Re: "extract" command enhancement(subfiles and BIFs)

Wow.

Okay, maybe I'm nuts (yes, I probably am nuts, and will probably get
a few replies telling me so) but I always thought display files were
a very easy and convienient way to do plain-text screens.

Have you ever tried to write programs with display-file-like
functionality on PCs?  or for UNIX machines?

You write a whole routine that handles the cursor movement... when
someone presses tab or leaves the field, you manually move the cursor
to the next field.  If you want to handle something like right-
adjusting, or whatever, you have to do that in your code.  etc, etc.
It can takes hours of debugging just to get cursor movement to do
what you wanted it to do :)

To do a simple screen like this in a display file?  10 minutes with
SDA, or maybe 30 mins without SDA.  It does all the work for you.

Subfiles?  Well, I guess you do these on PC/UNIX much the same way
you did it on the S/36.  With arrays.  Except, again, you have to
write routines to do EVERYTHING.

Maybe I'm weird (okay, we're back to that again) but subfiles don't
take me long to write.   Even the people that I train who have no
prior exposure to the AS/400 seem to be able to pick up subfiles and
write them in less than the 2 days that someone else mentioned on
the list.  And we don't use templates (tho programmers are welcome
to make their own templates, if they wish)

Granted, if the application is complex, it may take weeks to write
the program -- but this isn't because of the subfiles, its because of
the other things that need to be done!

Display files are a GREAT tool, and they are QUITE easy to use, they
save me a lot of time and make me far more productive.

I seriously wonder why you'd think that they're a "file sewer" thats
based on "memorizing arcane reserved words".   Really, you could
apply that sentence to ANY programming situation -- if you don't like
memorizing reserved words (i.e. a programming language) why are you
programming?



Joel Fritz <JFritz@sharperimage.com> wrote:
<SNIP>
> I definitely agree with you and Booth about subfiles.  The whole
>  display
> file sewer is based on memorizing arbitrary arcane reserved words.
>  Seems
> like a verb to do something like clear the subfile would make more
>  sense
> than setting on an indicator and writing to the control record,
>  though.
>
> How many people out there use more than ten or so display file
>  keywords?
> Of those, how many can use most of them without looking them up?
> How many can use them in SEU rather than SDA?
<SNIP>
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