Re: Data dictionnary -- RPG400-L

On 28/02/2008, at 10:47 PM, David Foxwell wrote:

The problem now is, the dictionary is full ! We can no longer add any zones
!

I presume by "full" you mean the maximum number of fields in a file has been reached?

The solution proposed is to create a second PF ( like a volume 2 )

OK.

Replace the file DICTIONARY by a LF with the same name which points to two
PFs ( volumes 1 and 2).

Logical files are also limited by the maximum number of fields in a file so unless I completely misunderstand your intention this won't work.

We will still be limited to using names of 6
characters.

Only because you waste 4 characters for the RPG prefix of DFN_

Any other ideas ? How do others get round this?

Data dictionaries should define "base" types such as NAME, ADDRESS, POSTCODE, ZONE, etc. They should not define every instance of such a field. By that I mean your dictionary contains:

A ADDRESS 35A COLHDG('Address')
A TEXT('Address')
A ALWNULL

It should not contain ADDRESS1, ADDRESS2, SHIPADDR, etc. These, if you need them, should be defined in the actual file referring back to the base ADDRESS type.

A SHIPADDR R REFFLD(ADDRESS)

A zone has 5 letters : 2 syllables of 3 and 2.

That defines the zone NAME. I presume each zone is the same data type (e.g., character) and size (e.g., 5 bytes).

In the referencing file we add a prefix for example :

A CMAJDT R REFFLD(MAJDT)

Thus for your zones should have only a base ZONE type defined. The prefix (C) and two-part name should be defined in the actual file referring back to the base ZONE type.

A CMAJDT R REFFLD(ZONE)

This approach will immediately reduce the number of individual fields in the dictionary and will allow you to remain within the database limits.

To declare a new zone in an RPGLE all that is needed is
D gStsMt S LIKE ( DFN_STSMT )

Which means gStsMt is the same as the zone STSMT in the dictionary.

Which would become:
D gStsMt S LIKE(DFN_ZONE)

presuming you continue to consume four characters fro the prefix.

I don't see why you need to define each individual zone field in the dictionary when they are all of "type" zone.

As we are gradually moving
towards SQL, I wonder how should we be referencing columns in SQL tables?

iSeries SQL has support for referencing fields LIKE another field (can't recall exactly when it came in but fairly recent--maybe VRM530). However, SQL in general, doesn't have this concept (partly because there should only be one location of a given entity).

Regards,
Simon Coulter.
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