Re: Are indicators evil creatures or victims of poor shop standards?

Our shop standard on indicators is quite simple.  Indicators 1 through 24 
are reserved, and all indicators in the 50s and the  90s are work 
indicators that may be used and then abandoned.  It is understood that one 
can not depend on a setting being retained past the immediate location. 
All other indicators, if used, are defined and documented.   As a result 
not many other indicators get used excepting for display screen needs. The 
rule is simple and effective.
_______________________
Booth Martin
boothm@earth.goddard.edu
http://www.spy.net/~booth
_______________________




"James W. Kilgore" <qappdsn@attglobal.net>
Sent by: owner-rpg400-l@midrange.com
03/07/2000 03:03 PM
Please respond to RPG400-L

 
        To:     RPG400-L@midrange.com
        cc: 
        Subject:        Re: Are indicators evil creatures or victims of poor 
shop standards?


Buck,

I agree that indicators are not -evil-, just a pain.

Since we must us indicators for such things as position cursor for a 
display
file, they live on.

We have strong shop standards and have not found indicators to be a 
particular
problem.  Our standard is that a given indicator has a particular meaning 
or a
set of rules.  The only reason it works is through enforced uniformity.

Here's a small example: Every file in the application has a 'get record' 
routine
that does a CHAIN.  Since we have to support V3R2 RPGIII, this routine is 
in a
/COPY member.  Every, and I mean every, incarnation of this routine uses 
*IN90 as
the resulting indicator.

These routines then uses *IN90 to set flags (variables) that are used 
within the
mainline code.  The rule for *IN90 is that it's use never goes beyond the
immediate purpose, flags are set instead.

You're right, without a plan, indicators are a mess.

Buck Calabro wrote:

>
>
> Global variables pretty much require strong shop standards; it is the 
lack
> of shop standards that has resulted in messy code, and it is messy code
> which has given indicators a bad name.  If you have strong shop 
standards,
> please PLEASE post them for the common good!
>
> Buck Calabro
> Aptis; Albany, NY
>

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