Sys() Functions

What would a new version of VFP be without a half-dozen or more new SYS() functions? There are now 131 known SYS() functions in VFP 7. Yikes! That's as many relatively obscure numbers as some entire languages have functions!Fortunately, IntelliSense really helps out here: When you type "SYS(", VFP displays a list of all the functions (well, not all of them; in fact, only 86 of them appear in the list), showing not only the number but also a short description for each and a longer tool tip for the selected one.SYS() functions are an odd lot. They really have very little in common, other than they almost always return a character value (even when you'd expect a numeric one). We think they creep into the language when the VFP team can't think of a reasonable name to assign to a "real" function.Some of these functions really should be avoided because they've been superseded with "real" functions that do the same or almost the same thing but are much more readable. For example, which would you rather see in code: SYS(2003) or CURDIR()? SYS(2001) or SET()? SYS(22) or ORDER()? In addition, some of these are just plain obsolete: They do nothing at all in VFP. There's also a whole bunch of these that return a value (or at least don't cause an error) but are completely undocumented. We suspect these are used for internal purposes or VFP system testing and aren't really intended for us to use.The following table lists every SYS() function grouped by category.

Category	Function	Description
Get System or VFP Information	SYS(0)	Network machine information
	SYS(1)	Julian system date
	SYS(2)	Seconds since midnight
	SYS(5)	Default drive or volume
	SYS(9)	VFP serial number
	SYS(10)	String from Julian day number
	SYS(11)	Julian day number
	SYS(16)	Executing program filename
	SYS(17)	Processor in use
	SYS(18)	Current control
	SYS(602)	Bitmap configuration
	SYS(1001)	VFP memory
	SYS(1011)	Number of memory handles
	SYS(1016)	User object memory in use
	SYS(2011)	Current lock status
	SYS(2012)	Memo field block size
	SYS(2013)	System menu name string
	SYS(2018)	Error message parameter
	SYS(2019)	Configuration file name and location
	SYS(2020)	Default disk size
	SYS(2022)	Disk cluster size
	SYS(2023)	Temporary path
	SYS(2029)	Table type
	SYS(3053)	ODBC environment handle
OOP-Related	SYS(1270)	Object location
	SYS(1271)	Object's SCX file
	SYS(1272)	Object hierarchy
COM-Related	SYS(2333)	ActiveX dual interface support
	SYS(2334)	Automation server invocation mode
	SYS(2335)	Unattended server mode
	SYS(2336)	Critical section support
	SYS(2339)	Call CoFreeUnusedLibraries when COM object is released
	SYS(2340)	NT service support
	SYS(3095)	IDispatch pointer
	SYS(3096)	IDispatch object reference
	SYS(3097)	Add reference to object
	SYS(3098)	Release object reference
International Support	SYS(15)	Character translation
	SYS(20)	Transform German text
	SYS(2300)	Add or remove codepage
	SYS(3004)	Return locale ID
	SYS(3005)	Set locale ID
	SYS(3006)	Set language and locale IDs
Perform an Action or Update a Setting	SYS(1023)	Enable help diagnostic mode
	SYS(1024)	Disable help diagnostic mode
	SYS(1037)	Display Page Setup dialog
	SYS(1104)	Purge cached memory
	SYS(1500)	Activate a menu item
	SYS(2030)	Enable/disable system component debugging
	SYS(2600)	Memory "peek" or "poke"
	SYS(2800)	Enable/disable Accessibility support
	SYS(2801)	Extend event tracking support
	SYS(3050)	Set buffer memory size
	SYS(3051)	Set lock retry interval
	SYS(3052)	Override SET REPROCESS locking
	SYS(3054)	Rushmore optimization level
	SYS(3055)	Specify FOR and WHERE clause complexity
	SYS(3056)	Reread Registry settings
	SYS(4204)	Enable/disable Active Document debugging support
Miscellaneous	SYS(3)	"Unique" file name
	SYS(2007)	Checksum value
	SYS(2014)	Minimum path
	SYS(2015)	Unique procedure name
Obsolete	SYS(12)	Available memory
	SYS(13)	Printer status
	SYS(23)	FoxPro EMS memory usage
	SYS(24)	EMS memory limit
	SYS(2006)	Current graphics card
	SYS(2008)	Cursor shape
	SYS(2009)	Swap cursor shape
	SYS(2010)	CONFIG.SYS file settings
	SYS(2016)	SHOW GETS WINDOW name
	SYS(2017)	Display sign-on screen
	SYS(2027)	Convert DOS paths to Mac notation
Superseded With "Real" Function	SYS(6)	Current printer device; use SET('PRINTER', 1)
	SYS(14)	Index expression; use KEY()
	SYS(21)	Controlling index number; use TAGNO()
	SYS(22)	Controlling tag or index name; use ORDER()
	SYS(100)	Console setting; use SET('CONSOLE')
	SYS(101)	Device setting; use SET('DEVICE')
	SYS(102)	Printer setting; use SET('PRINTER')
	SYS(103)	Talk setting; use SET('TALK')
	SYS(1269)	Property information; use PEMSTATUS()
	SYS(2000)	Filename wildcard match; use ADIR()
	SYS(2001)	SET command status; use SET()
	SYS(2002)	Turn insertion point on or off; use SET CURSOR
	SYS(2003)	Current directory; use CURDIR()
	SYS(2004)	VFP start directory; use HOME()
	SYS(2005)	Current resource file; use SET('RESOURCE', 1)
	SYS(2021)	Filtered index expression; use FOR()
Unknown Purpose	SYS(1002)
	SYS(1003)
	SYS(1004)
	SYS(1005)
	SYS(1006)
	SYS(1007)
	SYS(1008)
	SYS(1009)
	SYS(1010)
	SYS(1012)
	SYS(1013)
	SYS(1014)
	SYS(1015)
	SYS(1017)
	SYS(1022)
	SYS(1039)
	SYS(1101)
	SYS(1102)
	SYS(1103)
	SYS(1105)
	SYS(2024)
	SYS(2025)
	SYS(2026)
	SYS(2050)
	SYS(2400)
	SYS(3090)
	SYS(4000)
	SYS(4001)
	SYS(4003)
	SYS(4004)
	SYS(4010)
	SYS(4015)
	SYS(4201)
Meant for Microsoft Fox Team Use	SYS(999)	Cycles through all the built-in dialogs so spelling or translation can be checked.
	SYS(1018)	Returns "Hold Index Lock during TableUpdate: " followed by "On" or "Off"; pass 0 to get "Off" or 1 for "On" (the default is "On").
	SYS(1020)	Turns off the diagnostic mode turned on by SYS(1021).
	SYS(1021)	Starts some kind of diagnostic mode, which is turned off by SYS(1020).
	SYS(1029)	Pass 0 to move the Format menu to the end, and add the Database and Record pads. Pass 1 to restore the menu. Doesn't work under all conditions.
	SYS(2901)	Causes exception code C0000005 (formerly known as a General Protection Fault or GPF) if you pass 3045. This is on purpose; it allows the Fox team to test exception code handling. You may want to consider avoiding this one in your finished applications!
	SYS(3070)	"Icecap profiling turned on" displays in the status bar. We're not sure what that means, but we don't want to mess with it. Doesn't work under all conditions.
	SYS(3071)	"Icecap profiling turned off" displays in the status bar. See SYS(3070), directly above. Doesn't work under all conditions.

We suspect that many of the undocumented SYS() functions are there to aid the Fox team in testing and debugging. A lot of them return intriguing values, but we haven't (yet) hacked out their meanings.