RE: Free-format RPG

["Mike Haston ** Data" <MHaston@xxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Pluta [mailto:joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2003 3:01 PM
To: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: RE: Free-format RPG

> From: Pete Clifford
>
> I wonder how much time I've spent over the last 20 years typing...
>
> C..lean on spacebar....code...<enter>
> C..lean on spacebar....code...<enter>
> C..lean on spacebar....code...<enter>   etc.?!!??

>>Yeah, but I'll counter with this...

>>I hate copying a block of code, and then having to use the delete key or
>>space bar to move it left or right 6 columns to line it up correctly.

I only use SEU and after you copy a block you can (which I'm sure you know):
RRn or RRTn to shift right
LLn or LLTn
or just cut and paste the section over top of itself where you want it.

>>I also hate going into somebody else's code who indents differently than I
>>do, because now my normal typing pattern is disrupted.

you have to deal with things like this in many aspects of going through other's 
code, not just indenting.  

>>I hate forgetting to indent after an if, or undent before an end-if.

hazards of the job ;)

>>But most of these are nits, and can be dealt with - that's what smart
>>editors are for.  Copy, paste, edit, reformat, save.


The thing I don't like about /free is lack of MOVE, but I work around it and it 
forces me to get a little creative with functions that I end up being able to 
re-use.  Also, why use up all that space to get to the eval?  Two or three 
lines of concatenating strings can be done on one line sometimes.  Talk about 
unreadable!