Programming Guide : 3. Programming Frames : How You Can Run Non-interactive Applications
 
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How You Can Run Non-interactive Applications
Because ghost frames and 4GL procedures do not require the window manager to be running, you can write OpenROAD applications that run entirely without user interaction. To execute these applications without running the window manager, use the -nowindows flag when invoking the runimage or rundbapp commands.
When you run an OpenROAD application without the window manager, information that would display as a pop‑up frame to executing windows is redirected as follows:
Window System
Behavior
Microsoft Windows
Displayed in the trace window and written to the OpenROAD error log file
UNIX or Linux
Displayed in the trace window only
This redirection of information includes:
Informational pop‑up messages provided by OpenROAD (for example, those containing error messages)
4GL statements that do not require user response (for example, the message statement and the InfoPopup method)
4GL statements that require user response (for example, the prompt statement and the ReplyPopup method)
Note:  Because they block the application until answered, you should not include statements requiring user response in frames or procedures that are to be run non-interactively. Moreover, because users may not notice informational statements directed to the log file or trace window, you also may want to avoid informational statements that require user response.
Other restrictions to running applications without the window manager include the following:
Attempting to call, open, or go to frames that contain forms causes an error message.
Attempting to set those CurSession attributes that contain information about the display or the window manager (for example, WindowSystem or ScreenHeight) has no effect.
For more information about running OpenROAD applications, see the Workbench User Guide.