Re: Retrieving the contents of an IFS folder

[Scott Klement <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I need to dump some files into a folder on the IFS and then use a
> CPYFRMPCD to a file on the 400, first being a replace and subsequent being
> adds.

Yuck.  Dump CPYFRMPCD and use CPYFRMSTMF or CPYFRMIMPF.  Or better yet, 
just read the IFS files directly and skip copying it to a database 
altogether.

The problem with CPYFRMPCD is that it only works in the old-fashioned, 
MS-DOS circa 1989 compatible /QDLS filesystem. If you aren't going to join 
the 21st century, at least upgrade to 1990s technology! :)


> And of course I'd like to automate it.  =)  Is there any way I can
> use an RPG or CL to read the contents of the folder and then do the copy
> commands automatically?  Thanks in advance.

Sure.  In CL, you'd probably call a QShell command to dump the filenames 
in the directory to a physical file.  Then, you'd read the PF to get each 
filename and process it.

Here's an article that I wrote that demonstrates the QShell technique from 
a CL program:
http://www.iseriesnetwork.com/article.cfm?ID=18499

In RPG, you might also use the QShell method, either by using the QCMDEXC 
API to run the STRQSH command, or by directly accessing the QShell command 
using spawn() and pipe() or by piping the input to your RPG program. 
(Whew, that's a lot of options!) Info about pipes and spawn() can be found 
in the following article:
http://www.iseriesnetwork.com/article.cfm?ID=19095

Finally, the fastest way is to use the IFS APIs. I've got a tutorial on 
that subject on my web site, an an article in iSeries NEWS magazine that's 
slated for June.

The IFS info on my Web site can be found at the following link:
http://www.scottklement.com/rpg/ifs.html

In particular, you'll want to look at Chapter 7 for info on reading a 
directory.  The rest of the e-book will also be helpful if you want to 
read the files directly instead of resorting to CPYFRMxxx commands.

Good Luck