RE: Opening the same file twice in the same program? -- RPG400-L

+1000% - On this comment and Jon's suggestion for DS I/O.

Trying to deal with an input primary would be an instant turnoff to any new developer. As would fixed format.

Heck, I did RPG for 37 years and I don't recall ever using input primary except in a classroom exercise in my first RPG class - Thank you Shelly & Cashman textbook! I recall my instructor saying that we needed to be aware of it but, if anyone working for him wrote an input primary in production, he'd not be happy! Six of us from that class ended up working for him! RPG-III on S/38 Mod 4 to start.

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

-----Original Message-----
From: RPG400-L <rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Jon Paris
Sent: Tuesday, August 1, 2023 3:10 PM
To: RPG programming on IBM i <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Opening the same file twice in the same program?

"So why walk when you can ride?"

Because I always write for maintainability. And I may not be around to maintain it.

Jon P.

On Aug 1, 2023, at 6:00 PM, James H. H. Lampert via RPG400-L <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 8/1/23 2:10 PM, Justin Taylor wrote:

Sounds like you're doing RPG RLA and want two File specs using the same
PF. Check out the EXTFILE File spec keyword.

It worked. Thanks. I didn't think it would be this simple, but it almost is. "Almost" because it also needs an EXTDESC and a RENAME, i.e. (note that spaces are squeezed out for email purposes):

FFOOBAR IP E DISK EXTDESC('FOO/FOOBAR')
F EXTFILE(*EXTDESC)
F RECNO(RRN)
FBOZBAR UF E DISK EXTDESC('FOO/FOOBAR')
F EXTFILE(*EXTDESC)
F RENAME(FOOREC:BOZREC)

(I'm even using an EXTDESC and EXTFILE on the primary, for absolute LIBL-independence, and there's also a RECNO clause on the primary, because the PF is unkeyed, and there's no key that's especially useful.)

And Jon, my attitude about riding The Cycle is that you should use any language feature that you find useful, especially if it's idiomatic and/or unique to the language. And there's probably nothing in RPG that's more idiomatic or unique to the language than The Cycle. So why walk when you can ride?

That's not to say that I've ever found secondary files to be even remotely useful enough to be worth figuring out how to use them.

--
JHHL

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