RE: merits of Code400 was RE: Coloring the RPG code

Buck,

see inline

>Regular Expressions allow you to search for things like "MASxxxKEY" where
>"xxx" can be anything or nothing.  When using SEU you could search for
>"MAS"....
<snip>
>Contrived?  Maybe, but it's a small example of what
>regular expressions can do for you.
>find - look for a string
>mark - block select the found string
>mod - the string must begin with these three letters in this order
>([a-z|A-Z|0-9]) - expression meaning any lower case letter OR any upper
>case letter OR any number
>* - match zero or more of the above expression
>Off - the string must end with these three letters in this order

I can think of a few reasons for doing this, but the lack of wild card and
other expressions doesn't make it unusable.

I find that the x line command is pretty reasonable and functional to weed
out the exceptions when searching - for instance...

 Columns . . . :    6 100                                      Edit
 SEU==> f api a
        *************** Beginning of data ********************************
X999900
0002.00  *  WWDSPSUM - Used to display summary/exception report to browser
0003.00  *  Richard Baird - esource consulting     11/2001
0004.00

(note x9999 on the line) this returns:

 Columns . . . :    6 100                                      Edit
 SEU==>
        *************** Beginning of data ****************************
- - - - ------------ 96 data records excluded ------------------------
0097.00  * Rename IBM-supplied api's
- - - - ------------- 1 data records excluded ------------------------
0099.00 DAPIStdOut        C                   'QtmhWrStout'
0100.00 DAPIStdIn         C                   'QtmhRdStin'
0101.00 DAPIGetEnv        C                   'QtmhGetEnv'
0102.00 DAPICvtDB         C                   'QtmhCvtDb'
- - - - ----------- 463 data records excluded ------------------------
0566.00 C                   callb     APIGetEnv
- - - - ------------ 18 data records excluded ------------------------
0585.00 C                   callb     APIGetEnv
- - - - ------------ 25 data records excluded ------------------------
0611.00 C                   callb     APIStdIn
- - - - ------------ 13 data records excluded ------------------------
0625.00 C                   callb     APIGetEnv

I can then x out any line that doesn't apply to what I want, leaving me
with just what I want.  it's a little slower, but not prohibitively.

>Macro Language.  You can write editor "scripts" that allow you to perform
>repetitive tasks like "create a procedure" or "insert subfile page load" -
>stuff that you do every day, time after time.  While I can certainly use
SEU
>to copy a template into my current code, I still need to change the file
and
<snip>

Very handy.  But my templates are written in such a way that enables me to
make them work for a new file fairly quickly.  field and file lines are
grouped, and I usually just cut and paste whole groups of fields (such as
from dds, or f4 in sda).  I scan for a file name and do a global
find/replace.  I scan for key lists and change them there.  with practice,
it all happens fairly quickly.  after creating the display file (via sda),
I can convert the basic program in around 10 or 15 minutes, (minus any
editing or business logic).  maybe not quite as fast as a pc editor, but
not bad by any means.

>I've used and liked Flex Edit as well as Code Edit.  My biggest hangup was
>that I do work for many customers, some over SNA lines.  I can't use Code
>directly in those environments, so I have to use SEU there.  And I still
use
>SEU for small stuff, but when I have a big set of changes, I SNADS the
>source to my home box and edit there.  If I had the skills/nerve/brains to
>be a contractor, I'd have Code on my laptop.  I agree that PDM rocks and
>that CPO isn't there yet,

I don't have the luxury of a "home" box.  I mostly work at the clients,
with the clients hardware and software.  I don't even have a laptop.

> although grep is pretty nice.

define grep.

I made a good living with LIBMAN and it's descendents, and having had to
keypunch code has made me very aware of the columns - oddly enough this has
proved a sore point with RPG IV.  In RPG III, I can go to the subroutine by
"f MYSUBR 18 f" (find MYSUBR in column 18, the first occurrence.  It could
be above the line I'm viewing...)  In RPG IV, the columns are re-arranged,
and I have a hard time remembering that factor 1 starts in column 12.  I
include this only to show that I am not a person who adopts new stuff "just
because."  If I can transition from SEU to Code, anybody can.

what's LIBMAN?

I used to use the positional parameters too and quit for the same reasons.
I loved the fact that you could scan for a field name in pos 43 (result
fld, i think) and find everyplace in the program that the field was changed
(except for a clear opcode).  eval expressions did away with that.  such is
the price of progress ;)

Years ago, I paid for flex/edit with my own money.  We didn't have pc's
where I worked at the time, and I was never able to get it configured
properly or stable-ly (I coined a new word!) from home on dial-up.  I tried
just using it for new code, and it was like pulling teeth to learn how to
use it.  It was very much like notepad or codewrite at that time - you
needed the whitespace at the end of a line to get to the end of a line -
type of thing, plus, I could never keep from screwing up my columns by
accidently hitting enter in the middle of a line.  It wasn't a happy
experience.

Maybe I'm afraid of learning the new way, thinking that I'll lose the old
way and never being completely happy with either way.  you know what I
mean?

>  --buck

ttfn,

rick