Re: Additional RPGLE Enhancement Requests

["Kahn, David" <KAHN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John Carr (74711.77@CompuServe.COM) wrote:

>Hans
>Now if we could just get the definitions of those variables,
>(Maybe Invoice Number, Customer Number, Order Number, etc.)
>from our Field Reference file via the H-Spec  REF(FIELDREF)
>keyword......... Our app's would really reflect/change automatically
>with the changes to our data base.

I support this idea, I think it's an excellent one.

>P.S.  Hans as you know, if we have a externally defined D/S,
>We cannot use any of those fields in any other D/S right? (a real pain)
>Can you explain why you(plural, ie yous guys) can't allow us to
>have a variable in more than one D/S?
>
>I mean we can have the variable in multiple storage locations now
>in an RPG program right?  Like the same name from 2 data base files,
>a couple of more from different formats on a display file, and a
>couple of more in the printer file formats.

However, I think you're on the wrong track here. Although you can have a
variable defined in 2 input files it's still only in one physical
storage location. So if you read FILEA then FILEB, any fields defined in
both will contain the FILEB values. There is not a separate storage
location that still contains the FILEA value. By specifying the field in
a data structure you are simply controlling where that single storage
location is to be and what it's internal representation is. That's
incidentally why defining overlapping fields in an input record does not
implicitly create a data structure. For example, you could define
positions 1 to 6 of the input record as CUSTNO and position 1 to 1 as
CUST1. If CUSTNO is '123456' and you move 'X' to CUST1, CUSTNO will
still be '123456' not 'X23456'.

If we allow multiple storage locations for variables (another COBOL like
suggestion BTW) we will need to qualify them when we refer to them. Do
we mean CUSTNO of FILEA, FILEB, Structure 1, or Structure 2?

Dave Kahn - TCO, Tengiz, Kazakstan
=========

e-mail:  kahn@tengizchevroil.com    (until August 5th)
         dkahn@cix.compulink.co.uk  (from  August 6th)

Note new e-mail address in Kazakstan
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