RE: Date compare Best Practices -- RPG400-L

It's going to take a few more jobs moving west past Hawaii, I'm afraid.

Some managers believe what they don't know, nobody else should know. And there are plenty of departments out there with limited knowledge, and even less understanding, of the forces driving their business. Without a business perspective, their voices are ignored, and too many programmings think /and act/ like the business exists to keep the IT department busy. Without a business perspective, there are few opportunities for the IT department to propose new projects requiring new thinking and new technology.

I wonder how many IT departments have given their executives a 20-minute presentation on how the advances in RPG benefit the company, even if the benefit isn't immediately obvious?

This is a knowledge business, and you can't stop your learning just because the little hand points to the "5". If you're not advancing, you're falling behind. It's a mindset...people say, gee, I don't like triggers when they should be peppering their peers with intelligent questions to learn "why".

It's not about technical skills any more...it's about attitude.

From: "Bob Cozzi" <cozzi@xxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "'RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries'" <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Date compare Best Practices
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 16:59:14 -0600

The bigger question is why the hell are people not MOVING to RPG IV?
I just don't get it, I know about legacy code and not wanting to break it,
but if we're doing maintenance... why not convert it?
The only reasoning I can think of is that there is an issue with skills.
-Bob


-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of DeLong, Eric
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2004 4:50 PM
To: 'RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries'
Subject: RE: Date compare Best Practices

Hmm?  The 10000.01 trick only works because RPG compilers before ILE don't
care if you truncate numeric digits.  I'd also question whether the RPGIII
community REALLY understands why this works.

Eric DeLong
Sally Beauty Company
MIS-Project Manager (BSG)
940-898-7863 or ext. 1863

-----Original Message-----
From: Booth Martin [mailto:Booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2004 4:33 PM
To: rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Date compare Best Practices

I am beginning to get a tad paranoid here.

What is wrong with the mult 10000.01 trick?  Obviously the entire RPG III
community already understands it.  Also, it works.  Documentation is is no
big deal because it is pretty much self-documenting.

Just because the other lesser languages cannot rely on the values of their
numeric fields is no reason for us to back down and use inferior methods
like the hard-to-understand data structure tricks.  ;p

---------------------------------------------------------

Booth Martin http://www.MartinVT.com

Booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx

---------------------------------------------------------

-------Original Message-------

From: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries

Date: 02/26/04 14:53:12

To: rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: Date compare Best Practices

Bob Cozzi wrote:

> There is nothing wrong with using the "MULT 10000.01" technique in RPGIII. I

> do it every time I need to convert a date in that old language.

> If you use it in RPG IV, then you are right it is a questionable choice.

> The only other technique in RPG III is to use a data structure, but that
can

> be a bit more complex that the MULT. If you haven't seen it before then it

> doesn't matter which one you use because the person maintaining the code

> after you will have to deal with it, so just be sure to document it

> properly.

> -Bob

Well, once you factor in the necessary comments, moving DS subfields

still ends up as fewer source records. Not to mention 100-150 times

faster. But why use a clear and efficient programming technique when

there are some really cool ways (like that MULT trick) to show off your

programming prowess? ;-)

Cheers! Hans
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