RE: Overloading in RPG.

I have been following this "overloading" thread and find that I am a bit
ambivalent about whether I think this is a good thing or not.

On the one hand, I have always disliked modules that performed different
logic based on input parameters.  To me this is a module in need of some
further splitting up into more modules.  A module that does two things can
easily be split into two modules, with a third module that executes one or
the other of them.  Using Brad's "GetCustAddress" example, we could instead
build:

     "GetCustAdrByCust#"
     "GetCustAdrByLName"

     and finally

     "GetCustAddress"      (executes one or the other of the other two
modules)

I have always argued that this level of decomposition gives the programmer
the same freedom to use "GetCustAddress" but also allows them to use the
sub-modules when requirements dictate.

On the other hand, if RPG had "overloading", then I would not have to build
the third module since the RPG compiler would handle the function of
determining which of the first two modules I wish to execute.

Bill


--

NOTICE:  The information contained in this electronic mail transmission is
intended by Convergys Corporation for the use of the named individual or
entity to which it is directed and may contain information that is
privileged or otherwise confidential.  If you have received this electronic
mail transmission in error, please delete it from your system without
copying or forwarding it, and notify the sender of the error by reply email
or by telephone (collect), so that the sender's address records can be
corrected.


+---
| 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
+---