Defining messages

The messages you define using DTL are stored in message members. Each regular message member can contain up to 10 messages. The conversion utility stores the message members in an ISPF message file for the application. The DTL tags you use to define messages and message members are:

MSGMBR: Defines a message member. The MSGMBR tag requires an end tag.
MSG: Defines a message within a message member. The text of the MSG tag is the text that appears as the message. Each message can be up to 512 bytes in length after variable substitution. Variable substitution describes variable substitution in messages.

You assign an identifier to each message within a message member. The message identifier is composed of two required attribute values: the NAME attribute value of the MSGMBR tag and the SUFFIX attribute value for the MSG tag.

The NAME attribute you specify for the MSGMBR tag can consist of 1-5 uppercase or lowercase alphabetic characters and 2 numeric characters.

The SUFFIX attribute values for each of the MSG tags you code within a MSGMBR definition must consist of either 1 numeric character (0-9) or a numeric character (0-9) and an optional suffix character as defined for ISPF messages. Each of the values must be unique (a message suffix cannot be defined twice in a message member).

<!doctype DM system>

<msgmbr name=maia00>
  <msg suffix=0>You cannot type a number in the Name field.
  <msg suffix=1>Please include your first name in the Name field.
  <msg suffix=2>Unrecognized character in Name field.  Please correct.
  <msg suffix=3>Unrecognized character in Address field.  Please correct.
  <msg suffix=4>You cannot type a number in the City field.
  <msg suffix=5>Unrecognized character in City field.  Please correct.
  <msg suffix=6>You cannot type a number in the State field.
  <msg suffix=7>You must type two letters in the State field.
  <msg suffix=8>The Zip code exceeds the maximum length.
  <msg suffix=9>You cannot type an alphabetic character in the Zip field.
</msgmbr>

The value of the MSG SUFFIX attribute, when added to the MSGMBR NAME value, forms the message identifier for that message. For example, the message identifier for this message: "You must type two letters in the State field". is maia007. If you specify maia007 as the MSG value on a CHECKL tag, this message is displayed when ISPF detects the error as a result of input validation.

In addition to SUFFIX, the MSG tag has an optional HELP attribute that allows you to identify a help panel for the message. for information about defining help panels, see Information regions and help panels.