RE: Entry Parameters

The question really is "What is the user interface?" Unless it is a one time
thing, I am always going to put a screen to accept parameters and then call
or submit the program. 

The only other alternative I use is to write a command interface or even
then, I would wrap it in a CL and use conditional prompting to get the
input. Command language is so powerful that I can use a command for data
input!

I have standard parameter programs that we just clone and modify for
different parameters. Change 1% of the code and ready to go. ILE RPG with
multiple modules makes that process even easier. 

 
-----Original Message-----
From: bmorris@ca.ibm.com [mailto:bmorris@ca.ibm.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2000 2:17 PM
To: RPG400-L@midrange.com
Subject: Re: Entry Parameters





>Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 08:10:15 -0800
>From: Jim Langston <jlangston@conexfreight.com>
>
>Okay, this is doable, although I could not expect my users to
>know how to put in a negative number, in this case it doesn't
>matter since there will never be a negative number for the
>parameters.
>

Shriek!  Users calling a program with complex parameters like this?
If you really want your users to call this as a program, define
all the parameters as packed(15,5) and copy them to other variables
in the program.  But you'll find your users getting annoyed at having
to remember the order of the parameters - I would say that a program
can be called by "users" from the command line without a command
interface with a maximum of 1 parm.

>Hmm... this being the case, it seems that any number passed as
>a parameter to an RPG program will always have to be passed
>as a character?  I attempted to do a CMD for the program, but
>it failed with same error, but at that point it is possible that I had
>the variables defined differently that 15P 2.

Change the parameters in the program to be packed.  Then the command
should work.  With a command interface, you aren't restricted to
15P 5 - just define them as TYPE(*DEC) LEN(2 0) etc.

Barbara Morris


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