Re: API documentation

I've opened up pmr 66243,500 with IBM.  We'll see where that goes.  And
you're right, I should have complained, (scratch that), brought this to
IBM's attention first and allowed them the opportunity to correct the flaw.
I just hope I don't hire someone in the future who won't use API's because
he heard somewhere that some of them are buggy.  It's amazing the number of
people here who will use DSPFFD to an outfile versus just reading the file
QADBIFLD because I let it slip that I had to run RCLSTG *DBXREF once.

Rob Berendt

==================
Remember the Cole!


                                                                                
                                       
                    "Simon Coulter"                                             
                                       
                    <shc@flybynight.c        To:     RPG400-L@midrange.com      
                                       
                    om.au>                   cc:                                
                                       
                    Sent by:                 Subject:     Re: API documentation 
                                       
                    owner-rpg400-l@mi                                           
                                       
                    drange.com                                                  
                                       
                                                                                
                                       
                                                                                
                                       
                    02/02/01 06:43 PM                                           
                                       
                    Please respond to                                           
                                       
                    RPG400-L                                                    
                                       
                                                                                
                                       
                                                                                
                                       




M
Hello Rob,

You wrote:
>Let me say this.  I eat up API's all the time.  Use them alot.  I feel
that
>some of them are buggy.  For example the QWDRSBSD api.  I use that to
check
>if a subsystem has any jobs running under it, (is my domino server down
>yet?).  If you call it on a nonexistent subsystem you would think that it
>should update the error code data structure.  After all, what is the error
>code data structure for?  However it will abort with an error message.  I
>chose to set up my program to monmsg for this stupid error message and
then
>move that to the error code message parameter.

I agree that sounds like a bug.  If an error code structure is specified
that is where any error should be returned -- although there is an arguable
case that only those messages listed in the Error Message section of the
API
should be returned in the error structure.

If you think an API is broken then you should open a PMR with IBM support
and complain until it is fixed.  If you simply don't like the way it works
then you should open a Design Change Request (DCR).

I know it is a painful process but if everybody simply works around the API
flaws then we end up with APIs that are broken and can't be changed for
fear
of breaking backwards-compatibility.

Regards,
Simon Coulter.

«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»
«» FlyByNight Software         AS/400 Technical Specialists       «»
«» Eclipse the competition - run your business on an IBM AS/400.  «»
«»                                                                «»
«» Phone: +61 3 9419 0175      Mobile: +61 0411 091 400           «»
«» Fax:   +61 3 9419 0175      mailto: shc@flybynight.com.au      «»
«»                                                                «»
«» Windoze should not be open at Warp speed.                      «»
«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»
+---
| This is the RPG/400 Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to RPG400-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to RPG400-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to RPG400-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator:
david@midrange.com
+---



+---
| This is the RPG/400 Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to RPG400-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to RPG400-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to RPG400-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---