Re: Adding another subfield to an externally defined data structu re. -- RPG400-L

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Subject: Re: Adding another subfield to an externally defined data structu re.
From: Hans Boldt <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 13:08:37 -0400
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rob@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Overlaying an array.

     D FLWORKREC       DS                  likerec(flworkr)
     D pDuh            s               *   inz(%addr(flworkrec))
     D duh             ds                  based(pDuh)
     D  col                          15p 4 overlay(duh:39) dim(389)

Rob Berendt

Rob: Maybe I'm a little thick today, but doesn't that code fragment accomplish what you want?

I guess this all goes back to the decision in DDS not to support arrays in records. The argument goes that arrays should be implemented in tables, not within individual rows, in a relational database (ignoring the fact that some RDBMS's do allow arrays within rows).

So the question becomes, should a programming language make it easy to get around a design limitation in the database? One problem is that any workaround (easy or not) is fraught with certain dangers. For example, if the field layout happens to change, the overlay may become invalid.

The bottom line is that if EXTNAME suits your purposes better than LIKEREC, then continue to use it.

Cheers! Hans

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Follow-Ups:

RE: Adding another subfield to an externally defined data structu re. , Joe Giusto
Re: Adding another subfield to an externally defined data structu re. , rob

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