RE: *DATE on DSPF program

OK - Here are two answers.  Pick one.


ANSWER #1  (this is the rant I usually go off on when they tell me 
something is "working as designed" ):

IMHO, IBM's answer is a smokescreen to cover for someone who didn't do 
the job correctly.
And I think the "working as designed" answer SUCKS !  (Your royalty 
check is in the mail Al !).

Just because something is "working as designed" doesn't mean the person 
who designed it wasn't:
a) An idiot.
b) Tired, overworked & underpaid and overlooked this situation.
c) Some new green employee who has no idea how things are supposed to 
work on the AS/400.
d) Told to do it that way by a manger with pointy hair.
e) All of the above.
Broken/poor design SHOULD be APAR'able.

If you have CA03 it should exit, PERIOD !   No error messages, no "Are 
you sure" prompts - QUIT !

Tell IBM you don't accept the answer, CA03 means return without 
accepting input - end of story, and you want it fixed.



ANSWER #2

You say:
4)  Enter an invalid date and press enter.  The internal error checker
will tell you it's an invalid date and require you to press the reset
key.
Now if you enter the invalid date and press F3 (CA03) instead of enter 
does the program exit without the error ?
If so then IBM is correct.



Vote for #1 or #2.  I'm not voting !   :-)



Neil Palmer         DPS Data Processing Services Canada Ltd.
                                             AS/400~~~~~
Thornhill, Ontario,  Canada    ___________          ___  ~
Phone: (905) 731-9000  x238   |OOOOOOOOOO| ________  o|__||=
Cell.: (416) 565-1682  x238   |__________|_|______|_|______)
Fax:   (905) 731-9202          oo      oo   oo  oo   OOOo=o\
mailto:NeilP@DPSlink.com    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.DPSlink.com        AS/400  The Ultimate Business Server 


-----Original Message-----
From:   Leland, David [SMTP:dleland@Harter.com]
Sent:   Wednesday, September 16, 1998 3:22 PM
To:     'MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com'
Subject:        *DATE on DSPF program

I've posted this problem one other time but I was hopeful at the time
that it would be resolved by IBM.  Well, I've officially received the
word that it "works as designed".  So, now I'd like to know what you
think.

Background:
1)  Date data types can be placed on Display Files as of V4R2M0
(finally!)
2)  Error checking of date data types on display files is handled by 
the
internal error checker (terrific!)

Test:
1)  Create a simple display file with 1 input/output date field on it.
Place command key CA03 on it as well.
2)  Create a simple RPG program which does the following:
        Declares the display file
        moves *DATE to the date data type on the display
        does an EXFMT to the record format on the display
        does a RETURN
3)  Run the program.  When the screen displays, today's date should be
in the date field.
4)  Enter an invalid date and press enter.  The internal error checker
will tell you it's an invalid date and require you to press the reset
key.
5)  Now, press the F3 key to exit the program.  You will receive 
RNX0112
(Date, Time or Timestamp value is not valid.).

What do you think, should the program receive this error?  When you
answer the error with a "D", the dump doesn't have the invalid date in
it, but the original.

IBM's answer is that the date is in the "buffer" (whatever that is) and
that the internal error checker checks twice - once when enter was
pressed with the invalid date and again when the F3 (CA03) is pressed.

All comments welcomed.

Dave


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