Re: Opinions needed: External data structures - Copy book or physical file?

[Craig Richards <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My vote would go with the copy book.

I don't like tieing my definitions to the database anymore, I like to be
able to define / change them independantly.

Suppose there is some legacy code you don't like - needing to access a
table with dates still defined as P(8, 0)

You can write your structures / procedures / interfaces to work with proper
dates and just translate in the database layer.

On Wed, 5 Jun 2019 at 16:24, David Gibbs via RPG400-L <
rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Folks:
>
> I'm looking for opinions on this one ... which is the best way to
> define a reusable data structure. Copy book or physical file?
>
> Both work, but I'm trying to decide which approach to take.
>
> Defining it in a copy book lets me tag it as a template, so the
> definition doesn't take up any storage, and also allows me to easily
> overlay fields if needed. Since I'm defining it in a RPG copy book, I
> can't use it in other languages (not important, we don't have any
> COBOL code).
>
> Defining it as a physical file allows me to use the structure in
> multiple languages (COBOL not important, but I do have a technique in
> for Java that lets me use a PF as an external DS).
>
> Any other advantages / disadvantages?
>
> Thanks!
>
> david
>
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