Re: when to use a function or file for information

Hi David

Surely if the value could be identified by referring to the CustomerType
then you wouldn't need the extra field anyway.

Really what it comes down to is basic change control for your system.
Anybody making a modification to a file should be running some kind of
impact analysis to identify which other objects (programs, queries, etc
) make use of the file so any changes or recompilations could be
actioned.

There are many change management tools out there and I'm sure if you
asked our host, Mr Gibbs, he could recommend a very good one that we
also use.

All the best

Jonathan


David FOXWELL <David.FOXWELL@xxxxxxxxx> wrote :

Hi all,

It seems that every day a file somewhere is being modified which
causes a lot of problems as we are many developpers on the same LPAR.
Unit tests are carried out in a test library. The program being tested
may use other programs already in production (ie outside the test
library ) and crash because another developper has changed a file used
by that program. I often wonder if the information being added to the

file is really necessary. For example : if I have myclientFile with
ClientNumber and ClientType. Then I modifiy the file and add a flag :
ClientLikesBiscuitsWithCoffee. So, I'll add a Y or a N to each client
record. That information may be required once a week, although the
file is being accessed all day 24/7 by multiple applications. If the
value of the new flag could be revealed by examining clientType, eg
clients must be red or purple, wouldn't this flag be better left out
of the file and a service program used instead to return the value of
--
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Jonathan Mason
iSeries Consultant
www.astradyne-uk.com


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