Re: New to RPG

[Michael Ryan <michaelrtr@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'm out. It's 2017.

On Thu, Apr 27, 2017 at 2:38 PM, James H. H. Lampert <
jamesl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I truly fail to understand the abject terror some people seem to have
> about The Cycle. I can understand abject terror about doing mass updates
> via SQL, but not about The Cycle.
>
> The nice thing about The Cycle is that you can use as much or as little as
> is appropriate to a given task.
>
> I've written dozens of Cycle programs. I ride The Cycle anytime I need to
> pass through an entire file, and DO SO WITH A LEVEL OF CONTROL THAT IS NOT
> POSSIBLE WITH SQL.
>
> With regard to using SQL to do some mass-update to a file, the VERY IDEA
> gives me nightmares. Using the SQL approach for that can SCREW UP A LOT OF
> RECORDS VERY FAST, WITH NO WAY TO HALT THE CARNAGE AT ONE DAMAGED RECORD.
> Using explicit reads in an explicit do-loop instead of what's already built
> into the language is sometimes necessary, to be sure, but often it just
> amounts to re-inventing the wheel.
>
> Likewise, modern interactive programs tend to run inside an event-loop of
> some kind; The Cycle provides a perfectly serviceable built-in event-loop.
>
> Level breaks? Secondary files? I can't recall ever using either one, and I
> certainly couldn't tell you how to do so (if I ever DID have a clue how
> they work).
>
> But above all else, either ride The Cycle, or disable The Cycle, but
> NEVER, EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES IGNORE IT. If you ignore it, one of
> two things will happen: either (a) your program will fail to compile, with
> a message to the effect that the compiler cannot determine how it will end,
> or (b) The Cycle will run you over.
>
> --
> JHHL
>
> --
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