Re: Beginning modules, procedures, and service programs.

Just what have you read Booth?

There are a lot of beginner articles out there and none that I have seen that would lead you to the conclusions that you have reached as a starting point. Not that it is wrong per-se but given your example - what you are describing would basically be subprocedures. In other words building blocks just like you might build with subroutines.

If any of the subprocedures you develop have utility outside of the main program (for example if you wanted an address lookup by name function) then you could take that subprocedure, compile it separately and build it into a Service program.

Don't get so knotted up in the whole "module" thing. Every time you successfully run a compile you create a module. Period. That module can then be bound into a program (CRTPGM) or a Service program (CRTSRVPGM). Modules are simply an intermediate vehicle to hold compiled code until it finds its real "home". Each and every time you successfully run CRTBNDRPG you are running CRTRPGMOD followed by CRTPGM.

If you can tell me what you've already read I can build you a reading list that would perhaps hand together better.


Jon Paris

www.partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com

On Jan 20, 2019, at 4:14 PM, Booth Martin <booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I finally decided to move towards the 21st Century. The whole idea of prototypes, modules, service programs, and ILE concepts has been a curiosity to me and avoided by me. But no more. I have been reading articles, looking at examples, and working with service programs. It still bewilders me

May I say back what I think I have learned, with the idea that I probably got much of it wrong? I am barely past Hello World, and much of what I read is targeted to a level somewhere above that. I need to get my basics right. (I appreciate the patience and the talent here o Midrange.com)'

Typically I have made a series of small programs to do the various activities needed for an application. There would be a program to create the file(s) needed for the application, the program to edit those files, program(s) to communicate the data to & from users, ancillary programs for F1-Help, F4-Prompt, etc., and the display files to go with all of that.

If I understand correctly, the programs and their display files would now become modules? A service program would be written to combine those new modules? There would be another service program for the wider-scope activities, like default values, message files, and communications applications.

At that point every thing starts to fall apart in my head. So let me offer a simple situation and ask what pieces should I create for that situation:

NameFile, with name, street, city, state, zip, phone, and email. I need to create the file, edit the file (including a default for message file for language-to-use, dropdown (F4) on state, and an F1 key for system-wide Help defaulting to NameFile help). I also want to provide F4 screens for name, city, & state so other applications can plug in dropdowns for valid name, city, & Sates for their own applications needing name & address info.


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