Re: MSGDTALEN - input, output or both?

Yeah, I did F1. It says this:

"Specifies the name of the control language (CL) decimal variable, if any, that contains the total length of the message data record available to be received. The variable must be a decimal variable having a length of 5 positions."

Which would make you think it's an input parameter only: it only specifies the length of the buffer.

But then I started thinking (dangerous, I know): if it's only an input parameter, then WHY SPECIFY A VARIABLE? Why not simply allow the length to be specified directly in the keyword rather than having to create a variable with a hardcoded value in it? And how about the phrasing, "if any"? Means it's optional. And the command doesn't force you to enter it.

I've actually asked the question many times over the years and never got a satisfactory answer. I've always hated this particular command for just that reason. So I get it to work, encapsulate it and forget about it. It's only on those occasions when I'm reimplementing something that I need to remember. Today is one of those days, and even though I have it working I'm not particularly sanguine that I understand those parameters any better than I used to.

On 9/1/2015 2:30 PM, Joe Pluta wrote:

I'm having a brain cramp and for some reason nothing I find online fixes
it.

Prompt RCVMSG, then press F1 with the cursor on that keyword.

When I'm doing a RCVMSG, is the variable I specify in MSGDTALEN an
input or an output?

It's input to RCVMSG.

If I specify MSGDTA but don't
specify MSGDTALEN can I overrun my buffer?

Don't know; never did that.