Re: Static procedure variables - how to re-initialise?

[Scott Klement <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Apart from having to reclaim an activation group or defining a "mode" 
> procedure parameter, does anybody know a good way to re-initialise a 
> static procedure variable?

No.  Variables that are local to a subprocedure can only be accessed 
from that subprocedure (unless passed as a parm to something else, 
referenced by a global pointer, etc)

So you need to add a "mode" parm to SimpleProc() or use a global 
variable.

> If I have to make the variable global - what benefit is there of using 
> static procedure variables? I'm not trying to be churlish - I just can't 
> seem to make sense of it. :-)

Sometimes you want to retain the value of something, but then have it get 
reset each time you call the subprocedure.  For example, if you created a 
data structure in a subprocedure and returned a pointer to it.  You might 
reset the contents of that data structure at the start of the subproc 
every time it's called -- and therefore don't need to be able to 
initialize it somewhere else.  A static variable would work for that (It's 
not the way I'd do it, but it would work.)

One solution, of course, is to put SimpleProc() in it's own service 
prgoram by itself.  Give it it's own unique activation group, and use the 
RCLACTGRP command to reset the counter.  I guess that's better than 
resetting the entire program each time.

The other way -- the way I usually go about it -- is to have two 
subprocdures... maybe call them ResetSimpleProc() and SimpleProc() and put 
them in their own module. That way, you can declare a global variable that 
only those two subprocedures can access, and you can clear the variables 
by calling ResetSimpleProc() without needing to reclaim the activation 
group.  You could even use bind-by-copy if you wanted the routines to be 
part of a particular program and only that program.

HTH