Re: How were first 5 positions used in RPG III?

On 1/30/2017 1:12 PM, Vernon Hamberg wrote:

Deep memory dive needed here!

I'm maintaining code, adding a change to an RPG III source.

RDi at the latest version has syntax coloring, of course, and there is a
number in positions 1-4 that has been used for a change request reference.

RDi colors the 1st 2 positions as black, the next 2 positions as some
kind of grey, the same syntax color as the entry columns of a File
Description Continuation RENAME.

I went to the RPG/400 documentation and found the following: "Page
(positions 1-2) and Line (positions 3-5). These are the equivalent of
source line number" ILE RPG says those positions can be used as a
comment, which is what I always understood.

Just curious if anyone remembers and can say more - I'm wondering now if
I can even put non-numerics in those columns!

That's easy!

In the days of RPG and even RPG II, a programmer filled in specially
printed coding sheets, with printed column separators and other coding
assistance (like the column numbers).

At the top of each physical printed page was a space to put the page
number. On each line of the page was a line number. The programmer
filled in the page number as she went along. After the coding forms
were filled out, the papers went to a keypuncher (often the same
person!) who then typed the specs from the columns on the forms.
Including the page number from the top of the page (col 1-2) and the
line number from the individual lines on the page (col 3-5).