv_nextpage, update variables
   set      Update a database table
   refresh  Go to mv_orderpage|mv_nextpage and check for
            ordered items
   cancel   Erase the user session

If a page name is defined as an action with ActionMap or use of
Interchange's predefined action process, it will cause form
processing. First level is setting the special page name process, or
mv_action set to do a form process, the Interchange form can be used
for any number of actions. The actions are mapped by the ActionMap
directive in the catalog configuration file, and are selected on the
form with either the mv_todo or mv_doit variables.

To set a default action for a process form, set the variable mv_doit
as a hidden variable:

   <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_doit VALUE=refresh>

When the mv_todo value is not found, the refresh action defined in
mv_doit will be used instead.

More on the defined actions:

back

     Goes to the page in mv_nextpage. No user variable update.

cancel

     All user information is erased, and the shopping cart is emptied.
     The user is then sent to mv_nextpage.

refresh

     Checks for newly-ordered items in mv_order_item, looking for
     on-the-fly items if that is defined, then updates the shopping
     cart with any changed quantities or options. Finally updates the
     user variables and returns to the page defined in mv_orderpage or
     mv_nextpage (in that order of preference).

return

     Updates the user variables and returns to the page defined in
     mv_nextpage.

search

     The shopping cart and user variables are updated, then the form
     variables are interpreted and the search specification contained
     therein is dispatched to the search engine. Results are returned
     on the defined search page (set by mv_search_page or the search
     page directives).

submit

     Submits the form for order processing. If no order profile is
     defined with the mv_order_profile variable, the order is checked
     to see if the current cart contains any items and the order is
     submitted.

     If there is an order profile defined, the form will be checked
     against the definition in the order profile and submitted if the
     pragma &final is set to yes. If &final is set to no (the
     default), and the check succeeds, the user will be routed to the
     Interchange page defined in mv_successpage, or mv_nextpage. If
     the check fails, the user will be routed to mv_failpage or
     mv_nextpage in that order.

8.3. One-click Multiple Variables
---------------------------------

Interchange can set multiple variables with a single button or form
control. First define the variable set (or profile, as in search and
order profiles) inside a scratch variable:

 [set Search by Category]
 mv_search_field=category
 mv_search_file=categories
 mv_todo=search
 [/set]

The special variable mv_click sets variables just as if they were put
in on the form. It is controlled by a single button, as in:

   <INPUT TYPE=submit NAME=mv_click VALUE="Search by Category">

When the user clicks the submit button, all three variables will take
on the values defined in the "Search by Category" scratch variable.
Set the scratch variable on the same form as the button is on. This is
recommended for clarity. The mv_click variable will not be carried
from form to form, it must be set on the form being submitted.

The special variable mv_check sets variables for the form actions
<checkout, control, refresh, return, search,> and <submit>. This
function operates after the values are set from the form, including
the ones set by mv_click, and can be used to condition input to search
routines or orders.

The variable sets can contain and be generated by most Interchange
tags. The profile is interpolated for Interchange tags before being
used. This may not always operate as expected. For instance, if the
following was set:

   [set check]
   [cgi name=mv_todo set=bar hide=1]
   mv_todo=search
   [if cgi mv_todo eq 'search']
   do something
   [/if]
   [/set]

The if condition is guaranteed to be false, because the tag
interpretation takes place before the evaluation of the variable
setting.

Any setting of variables already containing a value will overwrite the
variable. To build sets of fields (as in mv_search_field and
mv_return_fields), comma separation if that is supported for the field
must be used.

It is very convenient to use mv_click as a trigger for embedded Perl:

   <FORM ...
   <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_check VALUE="Invalid Input">
   ...
   </FORM>

   [set Invalid Input]
   [perl]
   my $type        = $CGI->{mv_searchtype};
   my $spell_check = $CGI->{mv_spelling_errors};
   my $out = '';
   if($spell_check and $type eq 'text') {
       $CGI->{mv_todo}     = 'return';
       $CGI->{mv_nextpage} = 'special/cannot_spell_check';
   }
   return;
   [/perl]
   [/set]

8.4. Checks and Selections
--------------------------

A "memory" for drop-down menus, radio buttons, and checkboxes can be
provided with the [checked] and [selected] tags.

[checked var_name value]

     named attributes: [checked name="var_name" value="value" cgi=0|1
     multiple=0|1 default=0|1 case=0|1]

     This will output CHECKED if the variable var_name is equal to
     value. Set the cgi attribute to use cgi instead of values data.
     Not case sensitive unless case is set.

     If the multiple attribute is defined and set to a non-zero value
     (1 is implicit) and if the value matches on a word/non-word
     boundary, it will be CHECKED. If the default attribute is set to
     a non-zero value, the box will be checked if the variable
     var_name is empty or zero.

[selected var_name value]

     named attributes: [selected name="var_name" value="value" cgi=0|1
     multiple=0|1 default=0|1 case=0|1]

     This will output SELECTED if the variable var_name is equal to
     value. Set the cgi attribute to use cgi instead of values data.
     Not case sensitive unless case is set.

     If the multiple argument is present, it will look for any of a
     variety of values. If the default attribute is set, SELECT will
     be output if the variable is empty or zero. Not case sensitive
     unless case is set.

     Here is a drop-down menu that remembers an item-modifier color
     selection:

              <SELECT NAME="color">
              <OPTION [selected name=color value=blue]> Blue
              <OPTION [selected name=color value=green]> Green
              <OPTION [selected name=color value=red]> Red
              </SELECT>

     For databases or large lists of items, sometimes it is easier to
     use [loop list="foo bar"] and its option parameter. The above can
     be achieved with:

              <SELECT NAME=color>
              [loop list="Blue Green Red" option=color]
              <OPTION> [loop-code]
              [/loop]
              </SELECT>

8.5. Integrated Image Maps
--------------------------

Imagemaps can also be defined on forms, with the special form variable
mv_todo.map. A series of map actions can be defined. The action
specified in the default entry will be applied if none of the other
coordinates match. The image is specified with a standard HTML 2.0
form field of type IMAGE. Here is an example:

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="mv_todo.map" VALUE="rect submit 0,0 100,20">
<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="mv_todo.map" VALUE="rect cancel 290,2 342,18">
<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="mv_todo.map" VALUE="default refresh">
<INPUT TYPE=image  NAME="mv_todo" SRC="url_of_image">

All of the actions will be combined together into one image map with
NCSA-style functionality (see the NCSA imagemap documentation for
details), except that Interchange form actions are defined instead of
URLs.

8.6. Setting Form Security
--------------------------

You can cause a form to be submitted securely (to the base URL in the
SecureURL directive, that is) by specifying your form input to be
ACTION="[process secure=1]".

To submit a form to the regular non-secure server, just omit the
secure modifier.

8.7. Stacking Variables on the Form
-----------------------------------

Many Interchange variables can be "stacked," meaning they can have
multiple values for the same variable name. As an example, to allow
the user to order multiple items with one click, set up a form like
this:

<FORM METHOD=POST ACTION="[process-order]">
<input type=checkbox name="mv_order_item" value="M3243"> Item M3243
<input type=checkbox name="mv_order_item" value="M3244"> Item M3244
<input type=checkbox name="mv_order_item" value="M3245"> Item M3245
<input type=hidden name="mv_doit" value="refresh">
<input type=submit name="mv_junk" value="Order Checked Items">
</FORM>

The stackable mv_order_item variable with be decoded with multiple
values, causing the order of any items that are checked.

To place a "delete" checkbox on the shopping basket display:

<FORM METHOD=POST ACTION="[process-order]">
[item-list]
  <input type=checkbox name="[quantity-name]" value="0"> Delete
  Part number: [item-code]
  Quantity: <input type=text name="[quantity-name]" value="[item-quantity]">
  Description: [item-description]
[/item-list]
<input type=hidden name="mv_doit" value="refresh">
<input type=submit name="mv_junk" value="Order Checked Items">
</FORM>

In this case, first instance of the variable name set by
[quantity-name] will be used as the order quantity, deleting the item
from the form.

Of course, not all variables are stackable. Check the documentation
for which ones can be stacked or experiment.

8.8. Extended Value Access and File Upload
------------------------------------------

Interchange has a facility for greater control over the display of
form variables; it also can parse multipart/form-data forms for file
upload.

File upload is simple. Define a form like:

   <FORM ACTION="[process-target] METHOD=POST ENCTYPE="multipart/form-data">
   <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_todo     VALUE=return>
   <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_nextpage VALUE=test>
   <INPUT TYPE=file NAME=newfile>
   <INPUT TYPE=submit VALUE="Go!">
   </FORM>

The [value-extended ...] tag performs the fetch and storage of the
file. If the following is on the test.html page (as specified with
mv_nextpage and used with the above form, it will write the file
specified:

   <PRE>
   Uploaded file name: [value-extended name=newfile]
   Is newfile a file? [value-extended name=newfile yes=Yes no=No test=isfile]

   Write the file. [value-extended name=newfile outfile=junk.upload]
   Write again with
    indication: [value-extended name=newfile
                               outfile=junk.upload
                               yes="Written."]
                               no=FAILED]

   And the file contents:
   [value-extended name=newfile file_contents=1]
   </PRE>

The [value-extended] tag also allows access to the array values of
stacked variables. Use the following form:

   <FORM ACTION="[process-target] METHOD=POST ENCTYPE="multipart/form-data">
   <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=testvar VALUE="value0">
   <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=testvar VALUE="value1">
   <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=testvar VALUE="value2">
   <INPUT TYPE=submit VALUE="Go!">
   </FORM>

and page:

   testvar element 0: [value-extended name=testvar index=0]
   testvar element 1: [value-extended name=testvar index=1]
   testvar elements:
    joined with a space:   |[value-extended name=testvar]|
    joined with a newline: |[value-extended
                               joiner="\n"
                               name=testvar
                               index="*"]|
    first two only:    |[value-extended
                               name=testvar
                               index="0..1"]|
    first and last:    |[value-extended
                               name=testvar
                               index="0,2"]|

to observe this in action.

The syntax for [value-extended ...] is:

named: [value-extended
           name=formfield
           outfile=filename*
           ascii=1*
           yes="Yes"*
           no="No"*
           joiner="char|string"*
           test="isfile|length|defined"*
           index="N|N..N|*"
           file_contents=1*
           elements=1*]

positional: [value-extended name]

Expands into the current value of the customer/form input field named
by field. If there are multiple elements of that variable, it will
return the value at index; by default all joined together with a
space.

If the variable is a file variable coming from a multipart/form-data
file upload, then the contents of that upload can be returned to the
page or optionally written to the outfile.

name

     The form variable NAME. If no other parameters are present, the
     value of the variable will be returned. If there are multiple
     elements, by default they will all be returned joined by a space.
     If joiner is present, they will be joined by its value.

     In the special case of a file upload, the value returned is the
     name of the file as passed for upload.

joiner

     The character or string that will join the elements of the array.
     It will accept string literals such as "\n" or "\r".

test

     There are three tests. isfile returns true if the variable is a
     file upload. length returns the length. defined returns whether
     the value has ever been set at all on a form.

index

     The index of the element to return if not all are wanted. This is
     useful especially for pre-setting multiple search variables. If
     set to *, it will return all (joined by joiner). If a range, such
     as 0 .. 2, it will return multiple elements.

file_contents

     Returns the contents of a file upload if set to a non-blank,
     non-zero value. If the variable is not a file, it returns
     nothing.

outfile

     Names a file to write the contents of a file upload to. It will
     not accept an absolute file name; the name must be relative to
     the catalog directory. If images or other files are to be written
     to go to HTML space, use the HTTP server's Alias facilities or
     make a symbolic link.

ascii

     To do an auto-ASCII translation before writing the outfile, set
     the ascii parameter to a non-blank, non-zero value. The default
     is no translation.

yes

     The value that will be returned if a test is true or a file is
     written successfully. It defaults to 1 for tests and the empty
     string for uploads.

no

     The value that will be returned if a test is false or a file
     write fails. It defaults to the empty string.

8.9. Updating Interchange Database Tables with a Form
-----------------------------------------------------

Any Interchange database can be updated with a form using the
following method. The Interchange user interface uses this facility
extensively.

Note: All operations are performed on the database, not the ASCII
source file. An [export table_name] operation will have to be
performed for the ASCII source file to reflect the results of the
update. Records in any  database may be inserted or updated with the
[query] tag, but form-based updates or inserts may also be performed.

In an update form, special Interchange variables are used to select
the database parameters:

mv_data_enable (scratch)

     \IMPORTANT: This must be set to a non-zero, non-blank value in
     the scratch space to allow data set functions. Usually it is put
     in an mv_click that precedes the data set function. For example:

              [set update_database]
              [if type=data term="userdb::trusted::[data session username]"]
                  [set mv_data_enable]1[/set]
              [else]
                  [set mv_data_enable]0[/set]
              [/else]
              [/if]
              [/set]
              <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mv_click VALUE=update_database>

mv_data_table

     The table to update.

mv_data_key

     The field that is the primary key in the table. It must match the
     existing database definition.

mv_data_function

     UPDATE, INSERT or DELETE. The variable mv_data_verify must be set
     true on the form for a DELETE to occur.

mv_data_verify

     Confirms a DELETE.

mv_data_fields

     Fields from the form which should be inserted or updated. Must be
     existing columns in the table in question.

mv_update_empty

     Normally a variable that is blank will not replace the field. If
     mv_update_empty is set to true, a blank value will erase the
     field in the database.

mv_data_filter_(field)

     Instantiates a filter for (field), using any of the defined
     Interchange filters. For example, if mv_data_filter_foo is set to
     digits, only digits will be passed into the database field during
     the set operation. A common value might be "entities", which
     protects any HTML by translating < into &lt;, " into &quot;, etc.

The Interchange action set causes the update. Here are a pair of
example forms. One is used to set the key to access the record
(careful with the name, this one goes into the user session values).
The second actually performs the update. It uses the [loop] tag with
only one value to place default/existing values in the form based on
the input from the first form:

   <FORM METHOD=POST ACTION="[process]">
    <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN name="mv_doit" value="return">
    <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN name="mv_nextpage" value="update_proj">
    Sales Order Number <INPUT TYPE=TEXT SIZE=8
                            NAME="update_code"
                            VALUE="[value update_code]">
    <INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT name="mv_submit"  Value="Select">
    </FORM>
<FORM METHOD=POST ACTION="[process]">
   <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="mv_data_table"    VALUE="ship_status">
   <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="mv_data_key"      VALUE="code">
   <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="mv_data_function" VALUE="update">
   <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="mv_nextpage"      VALUE="updated">
   <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="mv_data_fields"
               VALUE="code,custid,comments,status">
   <PRE>

   [loop arg="[value update_code]"]
   Sales Order <INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="code    SIZE=10 VALUE="[loop-code]">
  Customer No. <INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="custid" SIZE=30
                   VALUE="[loop-field custid]">
      Comments <INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="comments"
                   SIZE=30 VALUE="[loop-field comments]">
        Status <INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="status"
                   SIZE=10 VALUE="[loop-field status]">
   [/loop]
   </PRE>

       <INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="mv_todo" VALUE="set">
       <INPUT TYPE=submit VALUE="Update table">
   </FORM>

The variables in the form do not update the user's session values, so
they can correspond to database field names without fear of corrupting
the user session.

8.9.1. Can I use Interchange with my existing static catalog pages?
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, but you probably won't want to in the long run. Interchange is
designed to build pages based on templates from a database. If all you
want is a shopping cart, you can mix standard static pages with
Interchange, but it is not as convenient and doesn't take advantage of
the many dynamic features Interchange offers.

That being said, all you usually have to do to place an order link on
a page is:

   <A HREF="/cgi-bin/construct/order?mv_order_item=SKU_OF_ITEM">Order!</A>

Replace /cgi-bin/construct with the path to your Interchange link.

9. Internationalization
=======================

Interchange has a rich set of internationalization (I18N) features
that allow conditional message display, differing price formats,
different currency definitions, price factoring, sorting, and other
settings. The definitions are maintained in the catalog.cfg file
through the use of built-in POSIX support and Interchange's Locale
directive. All settings are independent for each catalog and each user
visiting that catalog, since customers can access the same catalog in
an unlimited number of languages and currencies.

9.1. Setting the Locale
-----------------------

The locale could be set to fr_FR (French for France) in one of two
ways:

[setlocale locale=locale* currency=locale* persist=1*]

     This tag is for new-style tags only and will not work for [old].

     Immediately sets the locale to locale, and will cause it to
     persist in future user pages if the persist is set to a non-zero,
     non-blank value. If the currency attribute is set, the pricing
     and currency-specific locale keys and Interchange configuration
     directives are modified to that locale. If there are no
     arguments, it sets it back to the user's default locale as
     defined in the scratch variables mv_locale and mv_currency.

     This allows:

              Dollar Pricing:
          
              [setlocale en_US]
              [item-list]
              [item-code]: [item-price]<BR>
              [/item-list]
          
              Franc Pricing:
          
              [setlocale fr_FR]
              [item-list]
              [item-code]: [item-price]<BR>
              [/item-list]
          
              [comment] Return to the user's default locale [/comment]
              [setlocale]

[page process/locale/fr_FR/page/catalog]

     This is the same as [page catalog], except when the link is
     followed it will set the locale to fr_FR before displaying the
     page. This is persistent.

[page process/locale/fr_FR/currency/en_US/page/catalog]

     This is the same as [page catalog], except when the link is
     followed it will set the locale to fr_FR and the pricing/number
     display to the locale en_US before displaying the page. This is
     persistent.

Once the locale is persistently set for a user, it is in effect for
the duration of their session.

9.2. Interchange Locale Settings
--------------------------------

The Locale directive has many possible settings that allow complete
internationalization of page sets and currencies. The Locale directive
is defined in a series of key/value pairs with a key that contains
word characters only being followed by a value. The value must be
enclosed in double quotes if it contains whitespace. In this example,
the key is Value setting.

   Locale fr_FR "Value setting" "Configuration de valeur"
   Locale de_DE "Value setting" Werteinstellung

When accessed using the special tag [L]Value setting[/L], the value
Configuration de valeur will be displayed only if the locale is set to
fr_FR. If the locale is set to de_DE, the string Werteinstellung will
be displayed. If it is neither, the default value of Value setting
will be displayed.

The [L] and [/L] must be capitalized. This is done for speed of
processing as well as easy differentiation in text.

Another, way to do this is right in the page. The [LC] ... [/LC]
pragma pair permits specification of locale-dependent text.

 [LC]
           This is the default text.
   [fr_FR] Text for the fr_FR locale. [/fr_FR]
   [de_DE] Text for the de_DE locale. [/de_DE]
 [/LC]

You can also place an entirely new page in place of the default one if
the locale key is defined. When a locale is in force, and a key named
HTMLsuffix is set to that locale, Interchange first looks for a page
with a suffix corresponding to the locale. For example:

<A HREF="[area index]">Catalog home page</A>

If a page index.html exists, it will be the default. If the current
locale is fr_FR, a page "index.fr_FR" exists, and Locale looks like
this:

   Locale fr_FR HTMLsuffix  fr_FR

Then, the .fr_FR page will be used instead of the .html page. For a
longer series of strings, the configuration file recognizes:

   Locale fr_FR <<EOF
   {
       "Value setting",
       "Configuration de valeur",

       "Search",
       "Recherche"
   }
   EOF

This example sets two string substitutions. As long as this is a valid
Perl syntax describing a series of settings, the text will be matched.
It can contain any arbitrary set of characters that don't contain [L]
and [/L]. If using double quotes, string literals like \n and \t are
recognized.

A database can also be used to set locale information. Locale
information can be added to any database in the catalog.cfg file, and
the values in it will overwrite previous settings. For more
information, see LocaleDatabase. The [L]default text[/L] is set before
any other page processing takes place. It is equivalent to the
characters "default text" or the appropriate Locale translation for
all intents and purposes. Interchange tags and Variable values can be
embedded.

Because the [L] message [/L] substitution is done before any tag
processing, the command [L][item-data table field][/L] will fail.
There is an additional [loc] message [/loc] UserTag supplied with the
distribution. It does the same thing as [L] [/L] except it is
programmed after all tag substitution is done. See the
interchange.cfg.dist file for the definition.

Note: Be careful when editing pages containing localization
information. Even changing one character of the message can  change
the key value and invalidate the message for other languages. To
prevent this, use:

   [L key]The default.[/L]

The key msg_key will then be used to index the message. This may be
preferable for many applications.

A localize script is included with Interchange. It will parse files
included on the command line and produce output that can be easily
edited to produce localized information. Given an existing file, it
will merge new information where appropriate.

9.3. Special Locale Keys for Price Representation
-------------------------------------------------

Interchange honors the standard POSIX keys:

   mon_decimal_point    or      decimal_point
   mon_thousands_sep    or      thousands_sep
   currency_symbol      or      int_currency_symbol
   frac_digits  or      p_cs_precedes

See the POSIX setlocale(3) man page for more information. These keys
will be used for formatting prices and approximates the number format
used in most countries. To set a custom price format, use these
special keys:

price_picture

     Interchange will format a currency number based on a "picture"
     given to it. The basic form is:

              Locale en_US price_picture "$ ###,###,###.##"

     The en_US locale, for the United States, would display 4452.3 as
     $ 4,452.30. The same display can be achieved with:

               Locale en_US mon_thousands_sep ,
               Locale en_US mon_decimal_point .
               Locale en_US p_cs_precedes     1
               Locale en_US currency_symbol   $

     A common price_picture for European countries would be
     ###.###.###,##, which would display that same number as 4.452,30.
     To add a franc notation at the end for the locale fr_FR, use the
     setting:

              Locale fr_FR price_picture "##.###,## fr"

IMPORTANT NOTE: The decimal point in use, set by mon_decimal_point,
and the thousands separator, set by mon_thousands_sep must match the
settings in the price_picture. The frac_digits setting is not used in
this case. It is derived from the location of the decimal (if any).

     The same setting for fr_FR above can be achieved with:

               Locale fr_FR mon_thousands_sep .
               Locale fr_FR mon_decimal_point ,
               Locale fr_FR p_cs_precedes     0
               Locale fr_FR currency_symbol   fr

     If the number of digits is greater than the # locations in the
     price_picture, the digits will be changed to asterisks. An
     overflow number above would show as **.***,** fr.

picture

     Same as price_picture, but sets the value returned if the
     [currency] tag is not used. If the number of digits is greater
     than the # locations in the picture, the digits will be changed
     to asterisks, displaying something like **,***.**.

9.4. Dynamic Locale Directive Changes
-------------------------------------

If a Locale key is set to correspond to an Interchange catalog.cfg
directive, that value will be set when the locale is set.

PageDir

     To use a different page directory for different locales, set the
     PageDir key. For example, to have two separate language page
     sets, French and English, set:

              # Establish the default at startup
              PageDir   english
              Locale fr_FR  PageDir  francais
              Locale en_US  PageDir  english

ImageDir

     To use a different image directory for different locales, set the
     ImageDir key. To have two separate language button sets, French
     and English, set:

              # Establish the default at startup
              ImageDir   /images/english/
              Locale fr_FR  ImageDir   /images/francais/
              Locale en_US  ImageDir   /images/english/

ImageDirSecure

     See ImageDir.

PriceField

     To use a different field in the products database for pricing
     based on locale, set the PriceField locale setting. For example:

              # Establish the default at startup
              PriceField    price
              Locale fr_FR  PriceField  prix

     The default will always be price, but if the locale fr_FR is set,
     the PriceField directive will change to prix to give prices in
     francs instead of dollars.

     If PriceBreaks is enabled, the prix field from the pricing
     database will be used to develop the quantity pricing.

Note: If no Locale settings are present, the display will always be
price, regardless of what was set in PriceField. Otherwise, it will
match PriceField.

PriceDivide

     Normally used to enable penny pricing with a setting of 100,
     PriceField can be used to do an automatic conversion calculation
     factor based on locale.

              # Default at startup is 1 if not set
              # Franc is strong these days!
              Locale fr_FR  PriceDivide  .20

     The price will now be divided by .20, making the franc price five
     times higher than the dollar.

PriceCommas

     This controls whether the mon_thousands_sep will be used for
     standard currency formatting. This setting will be ignored if you
     are using price_picture. Set the value to 1 or 0, to enable or
     disable it. Do not use yes or no.

              # Default at startup is Yes if not set
              PriceCommas  Yes
              Locale fr_FR  PriceCommas  0
              Locale en_US  PriceCommas  1

UseModifier

     Changes the fields from the set shopping cart options.

              # Default at startup is 1 if not set
              # Franc is strong these days!
              UseModifier format
              Locale fr_FR  UseModifier formats

     If a previous setting was made for an item based on another
     locale, it will be maintained.

PriceAdjustment

     Changes the fields set by UseModifier that will be used to adjust
     pricing for an automatic conversion factor based on locale. For
     example:

              # Default at startup
              PriceAdjustment  format
              Locale fr_FR  PriceAdjustment  formats

TaxShipping,SalesTax

     Same as the standard directives.

DescriptionField

     This changes the field accessed by default with the
     [item-description] and [description code] tags. For example

              # Establish the default at startup
              DescriptionField    description
              Locale fr_FR  DescriptionField desc_fr

The [locale] tag

     Standard error messages can be set based on Locale settings. Make
     sure not to use any of the predefined keys. It is safest to begin
     a key with msg_ . The default message is set between the [locale
     key] and [/locale] tags. See the example above.

9.5. Sorting Based on Locale
----------------------------

The Interchange [sort database:field] keys will use the LC_COLLATE
setting for a locale provided that:

o    The operating system and C compiler support locales for POSIX,
     and have the locale definitions set.

o    The locale setting matches any configured locales.

If this arbitrary database named letters:

   code        letter
   00-0011     f
   99-102      
   19-202      a

and this loop:

   [loop 19-202 00-0011 99-102]
   [sort letters:letter]
   [loop-data letters letter]   [loop-code]
   [/loop]

used the default C setting for LC_COLLATE, the following would be
displayed:

   a  19-202
   f  00-0011
     99-102

If the proper LC_COLLATE settings for locale fr_FR were in effect,
then the above would become:

   a  19-202
     99-102
   f  00-0011

9.6. Placing Locale Information in a Database
---------------------------------------------

Interchange has the capability to read its locale information from a
database, named with the LocaleDatabase directive. The database can be
of any valid Interchange type. The locales are in columns, and the
keys are in rows. For example, to set up price information:

   key                 en_US   fr_FR   de_DE
   PriceDivide         1       .1590   .58
   mon_decimal_point   .       ,       ,
   mon_thousands_sep   ,       .
   currency_symbol     $        frs    DM
   ps_cs_precedes      1       0       0

This would translate to the following:

   Locale en_US PriceDivide         1
   Locale en_US mon_decimal_point   .
   Locale en_US mon_thousands_sep   ,
   Locale en_US currency_symbol     $
   Locale en_US ps_cs_precedes      1

   Locale fr_FR PriceDivide         .1590
   Locale fr_FR mon_decimal_point   ,
   Locale fr_FR mon_thousands_sep   .
   Locale fr_FR currency_symbol     " frs"
   Locale fr_FR ps_cs_precedes      0

   Locale de_DE PriceDivide         .58
   Locale de_DE mon_decimal_point   ,
   Locale de_DE mon_thousands_sep   " "
   Locale de_DE currency_symbol     "DM "
   Locale de_DE ps_cs_precedes      1

These settings append and overwrite any that are set in the catalog
configuration files, including any include files.

Important note: This information is only read during catalog
configuration. It is not reasonable to access a database for
translation or currency conversion in the normal course of events.

______________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2001 Red Hat, Inc. Freely redistributable under terms of the
GNU General Public License.

