RE: Adding pointers to RPG language. Was more based() %addr array questions!!! found my problem:

[Jim Langston <jlangston@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here here!

I personally believe that RPG's usefullness has increased tremendously with
the advent of pointers.  There is just so much I can do now in RPG that was
just very burdenon before, if not downright impossible.

The one problem that comes from the advent of pointers in RPG, I think, is
the caveat that pointers themselves bring in any language.  You better know
what the heck you're doing when you use 'em, but most of the time the
compiler has no idea what you're trying to do.

Do pointers belong in RPG?  Yes.  Should we use pointers every chance we
get?  Definately no.  Should we double check our code that uses pointers
when we write them?  No, we need to quadruple check it!

Regards,

Jim Langston

-----Original Message-----
From: Mel Rothman [mailto:mel@rothmanweb.com]

Hans, I don't think "adding pointers to the language was a bad idea."

You should be taking credit, not blame, for adding them.

<SNIP>

boldt@ca.ibm.com wrote:

<SNIP>

>  The
> more I think about it, the more I think adding pointers to the
> language was a bad idea.  Pointers belong in systems programming
> languages, not languages intended for application programming.
> Pointers are basically the "goto" of data structures.