VARLEN dds field in RPG-IV

[G Armour <garmour400r@xxxxxxxxx>]

Have a *PF with the following:
    A            SSKEYFLDS  16000A         VARLEN(200)

Using v5r1 RPG-IV, a somewhat novice programmer attempted to MOVEL data to this
field and write the record without explicitly manipulating, or making any 
reference
to, the 2-byte field-length prefix.  Well, she didn't know that it was VARLEN. 
Program compiles and program runs with no run-time errors reported.  However, 
DSPPFM
shows the field does not have the value MOVEL'd to it, and the field-length 
prefix
value is binary zero.  The RPG-IV reference does point out that the old-style 
MOVE,
MOVEL, etc. will not set this field-length prefix, but that EVAL does.

One of my colleagues was surprised that the compiler didn't flag this at least 
as a
warning.  I offered that I wasn't sure how the compiler would have a good way of
knowing; although it apparently knows enough to handle the field-length prefix 
value
when EVAL is used to update the field.  Or how about an error at run-time?  I
speculated that there might be a backward-compatibility issue with RPG-III's
handling of it (for better or worse), but couldn't say for sure.

Is there a way for the compiler to issue at least a warning whenever MOVEx is 
used
to set a VARLEN field?

TIA, GA

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