RE: Based variables

["M. Lazarus" <mlazarus@xxxxxxxx>]

Ken,

At 12/18/00 12:37 PM -0500, you wrote:
> >  How would I load / unload the data?  Here's a simplistic illustration of
> >what I'm doing:
> >
> >FInputFile   IP ...     DISK
> >
> >D OneRecord             E DS            BASED( OneRecord@ )
> >D                                       EXTNAME( InputFile )
> >
> >D EntireBatch             DS            BASED( EntireBatch@ )
> >D                                       LIKE( OneRecord )
> >
> >  I'm using OneRecord as my moveable view into the data.  As the file is
> >read I ALLOC/REALLOC EntireBatch and position OneRecord accordingly to
> >"automatically" populate EntireBatch.
> >
> >  Do you have a more efficient way of doing this?
>
>Not particularly more efficient, but in my opinion more clear.
>
>Replace:
>D EntireBatch             DS            BASED( EntireBatch@ )
>D                                       LIKE( OneRecord )
>with:
>D EntireBatch@    S               *
>
>All you really need is the pointer.  Having the data structure could be
>misleading to someone else looking at the program.

  But what would "field" the pointer point to?  Doesn't ALLOC need a field 
or DS (and a pointer)?

>Since I always define all basing pointers explicitly, in my own code it
>would be more obviously that the data structure is not needed.

  I also defined the pointer explicitly.  My method uses one DS to contain 
the entire data set. The 2nd DS is defined as an external DS to the input 
file.  This means that all I have to do is set the pointer, read the record 
and the DS contains the current record.

  -mark

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