Re: Because it's there... (Was: Printer Overflow and BIF's)

It wouldn't bug me that someone added new code, or even that they didn't
use the same coding style that I did.

However, when adding or removing parameters to a live program, I expect
them to make the parameters OPTIONAL, so that existing calls aren't
broken.  

If they can't do that, I expect them to carefully and methodically find
every place the program is called from, and make sure that it's updated
to match.




On Wed, 2 May 2001, Jim Langston wrote:

> I know what you mean, Jim.
> 
> I use new techniques in all my programs because I can, then I have to
> decide if they make for better programming or not.  I guess, to paraphrase
> an explorer who climbed Everest and I forget his name, because they're there.
> 
> I wrote a program lately that this list helped me on, dealing with subfiles,
> all in RPG IV (was no need to do any linking in this one) with subprocedures
> instead of subroutines, all variables declared in the D specs, the only MOVE
> statements having to do with validating dates, etc...
> 
> Then I got a call that my program was "broken".  Giving a pointer error when
> it started.  No way.  I run the program, pointer error.  Run it in debug, it's
> now expecting entry parms which I didn't code.  I find out that some other
> program in another site wanted to call this program with the invoice number to
> display.  So I looked at the changes she had made.
> 
> D              DS
> D inv#                1     8
> D inv2                2     8
> 
> C     *entry   plist
> C              parm          #inv#      8
> 
> C              move  #inv#   inv#
> C              movel inv2#   DFInv 
> 
> Blech!  You take my nice RPG IV program and stick this RPG II/PRG III junk 
>into
> it?  So I changed it.
> 
> D ParmInv#                 8A
> 
> C     *Entry  PList
> C             Parm        ParmInv#
> 
> C             Eval        DFInv# = %SubSt(ParmInv#: 2: 7)
> 
> then I fix it and the calling CL and, surprise surprise, I test it!
> 
> Everything worked and everyone was happy, especially me knowing my code was
> "clean" again.
> 
> Would this bug anyone else, or was this just a bee in my bonnet?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Jim Langston

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