Re: OS/400 Service Programs/APIs

Rick

Welcome to a brave new world.

1. Get comfortable with QSYSINC/QRPGLESRC - this has /COPY members for a
number of APIs, although there are issues with variable length portions,
where you need to make you own version, or use interesting memory
allocation routines to dynamically handle the varying size of returned data.

2. There's a Redbook, "Who Knew You Could Do That with RPG IV? A Sorcerer's
Guide to System Access and More", by Jon Paris, et al. Here's a link to it,
with additional materials

<http://publib-b.boulder.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/RedbookAbstracts/sg245402.html?Open>

3. Here's the "ILE Concepts" book - accessible from InfoCenter, or here

<http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/books/c4156066.pdf>

4. There used to be an "ILE Example" book. Here's a link from V4R5 -
haven't seen it in V5

<http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/pubs/pdfs/as400/V4R1PDF/QB3AQ400.pdf>

As far as what service programs there are, it isn't usually necessary
to  for the standard APIs. Their service programs are listed in a binding
directory that is included with every compile of an ILE RPG object, IIRC.

It gets more interesting when you want to use the various C and MI
functions that are exposed to public scrutiny. Jon's book has some
guidelines, I believe.

HTH

Vern

At 12:09 PM 11/4/02 -0500, you wrote:

We are beginning to aggressively convert RPG II, III, and IV programs into
ILE.  To date, we have taken advantage of a few  "standard" service programs
that are bound using the QC2LE directive.

- Do you find the performance of these service programs/APIs acceptable to
warrant their inclusion in our coding plans?  We would hate to code
something "dogged" or unreliable.  So far, we have been impressed.

- Is there a comprehensive listing/reference of Service Program/APIs that
are "standard" in OS/400?  The ones we have used thus far have been either
stumbled on or searched specifically for.  A comprehensive reference would
be great.

- Is there the possibility of taking "any" commonly used C API the Open
Source people tout, and getting it to run in OS/400?  Have any of you?

- We are trying to get to standard RPG ILE as a stepping stone to more
effectively allow us to port to another platform in the future, if
necessary, without having to wholesale go with JAVA, C, etc at this time.
Anyone have an opinion that using these Service Programs/APIs today will
make us regret so in the future?

Obviously, we are newbees to this, and we do not want to code ourselves into
a corner.  If anyone can convey literature, Redbooks, etc. to assist us, it
would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.