Re: external data structure in free rpgle cant be use in DCL-PI ?

[Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Normally when I'm reading one of your posts, Jon, I find myself nodding 
in agreement.  This is one of those rare other occasions.  :)

Actually, I agree with your premise, but I completely understand 
Mónica's point.  Having converted many programs from RPG III to RPG IV 
to RPG free, this is one of the most troublesome of the issues.  In a 
large program I may have hundreds of lines of code that access the 
fields in an externally described data structure passed as a parameter.  
Because of how free works, I cannot define that parameter as an 
unqualified data structure which means that now I have to qualify the 
field name in every one of those lines.

It's a very specific issue, and one that has a workaround.  Two, in 
fact, but one involves extra moves (especially problematic if you forget 
to move the field back at the end) and the other involves based 
pointers, a concept not always well known by the folks who maintain the 
current code base.  It's just one of those nagging little things that 
can be a hiccup when trying to modernize, especially when you're helping 
your programmers modernize their skills at the same time.


On 3/5/2020 6:04 PM, Jon Paris wrote:
> "and must be identical  as what has been done for over 30 years by the company in fixed."
>
> Why?  In fact if you;'re going to just do the same old same old why bother to change to free?
>
> Surely the whole point of changing is to get to use better methods. And the methods available in free-form are much better and more flexible. So why penalize yourself - it makes no sense.