RE: Constant definitions (was: Visual RPG vs. Other Visual .... -- RPG400-L

Richard,
Here's a ds in which all the allowable values for the field Col_Fld_Type are
listed right under it's definition, even though it is part of a larger data
structure. Doesn't change anything except the readability or
self-documentation of the ds.  With proper indenting (which doesn't come
across too well), it is very evident what the constants are used for:

D ds_Sfl_Layout   DS
D  Column_Array                       DIM(400)
D   Col_SQLDASeq                 5I 0 OVERLAY(Column_Array:1)
D   Col_Disp_Seq                 5I 0 OVERLAY(Column_Array:*NEXT)
D   Col_Incl_Flg                  N   OVERLAY(Column_Array:*NEXT)
D   Col_Null_Flg                  N   OVERLAY(Column_Array:*NEXT)
D   Col_Fld_Type                10A   OVERLAY(Column_Array:*NEXT)
D    cstBinary    C                   CONST('*BINARY')
D    cstChar      C                   CONST('*CHAR')
D    cstDate      C                   CONST('*DATE')
D    cstPacked    C                   CONST('*PACKED')
D    cstTime      C                   CONST('*TIME')
D   cstTimeStamp  C                   CONST('*TIMESTAMP')
D    cstUnknown   C                   CONST('*UNKNOWN')
D    cstVarChar   C                   CONST('*VARCHAR')
D    cstZoned     C                   CONST('*ZONED')
D   Col_EditCode                 1A   OVERLAY(Column_Array:*NEXT)
D   Col_Start_At                 5I 0 OVERLAY(Column_Array:*NEXT)
D   Col_Width                    5I 0 OVERLAY(Column_Array:*NEXT)
D   Col_Heading                 25A   OVERLAY(Column_Array:*NEXT)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Barbara Morris [SMTP:bmorris@ca.ibm.com]
> Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 3:57 PM
> To:   rpg400-l@midrange.com
> Subject:      Re: Constant definitions (was: Visual RPG vs. Other Visual
> ....
>
> Richard B Baird wrote:
> >
> > Barbara,
> >
> > is this an 'undocumented feature' or a bug?  intended, or screwup.
> >
>
> Dunno - maybe it's all of the above to some extent - I don't know the
> history of it first hand.  From the original compiler code, I can't tell
> if it's accidental or deliberate, since the bug (if it is a bug) is
> "missing code".  But if it's a bug, it's an unfixable one since it could
> be seen as a feature, and since fixing it would cause programs not to
> recompile.
>
> > i'd like an example of where this would be beneficial, not just
> confusing.
> >
>
> I'm of two minds about it, but see this earlier post from Nelson Smith:
> "From a documentation standpoint, I kinda like being able to define
> allowed
> constants immediately after (and indented under) a code field, for
> example,
> as long as it doesn't cause any other problems."
>
>
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