Re: Free-format RPG

[Hans Boldt <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

MWalter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> I like /free. BUT, there are a few things in /free that I've not been able
> to duplicate. One, for example, is like quite a few iSeries shops, we use
> numerics for dates and times. To get the current time into  a 6 byte
> numeric field I just used the time opcode to the numeric field. How is this
> accomplished in /free?
>
> If I use the %time BIF the compiler tells me that right and left hands
> aren't the same.
> I tried %DEC(%TIME()). That tells me that the value for the first parameter
> of %DEC is not valid.
> OK, I tried %DEC(%CHAR(%TIME()):6:0). This compiled but when I tried to run
> it, i got a RNQ0105 (a character representation of a numeric value is in
> error)
>
> What's the key here?

First, upgrade to V5R2 if you can, and then code like 
"%INT(%TIME())" works. If you're stuck on V5R1 for the foreseeable 
future, then just pick your otherwise favorite method to convert 
from character to numeric. There are lots of different ways, such as 
the C run-time library functions atoi(), atol(), and atoll(). Search 
the web and you'll find other publically available procedures that 
also do the job. It's a subject that's been discussed many times in 
many on-line fora.

Cheers! Hans