Re: mi access to a dtaara

On Thu, 31 May 2001, "Steve Richter" wrote:

> 
> I am trying to understand ibm's position on the data area, why full
> functionality is not provided.
> 
> Rpg ile does not allow use of IN or OUT in a sub procedure.
> Ile C does not provide the ability to chg a numeric data area.
> no chgdtaara api ( provide this and language restrictions go away )
> no api to rtv the dtaara attributes?
> 

Steve:

Though this has almost been beaten to death, I'll make two comments. First, the 
Retrieve Data Area (QWCRDTAA) API effectively returns the attributes of a 
*dtaara, although length must be derived from other returned values. The only 
element missing is whether the *dtaara is local or remote (i.e., *DDM).

Second, I'd guess that IBM views *dtaaras as nearly obsolete. Perhaps because 
there's been no significant outcry for advanced support, perhaps only because 
there's no perceived ROI for future development. I don't think IBM's position 
goes much beyond that. And since most respondents to your original post have 
eventually asked "Why not use a *usrspc?", I suspect that most programmers feel 
they're nearing or past obsolesence too. I know I sure haven't put them to much 
use in recent years.

Now, had the SND/RCVDTAARA commands made it into OS/400 from the S/38, maybe 
I'd have used them. They provided a slick means of storing and retrieving 
externally described data structures rather than just single elements. But, 
nowadays I stick mostly with *usrspcs.

Tom Liotta

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