Re: Use of Reference Files (Was Re: Reference files)

[Jim Langston <jlangston@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

When I started here some of the DDS was based on a reference
file, and some wasn't.  And it was confusing as heck to find out how
something was actually defined (this was before I discovered the
DSPFFD command).  Fields were referencing other fields which
were referencing other fields and so on, and sometimes with mistakes,
that made it into the files we were using!!!

Fixing the mistakes turned out to be a nightmare, since that was how
the programs were using them.  And even then, fields weren't
consistent across data base files (some had company number as a
2 character string, some as a 2 digit number.  So in some files it was
in as the characters "02" and in some as " 1" and in one case as "1 ",
talk about a nightmare).

Any fixed I did I did without using the reference file.  And any new files
I did I did sans the reference file also.  And things work much, much
better.

It is a good idea, but without the proper tools is too hard to implement
without a ton of support.

Regards,

Jim Langston

pcunnane@learningco.com wrote:

>
> "Actually, there is a place for REFFLD(*SRC). Think how easy something like 
>the
> 6 to 8 data change would have been if you had something like" [snip]
>
>      Agreed - but in the original example, the *SRC references were
>      iterative.  You want to talk about screaming...
>
>      :)
>

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