Re: Chalk one up for "The Cycle"

sigh... another cycle jihad? :-)

I think the 2 line program being a vote for the cycle is missing the
point. It's not the easy programs the cycle helps, it's the
complicated ones. I still use the cycle, but almost exclusively when
I need multiple control level breaks. it's handy.

I hate setting up hold fields for comparison, but that's just me.
Total time calcs rock too, because you know a control break is about
to happen, but you still have all the old field values.

yes, there are easy ways to do this without the cycle, and most people
have skeletons to help them with the setup, but everyone has their own
brand. there's only one right way to do control breaks using the
cycle.

I won't demand you use the cycle, don't demand that I can't.

my 2 cents.

On 4/26/07, Tony Carolla <carolla@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

When I was taught RPG, this was the method used. I learned the cycle, and
then was shown how to do things beyond the cycle capabilities. But today,
RPG has advanced so far, it really makes you wonder if teaching the cycle is
a necessity. Yes, you can accomplish things with a bit less code, but
nowadays, what are we really eliminating?

If it is:

fFilea ip e disk
c* do stuff

versus:

fFilea if e disk
c Read fmta
c Dow not(%EOF)
c* do stuff
c Read fmta
c Enddo
c Eval *inLR = *on

Is it worth teaching a person about the cycle, and all it's capabilities,
and then teaching them about all of the situations when it is better to
avoid the cycle? One thing that I have learned is that it is usually
better to avoid hiding details about design, unless it provides some
additional functionality or needed capability.

Just my $0.02

On 4/26/07, Jerry Adams <jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> No, because it is sometimes easier to do something with the cycle than
> against it. Try doing matching records in a non-cycle program. 99% of
> my programs are non-cycle, but knowing the cycle can be a time saver.
> When I was teaching RPG (eons ago it seems), teaching to the cycle was
> the first step. Today I doubt that it is even mentioned in RPG classes,
> like it's a bad thing to be avoided. Pshaw!
>
>
> * Jerry C. Adams
> *IBM System i5/iSeries Programmer/Analyst
> B&W Wholesale Distributors, Inc.* *
> voice
> 615.995.7024
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> email
> jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>
>
> Michael Ryan wrote:
> > Why is the cycle important? Because you can code something in two
> > lines rather than six lines? What is that important?
> >
> > On 4/25/07, James H. H. Lampert <jamesl@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >> Yes, the same thing could be accomplished with Interactive
> >> SQL. If I were as skilled in SQL as I am in RPG, C,
> >> OPNQRYF, CL, MI, PL/I, BASIC, FORTRAN, HTML, &c. (which
> >> I'm not). And if the box in question had Interactive SQL
> >> (which it apparently doesn't). As such, even if that
> >> option had been open to me, it obviously never occurred to
> >> me, and even if it had occurred to me, it would have had
> >> me poring over "SQL for Dummies" for about as long as it
> >> took me to just do the damn thing and get it over with.
> >>
> >> My point is that forcing a (repaired) update trigger to
> >> trip on every record of a file, without actually changing
> >> the file, would take a lot more lines of code to
> >> accomplish in C, PL/I, or even a non-Cycle RPG program
> >> (where it would take at least 6 lines, including either a
> >> RETURN or a SETON LR, to suppress The Cycle).
> >>
> >> And my point was aimed at those who insist that The Cycle
> >> (which I see as one of the very few good reasons to use
> >> RPG instead of some other language) is obsolete and
> >> useless.
> >>
> >> --
> >> JHHL
> >> --
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> list
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> >>
> >>
>
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