Re: Error handling over multiple call levels

I apologize for my lack of clarity. Here's the scenario...:

For years our users have had a paper checklist of the jobs they need to run for the EOM processes. Well, we all know that users are human (more-or-less) and that they make mistakes. Sometimes running a job step more than once, sometime forgetting to run a job step and skipping it, etc.

Hence, my solution - I created a PF that contains all the information necessary to run each job step on their checklist, and in the correct order. I'm writing an RPGLE subfile program that displays all their job steps on the screen, and allows them to run each one (in sequence) by simply pressing Enter on each step. The next step to be run is reverse-image so there's no question as to which job step will be run next. And all this is done interactively - nothing is submitted to batch at this point in the program development.

So far, so good.

Here's the problem - data-related errors can occur in the individual job steps (just like they occasionally do now). Example: someone has a record lock, target too small, divide by zero, etc.
And I know what you're thinking - just modify the hundreds of job step programs to allow for every possible error that can occur in every program. It would be nice if I could do that but, for reasons beyond my control, I can't.

If an error occurs in a job step program, I want my cake and eat it too. I want the user to see a popup on their screen that says, "There's an error - do not touch the keyboard - pick up your phone and call I.T. support". Then, when they call me, I want to be able to resolve the issue (e.g. record lock) and then allow the job step program to continue from the point of the error.

I've now had suggestions of submitting each job step to batch instead, and this has piqued my interest. This technique could possibly solve multiple wrinkles.

Hopefully this helps clarify the situation.

Thanks.

~TA~




On 2/21/2024 7:45 PM, Buck Calabro wrote:

On Wed, 21 Feb 2024 at 17:02, Tim Adair <tadair@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Given the following scenario:
PROGRAM A calls Program B. Program B calls Program C. Program C gets
an error (of any kind).

Is there any way to notify Program A that program C had an error,
without losing my place in program C.

Are the C-level programs running in batch?
Is that why the user needs feedback about what happened?

If you could describe an example of the runtime situation, and one of
the errors you'd like to report back to the user, it might spur more
ideas.
I'm guessing that you're putting some SBMJOB CLs into a menu driver
system, and the 'Job ended abnormally' completion message isn't enough
to help the end user figure out what to do next. If that's the case, I
don't see how to give them better information without changing the
bottom-level RPG code.
--buck