Re: read on a do loop

On Mon, 2005-08-22 at 16:21 -0400, Paul Morgan wrote:
> Rich,
> 
> I also prefer to code this way.  I'd rather code two read statements than
> code two end conditions.  Using DoW instead of DoU does cause one problem.
> You can't use Iter in the body of the loop.
> 
> ReadExample();
> DoW MoreRecords();
>    If Condition;
>       Iter; // Oooops! the loop will never end
>    EndIf;
>    ReadExample();
> EndDo;
> 

I agree, big problem to use iter there.  Another good reason to combine
the read with the success.

dow read_example();

    if condition();
        iter;    // shudder, I hate this thing, but it would work.
    endif;

    process_example();
enddo;

I would rather:

dow read_example();
    if select_example();
        process_example();
    endif;
enddo;


> The other functions you mention do return a value and not an error
> condition.  If the read_example() routine returned some number like the RRN
> or  key of the record read instead of an indicator then I'd agree with you.

I don't get the distinction.  For instance, the perl version returns a
reference to an anonymous hash or undef if it fails.  Great for perl,
but RPG treats all file fields as global. I suppose one could return a
reference to the record, but there's not much point in returning a
global.



Regards,
Rich