Re: DDS arrays -- RPG400-L

Actually, my first thought was in normalizing the data, but a few things
held me back.

1. This "array" is very short.
2. The only reason these are arrays is because that's how the programs
    use them.  I would be just as happy if the programs used them as
    individual values.
3. We are not going to be using this database file for very long.  It is soon
    to be obsolete.
4. I would have to do a lot of changes to the original programs in order to
    normalize this, and there are a lot of programs that use it.
5. I wanted to keep the record format the same as the original flat file, so
    that I didn't have to change any S36 programs that are going to go hasta
    la bye bye soon anyway.
6. I'm too lazy.

Regards,

Jim Langston

Alan Campin wrote:

> Normalize the record. Any time you have an array in a record, it clearly is
> an unnormalized record and needs to normalized.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Langston [mailto:jlangston@conexfreight.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 1999 5:41 PM
> To: RPG400-L@midrange.com
> Subject: DDS arrays
>
> I am converting a S/36 flat file to native.  Within this file are an
> "array" of numbers.
> This is how it is defined in the program.
>
> E                              D6                     6   9   0
>
> FCODEFL    NS    05    1 C5
> F                                           70     123   D6
>
> (All other non-pertinent items not shown).
> As you can see, they are redefining the D6 field to be an 6 element
> array of length 9
> numbers with 0 decimal places.
>
> I would like to be able to do something in RPGIV similar to this, but
> the only way I
> can think to do it would be to define D6 as a single filed, then create
> a DS with an
> array pretty much like it is done here, something I don't like to do.
> The field at this
> point would become non self documenting, and just looking at the field
> itself wouldn't
> give a clue as to how to use it.  I guess I could put some comment in
> the COLHDG
> describing it COLHDG('6 ele array of len 9 numbers') but I don't like
> that idea.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> What I am thinking about doing is creating D61, D62 D63 etc... and
> "break out" the
> numbers from their array, but then I am going to have to change the
> logic in the programs
> where it is dealing with them as arrays.  Although I might go ahead and
> make a DS and
> have it as an array of 6 then just move them in, although I don't like
> this idea either.  something
> like:
>
>    Codekey  CHAIN   CodeFL    99
>                    IF             NOT *IN99
>                    EVAL       D6(1) = D61
>                    EVAL       D6(2) = D62
>                    etc...
>
> but that is clunky too.
>
> Anyone have an elegant way of doing this?
>
> Regards,
>
> Jim Langston
>
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