Re: Why define files internally (was: What bugs you about KLISTsin RPG IV?)

[Abraham Sanchez <abraham.sanchez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I can see Carol's point clearly, but also Joep's.  In one of my early jobs, we 
were programming
in RPG-II and using internally defined files, mainly because many of our 
clients still had S/36
machines (and refused to upgrade).  We had to keep our software packages 
available to both our
S/36 and AS/400 clients, so we had to go for the lowest common denominator.

I'd still use externally defined files every now and then (among other non-S/36 
goodies) but it
would only be on projects specifically requested by AS/400 clients.

Added to that, the time and cost of changing ALL of our software to native 400 
was something my
bosses were not ready to embrace, regardless of how much sense it made.

Fortunately, those days are over for me...  I hope.

By the way, is upgradation actually a word?  I've been wondering...


Abraham Sanchez
Programmer/Analyst, AS/400 Operations
Remy Amerique, Inc.
(212) 399-4200 x.274


> 
> Carol Bastien <cabastien@home.com> on 06/15/99 11:19:20 PM
> 
> Please respond to RPG400-L@midrange.com
> 
> To:   RPG400-L@midrange.com
> cc:    (bcc: Abraham SANCHEZ/AMERIQUE/REMY_PANAM)
> Subject:  Re: Why define files internally (was: What bugs you about KLISTs
>       in RPG IV?)
> 
> Joep - I shudder at the thought of internally defined fields.  I can't even
> begin to list all the functionality you lose by doing that.  Don't you use
> Query
> or SQL?  It must be just awful for you to look at the data when you are
> trying
> to test your programs. Are you aware that a prefix can be added to all the
> fields in a file with just one file specification keyword?   If you used a
> file
> ID standard then you wouldn't need to rename the fields anyway . . . and
> source
> listings with a X-Ref do show all fields used in a program and how they are
> used.
> 
> Joep Beckeringh wrote:
> 
> > >Why do define all your files internally?
> >
> > Because:
> >
> > a) We like to see in our sources what fields are used in the program;
> >
> > b) We don't like to get all the fields when often we only need a few;
> >
> > c) We hate to have level checks when fields are added to a file.
> >
> > Ad a) and b):  We would be much happier if we could specify the fields we
> DO
> > want (as is possible in the output specifications), instead of kludgily
> > renaming the fields we DON'T want.
> >
> > Ad c):  We build and maintain a number of software packages and most of
> our
> > customers have some custom built modifications and extensions.  Often
> these
> > extensions need added data base fields.  When using externally defined
> > fields, this would lead to extra logicals, excluding the additions, to
> > satisfy the standard programs.  (The first new package we built after
> > migrating from the S/36 to the AS/400 was externally defined first, but
> > after a few years we decided to revert to internal definitions).
> >
> > Joep Beckeringh
> > Pantheon Automatisering B.V.
> >
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