Cache All Attribute Writes

Creates a temporary storage area for data assigned to attributes. To globally configure all attribute data to be cached on new entities, select the Cache all attribute writes box on the Advanced Entity Properties dialog box. To cache attribute data on a selected entity, select the entity in the Entity window and select the Cache all field writes box on the General tab of Advanced Entity Properties dialog box.

When data is assigned to an attribute from within the Design Tool or from a Host Integrator connector, it will be stored in this area rather than the default behavior of being written directly to the terminal. In an operation, attribute data can be assigned using write commands like DefaultValue and TransmitToAttr. When using a Host Integrator connector, attribute data is assigned with methods like SetAttributes. When Cache all attribute writes is selected, the attribute data assigned by the Design Tool or the Host Integrator connector is temporarily stored until an operation issues an UpdateAttribute or UpdateAttributes command to write the stored data to the terminal screen. Alternatively, an operation can call UpdateAttribute for each attribute in the desired order, inserting other commands in between as needed to modify cursor positioning, synchronize with the host state, or meet any other requirements to be executed by the operation.

Notes:

By default, an UpdateAttribute command will be inserted in each generated operation when Cache all attribute writes is selected.
This feature is specifically designed for character mode applications as a solution for managing the order of screen updates. When attribute data assignments are arbitrarily mixed between an operation and a Host Integrator connector API, the order in which data is actually written to the terminal can be important to the host application.