RE: Service Programs

Using a Service Program in a Binding Directory offers a significant
maintenance benefit.

If you recompile a module that is not in a Service Program, you must re-bind
the new module to all the programs that requires it, either with UPDPGM or
by recreating the programs.  So if you have 100 programs that use your
module you must run 100 commands.

By placing the module in a Service Program instead, if you recompile a
module you need only run the UPDSRVPGM command indiciating the new module.
This command will automatically find and re-bind all the other programs that
use it.  Now your 100 programs are updated in 1 command.

Two things to keep in mind: if you are running Named Activation Groups the
UPDSRVPGM command will not rebind the copies of programs open in an active
Named Activation Group, so you must stop and restart the ACTGRP to affect
the change.

None of this has anything to do with Binding Directories.  The same would
hold true if you bound the modules or Service Programs directly to your
program.  The benefit of the binding directory is that by placing your
modules/service programs in a binding directory you no longer need to bind
them individually to each program that requires them, another great
maintenance tool.  I'm not sure if ILE would be worth the effort if I didn't
have Binding Directories.

As always the standard "I may not know what I'm talking about" disclaimer
applies.
:-)


Joel R. Cochran
Director of Internet Services
VamaNet.com
(800)480-8810
mailto:webmaster@vamanet.com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Justin Houchin [mailto:jhouchin9@charter.net]
> Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 10:51 AM
> To: RPG Midrange
> Subject: Service Programs
>
>
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> Hi Everyone,
>     What is the advantage of creating a service program out
> of a module than just binding that module to create the program?
>
>
> Justin Houchin
> Programmer
> Reliatek, Inc
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