RE: EXTFLD Question

Hi Guy,

I'm trying my best to keep a straight face with this thread, but I think
it's just a hoot how passionate people are about this for such pitiful
reasons.....  Sorry, nothing personal, it's just that there ARE valid
reasons to avoid these special characters.  I deal with a similar set of
standards here, and even though everyone agrees that the standards are out
of date, nobody can seem to get traction on changing them.....

Regardless, none of the items you listed require the use of the special
characters that we're discussing.  Here's a set of standards that I commonly
see in use:

First character (lower case) denotes the scope of the variable (p=parm,
v=screen, l=local, g=global....)
Next, capitalize the first letter of the variable name, lower case the
rest....

vCustNo, pDivision, lCounter, gUserID

Not a single "special" character to be found.  In fact, p is much more
descriptive than @, so why use the special character?  

My flame retardant boxers are ready.... <g>

Eric DeLong
Sally Beauty Company
MIS-Project Manager (BSG)
940-297-2863 or ext. 1863



-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Henza, Guy
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 12:37 PM
To: rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: EXTFLD Question


>> As far as I can tell, there's no actual ADVANTAGE to using special
>> characters like @ and $ in your variable names.  But there are
>> disadvantages, so why do it?

> The (former) "advantage" was attempting to convey as much meaning as
> possible in short field names...
> That said, I fully agree that even for those who think the code will
only
> ever be used in their own locale, it is a good idea to avoid the use
of
> those characters in new work.


What about following the programming standards of the shop you're in?  
3.  Parameter field names should always begin with the character '@'.
4.  Display field names should always begin with the character '$'.
Or on your first day do you declare that the standards are archaic and
will have to be changed?  

IMHO There should be a rea$on for change and not change for change sake.

Guy