RE: Current date in Free-format

["Brian Parkins" <PARKIB@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>Now, after I'm done manipulating the date,
>I need to move it to a database field that
>is defined as packed 8,0.  I keep getting the
>compile error 'The types of the right and left
>hand side do not match in the EVAL operation'.
>What's the trick?

Unfortunately, RPG IV currently has no BIF to convert a Date variable back
to a Numeric variable.

Various techniques can be used:

- use %SUBDT repeatedly to unpick each element of the Date and use
arithmetic (addition and multiplication) to recombine the elements into a
Numeric variable - <yuk>

NumField  = (%Subdt(DateField:*Y) * 10000) +
    (%Subdt(DateField:*M) * 100) +
    (%Subdt(DateField:*D));

- use %CHAR to convert the Date to a Character variable and have this
Character string overlayed in a Data
Structure with a Zoned Decimal subfield, (this could in turn be assigned as
required to your Packed field)

- use the %CHAR BIF in combination with the atol C-language function, along
the lines of:

 // Access C runtme library through Binding Directory
H DftActGrp(*No)  ActGrp(*New)  BndDir('QC2LE')

 // Prototype for C atol function
D AtoL            PR            10I 0 ExtProc('atol')
D                               20A   Const Options(*Varsize)

D DateField       S               D   Inz(*Sys) DatFmt(*Iso)
D Packed          S             11P 0

 /Free

  Packed = AtoL(%Char(DateField:*Eur0));

I prefer the latter technique - but whatever you use encapsulate it in a
subprocedure of your own, as has been suggested.

Brian Parkins