RE: More on RPG style

Thanks Dennis.


Thanks
Bryce Martin
Programmer/Analyst I
570-546-4777



"Dennis Lovelady" <iseries@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
03/03/2010 02:26 PM
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RPG programming on the IBM i / System i <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>


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Subject
RE: More on RPG style

Field1 = 'BRYCE';
if Field1 = 'BRYCE';

is much nicer (I think) than

Field1 = 'BRYCE';
if (Field1 == 'BRYCE');

I *constantly* get tripped up in JavaScript (I don't code much C) using
'='
when I should be using '=='...

Agreed. But there's a reason for the syntax, and that is that assignment
can be done anywhere - even in an equality test.

For example (in C) if (a = 3) will always be true and a will always equal
3
at that point, because what's really being said is:
a = 3
if (a)

Hence the need for different operators. This feature is highly exploited
in
statements like:

if ((fp=fopen(szFilename, "r")) == NULL) { // handle error...

The above assigns the result of fopen to fp... and then tests fp against a
value of NULL.

The equivalent doesn't exist in RPG, which is precisely the reason RPG
doesn't have/need an assignment symbol that's different from the equality
test symbol. And the reason those other languages do.

Dennis Lovelady
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dennislovelady
--
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good
example."
-- Mark Twain