Re: New to RPG

[Jeff Crosby <jlcrosby@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So what if he inherited a bunch of cycle programs?  Then what?

I've written freeform RPG for as many years as it has been available.  And
I still use the cycle where /appropriate/.

And I can see this sliding into a holy war.


On Thu, Apr 27, 2017 at 1:03 PM, Glenn Gundermann <
glenn.gundermann@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> This is the worst advice I've ever heard being given from an RPG
> developer. OMG.
> Stay away from the RPG cycle at all costs.
> Yours truly,
> Glenn Gundermannglenn.gundermann@gmail.comWork: (905) 482-1162 ext.
> 239Cell: (416) 317-3144
>
> -------- Original message --------From: "James H. H. Lampert" <
> jamesl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: 2017-04-27  12:38 PM  (GMT-05:00) To:
> "RPG programming on the IBM i (AS/400 and iSeries)" <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: New to RPG
> The only thing I can think of to add is this:
>
> DON'T BE AFRAID TO TAKE A RIDE ON "THE CYCLE."
>
> Because of RPG's history (it's name means "Report Program Generator"),
> it's designed to process entire files, and as such, every RPG program
> (unless, in the more recent versions of RPG, you explicitly disable it)
> runs inside an implicit "DO UNTIL *INLR = TRUE" loop, and if you
> designate a file as the "Primary File," each iteration of that implicit
> do-loop begins with a read operation on that file, raising the "LR"
> indicator when the last record of the file is read.
>
> If you designate a Primary File, then The Cycle allows you to "ride"
> through the file, processing each record in sequence, instead of having
> to "walk" through it.
>
> And if you don't designate a Primary File, then The Cycle can be used as
> a built-in event loop for an interactive program: all you need to do is
> raise the LR indicator whenever the user is ready to exit.
>
> If you don't have a use for The Cycle in a given program, then you need
> to either disable it explicitly, or else make sure LR gets raised.
>
> WHAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO IS IGNORE "THE CYCLE." If you ignore The
> Cycle, it will run over you.
>
> --
> JHHL
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