Re: re: finding the right place in a RRN file -- MIDRANGE-L

With all due respect to everyone;

My statement was an either/or.    If you want to position by a field name/column
then have a key by that field/column either permanent or  temporary ODP(OPNQRYF,
Dynamic SQL, etc.).   

If the original post was about a "real" permanent  physical file,    the
system(Users of Query, other programs doing sorts by NAME) would probably
benefit from a permanent index.      RRN processing should be relegated to
"Special Utilities" etc.  Not productional application system code(98% of the
time, and of course there are exceptions).  And these files are sooo friendly
with RGZPFM. 

The point I'm making is that  I am Very much against gymnastics in productional
application programs using obscure/obtuse algorithms that six months later even
the author has to say " Now what the #$%@ was this thing doing" let alone anyone
else.  

  I asked a question while I was on a panel  at COMMON a year or so ago(the
topic was application design)  which went something like  " How many of you
(250-300 people) have changed jobs in the last 3-4 years?".     60-70 % of the
audience raised their hands.   Then I said,  well think back about the people
you work with,  especially the ones who write the code you dread to look at
(much less maintain),    well guess what?   They may be leaving soon and your're
going to get stuck fixing/enhancing those same programs that today you hate even
looking at.    Why do we spend sooooo much time on existing systems,  instead of
new development?   I think there is a connection here.

Its been my experience that a large percentage of the "program gymnastics"  as I
call it,  is the result of Data Base design.  Why in Codd's name in this day of
age would we want RRN processing, or Seq. files?(other than Jeff Silverbergs
example a while back).   If you have to get to a particular Row in a table,
You should have a Unique Key,    period. 

I don't mean to get on my soap box(DB design,  Maintainable Code) but I wanted
to clarify my position since I have seemed to have been misconstrued by multiple
people.

Respectfully  to the group.

John P. Carr   CDP
EdgeTech  Inc.

74711.77@compuserve.com


>boothm@earth.goddard.edu     said;
>John, aren't these two statements mutually exclusive?
>Or are you saying to forget the idea of using RRN?

>>  I Said;
>>   at 09:25 PM, John Carr <74711.77@compuserve.com> said:
>>Ya it's called a Logical file or an OPNQRYF ODP.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
    Original Post  by Ray

>>I'm thinking there's gotta be an easy way to do this. 
>>I have a sequential file, sorted into alphabetical order on a field called 
>>"LastName".  I want to process it as a subfile by Relative Record Number.
>>But a user needs to be able  set the file at a particular "LastName", 
>>based on a keyed-in field called "GetName".  
>>Is there an easy way to do that?
>>Thanks.
     

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