Re: *ENTRY PLIST (was: RE: Pointer not set for location .....)

Hello Rob,

You wrote:
>if %addr(parm1)=*null
>* then don't touch this variable!
>I used this on a RPGLE program I used as a Command Processing Program with
>many optional parameters interspersed.

This code works for *ENTRY parameters and non-CONST parameters but will fail if 
CONST is specified because the RPG compiler will not let you take the address 
of 
an input-only parameter (it's too stupid to realise the address is simply being 
TESTED rather than assigned to a variable -- another thing to add to the 
growing 
list of stupidities in the RPG IV compiler).

>As far as I am concerned the only good use for %parms is if it is equal to
>the total number of parms available then you don't have to check each one
>individually.  Or, does it assume that if you send the last parm then you
>sent all?

You cannot pass only the first and the fifth parameters.  If you wish to do 
that 
then you must code place-holders using *OMIT (or dummy variables) for 
parameters 
2, 3, and 4 -- which is effectively what the command analyzer is doing when you 
don't specify a return variable.

If you use CONST parameters then you must use both techniques.  Firstly you 
check whether something was passed using %PARMS and then you check whether what 
was passed is not null using the Test Argument API.  You cannot simply invoke 
the Test Argument API because it doesn't work reliably against *NOPASS 
parameters.

I use CONST on almost every parameter because it makes the interface much more 
flexible.

Regards,
Simon Coulter.

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