Re: KLIST question

On 2011/12/5 11:16 AM, jmmckee flinthills.com wrote:

...
APHSP# P 1 2 0
APACCT P 3 6 0

The above came from the first file.

Those are used to chain to the second file, where the fields are:
HMHSP# P 3 0
HMACCT Z 7 0

I got both definitions from the compiler list. I am confused as to
why this would have ever seemed to work. From what I am encountering,
it doesn't, at least not consistently.

The compiler builds the search argument for the CHAIN to the second file using the data types from the second file. For a KLIST, it requires that the length and number of decimals be the same for the KFLD and the actual key field in the file, which they are (2-byte packed is 3 digits, 4 byte packed is 7 digits). But it doesn't require that they have the exact same numeric type, since it has no difficulty assigning the packed(7,0) KFLD to the signed(7,0) key in the search argument. It does this in the same way that it would do
eval HMACCT = APACCT

It is one of the fundamental features of RPG that the data types in the I/O buffers and search arguments do not have to exactly match the data types of the internal fields. If your input buffer has a zoned field and your internal field is packed, the compiler will handle that conversion. (I blogged about this in the RPG Cafe, here, sorry about the mega-long URL: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/b542d3ac-0785-4b6f-8e53-f72051460822/entry/rpg_s_move_fields_logic_and_its_cousin_eval_corr?lang=en)