Using External Action Blocks › Action Block Components

Action Block Components

Conceptually, the external action block involves the following items listed in the following table:

• Procedure step or action block that uses the external action block

  Created in Action Diagramming Tool (Design)

• External action block
• Created in Action Diagramming Tool (Design)
• Interface routine

  Created in Action Diagramming Tool (Design)

  • The interface routine is generated from the external action block using the Generate option from the PAD.
  • The interface routine can also be generated using the Construction Toolset.
• Non-CA Gen subroutine logic

  Outside of CA Gen

CA Gen uses the views defined in the CA Gen external action block to generate the interface routine. The interface routine includes much of the view structures needed to transfer data to and from the externally generated code (the user-written code). Manually written code is then added to the interface routine either in the form of a call to an existing subroutine or in the form of handwritten, non-CA Gen subroutine logic.

The following diagram illustrates the elements and processes involved in external action block execution: