Re: Classic Traps -- I need your input!

["Francis Lapeyre" <flapeyre@xxxxxxxxx>]

In my very  first AS/400 job, I had to debug a program that was written in
RPG, but the programmer used variable names like A$, B$ (as if this was MS
Basic!). Did not use RPG III's CAT op code, and manipulated strings through
arrays. Very frustrating (especially for a newbie). I think I ended up
asking, what do you want the program to do, and re-writing it.

On Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 10:42 AM, Carmen Nuland <cnuland@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

> I'd say the most common classic traps in our company are:
>
> 1) "data leakage" ... not clearing fields before using them again (usually
> in a loop)
>
> 2) record locking for an Update file, when you don't need to lock the
> record
> (thereby causing problems later in that program or not allowing someone
> else
> to access the record).
>
> 3) Not using Monitor/On-Error when converting dates or characters into
> numbers.
>
> Not sure if this is a "trap" or not - but calling an RPG program from
> another RPG program.  If the 2nd one fails, there's no way to recover from
> the error.
>
> Some "old-style" traps that we don't allow anymore:
> * CPF0000 global monitoring in CL programs
> * 10000.0001 and prefer to use date data types instead.
> * The worst that we used to see was when someone would clear indicators
> using something like this:
> Movea     '01100'       *IN(25)
> Very frustrating when you're trying to find out when *In27 was set on!!
>  And
> how's this for ugly?!
> Move      *On           *IN($#)    // $# is set in a Do loop!
>
> Carmen
>
>
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