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  1.  Home
  2. RPG400-L
  3. November 2019

RE: [EXTERNAL] Parameter lists

I know what I'm doing and I comprehend the LDA - I just consider it a poor technique. If you have total control then, yes, it's useful for things like user defaults and our ERP uses it that way.

BUT... It also has a "user defined" portion that is a free-for-all. Used for parameter passing which I consider an extremely poor methodology.

It's far too easy for things to get stepped on left and right. It's space constrained and it's something I consider to be "hidden" in that the parms are not explicit as entry parameters. And, even worse, when entry parms are mixed with values from the LDA it becomes more of a nightmare.



-----Original Message-----
From: RPG400-L [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Don Brown via RPG400-L
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2019 5:27 PM
To: RPG programming on IBM i
Cc: Don Brown
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Parameter lists

The LDA is a useful tool.

Yes if you do not know what you are doing then any tool can seem like
VooDoo or difficult to comprehend.

And Yes it has it's origins back in early versions of RPG and earlier
systems.

Some parts of our ERP still use it and it works exceptionally well.

One specific example is setting system defaults for a user, which are set
when the user logs on and retrieved by any program that needs the values,
it was implemented in the original design of the application and we/I have
never had a problem with using it.

Would I use it today if I was designing a new application ? possibly not
but that does not mean it is not a useful tool available to IBMi
languages.

Just my 2 cents - not wanting to start an argument :-)

Thanks

Don Brown



From: "Greg Wilburn" <gwilburn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "RPG programming on IBM i" <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 08/11/2019 11:23 PM
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Parameter lists
Sent by: "RPG400-L" <rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>



X2

-----Original Message-----
From: RPG400-L [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Roger Harman
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2019 5:33 PM
To: RPG programming on IBM i <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Parameter lists

Amen to that.

LDA = Voodoo hidden magic

Can't stand it but our ERP is built around that model.

<mega shudder>

Roger Harman
COMMON Certified Application Developer - ILE RPG on IBM i on Power

--


From: RPG400-L <rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of Jon
Paris <jon.paris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 7, 2019 1:42 PM
To: RPG programming on IBM i <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Parameter lists

<Shudder>







On Nov 7, 2019, at 12:01 PM, Birgitta Hauser <Hauser@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:



Vern, you also could pass parameters over the LDA in RPGIII or RPGIV
😉



Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Best regards



Birgitta Hauser



"Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
(Les Brown)

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." (Derek Bok)

"What is worse than training your staff and losing them? Not training
them and keeping them!"

„Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so
they don't want to.“ (Richard Branson)





-----Original Message-----

From: RPG400-L <rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Vernon
Hamberg

Sent: Donnerstag, 7. November 2019 16:53

To: RPG programming on IBM i <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Parameter lists



OK, bad wording on my part - "...before RPG IV..." would have been
better, or maybe "...the only way in fixed format since whenever
parameters could be specified..."



On 11/7/2019 9:39 AM, Mark Waterbury wrote:

Fixed-format ILE RPG IV had D-specs, with PR and PI for many
releases prior to the first appearance of /free and "free format"...



So, hardly " ... the only way ..." :-o





On Thursday, November 7, 2019, 9:58:39 AM EST, Vernon Hamberg
<vhamberg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



Agreed - PLIST was merely the only way to specify parameters before

free-form - the only advantage is, people are used to it.



I suspect that the conversion tool in RDi does not convert PLISTs, to

convert you have to use a tool like Linoma's or Craig Rutledge's or do

it by hand.



Regards

Vern



On 11/7/2019 8:00 AM, Greg Wilburn wrote:

Personally... I don't know. I just replace them with DCL-PI when I'm
a program updating it (when I can).





-----Original Message-----

From: RPG400-L [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf


Of john erps

Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2019 8:49 AM

To: RPG programming on IBM i <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Parameter lists



Yes, i wasn't clear.

I mean what is the advantage of using PLIST's.





On Thu, Nov 7, 2019 at 2:42 PM Craig Richards

<craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

wrote:



I assumed this was about the PLIST OpCode...



On Thu, 7 Nov 2019 at 13:39, Alan Shore via RPG400-L <

rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



Hi John

Maybe I am not understanding what you are asking about If you call

a program, the program either needs parameters to run - hence a

parameter list - or it doesn't We have many programs that do not

use parameters Conversely - we have a large number of programs that

do



Alan Shore

E-mail : ASHORE@xxxxxxxx

Phone [O] : (631) 200-5019

Phone [C] : (631) 880-8640

'If you're going through hell, keep going.'

Winston Churchill



-----Original Message-----

From: RPG400-L [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On


Behalf Of john erps

Sent: Thursday, November 7, 2019 8:32 AM

To: RPG programming on IBM i <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Subject: [EXTERNAL] Parameter lists



Hi all,



In almost every RPG program i see parameter lists are extensively

used. I like to know the advantage of see as i don't see it. It's

rather unique

to

RPG, separating the list of parameters from the actual call.



Every time i see a call i have to go to the beginning of the

program to see the actual parameters that are used. This, for me,

is very inconvenient. I ever use them. The only "advantage" i see

has something

to

do with "reuse".

Reuse is good, i wish it would be really used in RPG programs more
(i.e.

service program and procedures etc). Instead, we got "parameter
lists".



What is the advantage of parameter lists??



I suspect there is no advantage, just "we always do it like that".

They were just introduced to cope with the limited punch card

format. Same

with

key lists actually. But these days we don't have to use them
anymore.

Provided free format RPG is used.



Parameter lists... does anybody know there advantage, besides

obscuring the program??

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