RE: Programming with API's

["ron hawkins" <hwarangron@xxxxxxxx>]

I have been looking lately play around with API's and try to get a general
feel for using them. I have a couple of questions:

<<1.  Are the system supplied api's useful?  Is there any real business need
<<to use these?

Yes and Yes! There are many business uses for API's. Just look at the thread
"counting users" to see a couple. That requirement used QUSLJOBS, QDCRDEVD,
QUSCRTUI, QUSRTVUI, and QUSADDUI. User spaces and user indexes are great
places to store information that can't be gotten at without programming
through API's. I could go on, but the bottom line is the more you use them,
the more uses you will find for them.

<<2.  Where can I get a better description of what an API does than just
<<looking at QSYSINC and QUSRTOOL?
Go to the IBM info center web site. Select programming, API's, and have at
it. There's a wealth of information there.

<<3.  Where can I get API's other than IBM? Or are API's only supplied by
<<IBM?

API's are your window to other applications. Through the socket api's you
can talk to anything. Usually, vendors supply their own API's to interface
with various sections of their applications.

<<4.  None of the examples in QUSRTOOL are in RPG IV, should they be in RPG
<<IV format and what do I have to do to get them in RPGIV format?

I don't use QUSRTOOL so I can't answer this.

<<5.  And I am sure this has already been asked but.... Where can I get
<<information, examples, books, etc.... about how to use API's with RPG
<<IV.?(Not C )

Get the redbook, "Who Knew You Could Do that In RPG".
Before Midrange closed, we had a book called "API's at Work" that had tons
of examples. Took you from the basics to the advanced. Unfortunately, that's
not available at the moment.


Ron Hawkins

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