Re: rpg400-l-digest V1 #241

[Pete <prmoore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Joel

Just to be provocative (a sad hobby, I know)
> From: Joel Fritz <JFritz@sharperimage.com>
> Subject: RE: rpg400-l-digest V1 #239(except vs update and modular design)
> 1.  It's easy to write a simple report that produces a 150 page listing,
> especially if you count the cross reference.  It's also very easy to make
> that "monster" easy to read and maintain.  Modular design is based on the

It's certainly 'easy' to generate too much code, usually by repeating
large chunks, and too much code is part of my definition of illegible.
To be clearer I think 150 pages of -source- is far too much for a
member. Maybe not if you're writing a Java compiler in  RPG or
something. If code is getting too big, perhaps the RPG isn't the 'right'
tool for the job. We are talking database programs? One program per
screen context?

> 2.  Exception output has some legitimate uses.  If you're updating a few
> fields in a large record format in a batch process on a large file, you can
> get a performance boost by using exception output.  Obviously the best
> performance comes from using sequential input and output to a new file that
> replaces the original (using write), but you don't always have that luxury. 
I'm not persuaded by most machine-efficiency arguments.
Anyway are you saying that the compiler generates less code via O-specs
than field moves?

> 3.  I like O specs for printer output in a lot of situations.  For a simple
> report that has a heading and detail data in columns, O specs are just as
> easy to understand as print files and very simple to write and maintain. You
> can't do a lot of fancy formatting, but it's a question of using the right
> tool for the job.  
Ah those 'simple' reports, how often they get 'improved' over the space
of a decade. But that's the next guy's problem :)

Pete
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