RE: Adoption of new RPG techniques

[rob@xxxxxxxxx]

Ride on!  And I'll ride shotgun!

Everything you said sounds like good programming, yet those who have 
relegated themselves to playing checkers on the porch of the general store 
would say that you shouldn't use anything that wasn't in RPGII because 
someone may have to maintain it.  Or that was the last paper version of 
the RPG manual that they had.  And, jeepers, I can still remember showing 
someone with years of RPG SETLL/READ who was actually incrementing a 
number and doing a CHAIN.

Rob Berendt
-- 
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." 
Benjamin Franklin 





"Mike Haston ** Data" <MHaston@xxxxxxx>
Sent by: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
08/06/2003 09:07 AM
Please respond to RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries
 
        To:     "RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries" 
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        Subject:        RE: Adoption of new RPG techniques


Well then the phrase has been over used.  I've been called a 'code cowboy' 
at times for not continuing the mess of naming variables "@@@CN1" and 
making it something readable like "customerNbr".  Or not continuing the 
insanity of creating 105 data structures to work with strings and using 
that 'cutting edge' %SUBST built-in function.  I think I've probably 
worked with the extreme then because I'm such a rebel to take a subroutine 
that is in 85 programs and turn it into a service program.  How dare I 
because programmer J. Doe wrote that subroutine back in 1994 and it's 
working just fine ... in all 85 programs!

Mind you I'm not going to go into an existing program and throw /free all 
over the place.  I do maintain the general look and idea of existing 
programs, but in a new program ... let'er rip!  It can still be hard to 
write and easy to read, which you know because you write some complex 
stuff.  Some would say using data structures to move characters around is 
more readable then using $SUBST (especially if you do on the left side of 
the equal sign).  Nothing bothers me more than having go from the bottom 
of the program up to the top to see how a DS is defined.

Comments and thoughtful spacing can do wonders towards making the complex 
understandable.  And now with being able to indent the /free code. 
Maintenance is a breeze!  <vbg>