Re: Quick question on indicators - more philosophical than anything else

Joe,
Do not even get me started on dates......it is the biggest pet peeve of
mine why anyone is still using anything other than a date data type in a
file.....





From:
Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To:
RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date:
05/13/2008 04:06 PM
Subject:
Re: Quick question on indicators - more philosophical than anything else



Doug Palme wrote:

Is anyone still using the old indicator style of INKC, INKA, etc.?

I've almost entirely moved to using numbered indicators (CA03 03),
because then I can use an INDDS and then change them to named
indicators. Some folks prefer the INFDS approach, but I don't.
However, this is one of those few instances where I can't argue tooth
and nail for my position - I don't have a good reason why I prefer
numbered indicators over INFDS. I guess I like write (if ExitKey)
rather than (if key = Exit).

Is there any reason why this should even be used today?

Nope. I can't think of a good reason to use *INKx anymore. In fact,
the only indicator I can see ever showing up in a program is *INLR.

I know some are advocating using no indicators at all in a

program....but

is that not one of the strengths of RPG?

This is a philosophical point. Indicators were great for the original
RPG because space was at a premium and indicators allowed you to test
three conditions using only 9 columns. Way cool. But these days, the
very idea of a numbered indicator is just not justifiable. Named
indicators, sure - they're basically a set of Boolean flags you send
primarily to your user interface to interact with the user. But I can't
see any reason for numbered indicators any more than I can justify
2-digit years.

Joe