RE: Prompt Override Program example using date & time?

> *TODAY.  The VCP is used to validate their entry since I prefer *CHAR
> to *DATE and thus don't have the automatic date validation of the
> prompter.

Oooh, in addition to all that, does using *CHAR vs. *DATE allow you to NOT
have to surround a date value with single quotes?

tia,
db

> -----Original Message-----
> From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx / Douglas Handy
> Sent: Monday, October 25, 2004 12:28 PM
>
> Dan,
>
> > Does one *have* to use a Choice Program as well?  Some of the
> archives on
> > the topic connect the two, although my mind is still in MMM
> (Monday Morning
> > Mode).
>
> Choice Programs and POPs are not directly related.  You use them for
> different purposes.  You may opt to use one or the other or both,
> depending on what you are trying to achieve.
>
> A choice program allows one to dynamically provide the text which
> appears on the right side for a keyword while multiple keywords are
> shown, and to dynamically control the choices displayed when F4 is
> pressed (or ? keyed) on a single keyword.  A choice program never
> alters the value of a keyword value itself -- it simply provides a
> dynamic means of controlling the choices the user sees.  Choice
> programs have been available since CPF days.
>
> OTOH, a POP can change the actual keyword values but generally will
> have one or more "key" parmameters (eg PARM ... KEYPARM(*YES) ... ).
> POPs got added back in V1R2 or so, because users complained they
> didn't like seeing *SAME on things like various CHGxxx commands.  They
> wanted to see the existing value instead.
>
> You place KEYPARM(*YES) on one or more "key" parameters used to help
> the POP decide what values to provide for additional keywords.  For
> example, with CHGJOBD, the keyword JOBD would be the key parm.  When
> one or more key parms exist, they get prompted (alone) first before
> the POP gets called.  Then the POP is supplied with the key value(s)
> and can override other parameters.  In the case of CHGJOBD, once the
> POP knows which JOBD you wish to alter, it can supply current values
> for many keywords instead of the *SAME which is the actual default
> value.
>
> If no command keywords are coded with KEYPARM(*YES), then it is
> possible to still use a POP.  However, the only thing the POP will
> know is the library and command name which is being prompted.  It
> doesn't have direct access to any other keyword values which may have
> been supplied on the command.  This can still be useful for stuff like
> dates though.
>
> >Would like to know how these elements need to be formatted.  I would
> >like them to be displayed as mm/dd/yyyy and hh:mm:ss.
>
> The POP returns the keyword(s) to be modified as if part of the
> command string.  If supplying more than one keyword, separate them by
> spaces just like on a command line.  Because / and : are special
> characters, keyword values containing them must be enclosed in
> parentheses.   So a POP might return something like this:
>
>   ??DATE('mm/dd/yy')  ??TIME('hh:mm:ss')
>
> as the contents of its second parameter.  To build that up in RPG you
> may use something like:
>
>   cmd = '??DATE(''' + %Date( value: *MDY) + ''')  ??TIME(''' + %Time(
> value: *USA) + ''')'
>
> Note the use of 3 consecutive single quotes in some places, two of
> which convert to a single quote within the field value contents
> itself.  I should note here that I prefer to use *CHAR fields for
> dates and times instead of a *DATE or *TIME type keyword.  This allows
> my VCP and CPP to examine the contents and provide my own parsing of
> the value.  This permits me to let the user key the value in a variety
> of formats or separators instead of conforming to the prompter's
> expectations for *DATE and *TIME keywords.
>
> What I do use both a POP and a choice program (well, and a VCP) for
> dates.  The POP is used as above to supply an actual value as a
> default in lieu of the keyword's default coded as something like
> *TODAY.  The VCP is used to validate their entry since I prefer *CHAR
> to *DATE and thus don't have the automatic date validation of the
> prompter.  The choice program is used to show a calendar when one of
> my date parms is prompted.
>
> Doug
>
> PS - A common misconception is that a POP will supply a default value
> for a command.  The truth is that a POP is only called when a command
> is prompted.  If you run a command without prompting, the POP is never
> called and thus cannot supply values for any keywords.  So don't make
> the command processing program reliant on always having an explicit
> value -- you still may want a default such as *SAME for CHGxxx type
> commands or something like *TODAY for a date keyword on other
> commands.