Re: Contiguous file fields not so in program storage (was: Pointer based arrays)

[Barbara Morris <bmorris@xxxxxxxxxx>]

"Fisher, Don" wrote:
>
> That worked, Barbara.  Thank you.
>
> Now why are the file fields not contiguous in program storage ...

The system (some component much lower-level than the RPG compiler)
organizes your fields in storage in the most efficient way.  Some fields
have to be aligned on say a 16-byte boundary (exact multiple of 16 bytes
from the beginning of the storage).  If the fields were laid out in the
order they were encountered, there would be a lot of waste space.

If you haven't specifically coded your fields to be contiguous (data
structure), then even if your fields happened to be contiguous after one
compile, they might not be if you add another field or change a field.
Even if you don't change your program, a new release or a PTF for the
compiler or the system could cause storage to be laid out differently.

Consider yourself lucky that the fields weren't accidentally contiguous
while you were first testing your code.