How to Work with Processes > Working with the Host Services Processes Group

Process Purpose

The data being sent to a defined host are organized into a message or messages.

The "Host Get Data Info" process handles the messages in queue that have not yet been delivered to the host and the ones that have been sent from the host - it retrieves the number of pending messages.

This process can only be used if your application development leads to an asynchronous communication between device and host (a synchronous communication does NOT queue outgoing/incoming messages, so, this process cannot execute).

When you add a process, you are required to define its settings. This occurs in the process's properties window which is displayed automatically after having added the "Host Get Data Info" process.

If any subsequent edition is required, double-click the process to open its properties window and enter the necessary modifications.

Fill in the following:

Host
Host Name	Select the host profile that receives messages (data) from the application from the drop-down OR click to create a new host profile or edit an existing one. See To Create a Host Profile OR To Edit a Host Profile OR The <Default> Host Profile.
Store Number of Pending Messages
To Send	This field retrieves the number of messages in queue to be sent to the host. Click to create/select the variable that will store this value. See To Select/Create a Variable.
Received	Under Development. This field will retrieve the number of messages in queue that were sent by the host. Click to create/select the variable that will store this value.
If Communication Error
Go to	Select a target location from the drop-down or list, in case there is a communications error. See Detail of a window below. When defining a screen as a target destination (ex: via a “Go to” process), you CANNOT use variables to specify the name of that target screen. You must select the intended screen from the available drop-down/list.

Detail of a window:

"S:Menu" is a screen included in the same program as the process.

"R:Routine_1" is a routine included in the same program as the process.

Use to attach any relevant notes to this process. Click it and enter your notes in the resulting text box. These notes will be displayed in the corresponding "Actions" tab or "Process" window (in the "Notes" field) and in the "Developer Report".

After filling in the required options, click to conclude or click to abort the operation.

The added process is displayed in the corresponding "Actions" tab or "Process" window.

If you want to use a label as a target destination, you can use the "Auto-Label" mechanism. This alternative to the "Set Label" process allows you to create a label in the properties window of a process - specifically, in the fields used to define target destinations (ex: the "If Error..." type fields). See To Automatically Create a Label.

Use the right-click in MCL-Designer's input boxes to access some related options as well as the general "Cut", "Copy"; "Paste"; "Search" actions (active/inactive according to the current context).

Ex: If you right-click the "Variable" input box (included in a "Conversion's" properties window), you are provided with general editing/search actions and other more specific options such as "Variable Select" (see "Variable Select"); "Variable Insert" (see "Variable Insert"); "Insert Special Character" (see To Insert Special Characters into a Control's Text Input Field) and "Localization Select" (see Localization List).

If you right-click another input box, it may provide other possibilities.