🚪 Understanding the Uniface done Statement: A Clean Exit Strategy

👋 Hey developers! Today I want to share something useful about Uniface 10.4 and specifically the done statement in ProcScript. This might seem like a small feature, but understanding it properly can make your code cleaner and more predictable.

🤔 What is the done\ Statement?

The done statement in Uniface ProcScript is your clean exit door 🚪. It immediately exits from the current ProcScript module without changing the $status variable. Think of it as a "neutral exit" - you're leaving, but you're not making any statements about success or failure.

🔧 Key Characteristics

• Return Values: None - it doesn't affect $status
• Usage: Allowed in all component types
• Behavior: Immediate exit from ProcScript module

💡 When to Use done\ vs return\

Here's the key difference that many developers miss:

• 🔄 Use done when you want to exit without returning a value
• 📤 Use return when you want to exit with a specific value

📋 Practical Example

Let's look at a real-world scenario from a quit trigger:

trigger quit
if ($formmod = 0)
    done
else
    message "Data modified!! Use STORE before QUIT."
    return (-1)
endif
end; quit

🎯 In this example:

• If no modifications were made ($formmod = 0), we simply exit with done
• If there are modifications, we warn the user and return -1 to indicate an error state

🎉 Why This Matters

Using done appropriately helps you:

• ✅ Write cleaner, more intentional code
• 🛡️ Maintain proper status handling
• 🎯 Make your exit intentions explicit

💭 This post was created with the help of AI and is based on the official Uniface 10.4 documentation. Hope it helps fellow Uniface developers write better ProcScript code!

Happy coding! 🚀