Re: It might be time for a refactor when...

+1

I prefer even in fully-free RPG to put blank lines around indented control blocks.

I forget, Patrik, what version you work at most of the time - service programs have been around for some time, and those are perfect for reducing the number of lines of code with single calls that effect maybe several lines that are executed in the SRVPGM.

Anyhow, clarity is really important.

Now in RPG III (and IV), we can produce output with indentation, for clarity and understanding. That's better than the time it takes me to used colored highlighters and blocks in printouts of code.

And there are the markers IBM have put into compile listings - you know, those B's and E's over on the right?

Cheers
Vern

On 7/23/2024 3:01 AM, Patrik Schindler wrote:

Hello,

Am 23.07.2024 um 00:43 schrieb x y <xy6581@xxxxxxxxx>:

Too many asterisks suggest a coder not paying attention to logic and programming best practices.

I partly disagree.

For "new", all-free RPG code, you may be mostly right. Personally, I prefer to optically encapsulate functions and important loops in free form code languages I use: Perl, C. This gives the eye some structure to align with. But that's largely a question of taste.

Given the heritage of the system we love and care for, I think there is still plenty of old positional code in the wild. And that heavily benefits from optical structure help to compensate for the lack of e. g. indentation for conditionals and loops. The restriction of 10 chars for variables, functions and subroutines also call for explanation in comments.

So, again, it's: It depends.

:wq! PoC