RE: Character to Numeric can it be cleaned up

You do NOT have to use MOVE to get a character value into a numeric field or
vis versa.
My RPG ToolKit (www.rpgiv.com/toolkit) uses an MI instruction to provide the
CharToNum() function that works at V4R4 and alter levels. There are also a
few other routines posted on the web to do the same thing (including one
that I wrote). IBM can't do everything at once (although I wish they would
<g>)) so you may either (A) have to create your own routines or (B) buy a
3rd party add-on library for RPG. So I don't see a problem here.


Bob Cozzi
Cozzi Consulting
www.rpgiv.com


-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Carel Teijgeler
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2003 10:54 AM
To: rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Character to Numeric can it be cleaned up

Hans, 

I know that.

But I think the work was half done, as those BIFs only worked with values
known at compile time (literals, constants) and not with values from fields
in database files.

So a statement like "Eval     MyNumber = %DEC(MyCharacterField)" will not
compile on V5R1 and older OS releases. This can be done at V5R2 (I hope). To
get a numeric value in a character field into a numeric field you have to
use MOVE. At V5R1 with /free at my disposal. (Joe Pluta's arguments are
still standing!)

So, I still consider those BIFs useless at those OS levels. I would have
been better, if IBM had not introduced them at that time.

Regards,
Carel Teijgeler

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 16-8-03 at 9:37 Hans Boldt wrote:

>> Unfortunately, %DEC is not fully matured on V5R1 and only accept values
>> known at compilte time (read: hard coded values). This BIF is therefore
rather useless at this OS level.
>> 
>> And to think of it: this BIF (and its cousins) were developed to dump
MOVE in /free. (sic!)
>
>Sorry for the nitpicking, but %DEC, %INT, %UNS, etc. were added to the
language several releases before /FREE.



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