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RPG IV Best Practices

Presented by Bryan Meyers

Worst Practices

•“I want to use RPG IV, but I don’t need ILE”•“I’ll use RPG IV, but not free format”•“I don’t have the time…”•“If it ain’tbroke…”

Best Practices

•Enforce RPG IV style standards•Use free-format RPG IV•Embrace ILE•Encourage modular design

Style Goals

•Accelerate development process

–Write with reuse in mind

•Facilitate program maintenance

–Write with standards in mind

•Reduce errors

–Write smaller, single-function compile units –Test smaller compile units

Style Goals

•Eliminate duplicate code

–Even little bits of it –Use procedures instead

•Eliminate conditional logic

–Hide it in procedures

•Eliminate complex routines

–Hide them in procedures

•Eliminate old code

Free-Format Specification

•V5R1 alternative to C-specs

–May be interspersed with C-specs

....1....+....2....+....3....+....4....+....5....+....6....+....7....+....8/FREEChain(ne) EmployeeIDEmployees;Select;When %Error;Return;When %Found;Eval(h) TotalPay= (RegHours* Rate) + (OvtHours* Rate * 1.5);Endsl;/END-FREE

Free-Format Specification

•Code free-format statements between /FREE and /END-FREE directives

Column 7

Free-Format Specification

•Code goes in columns 8-80

–Columns 6-7 must be blank –Indenting is allowed

/FREEChain(ne) EmployeeIDEmployees;Select;When %Error;Return;When %Found;Eval(h) TotalPay= (RegHours* Rate) + (OvtHours* Rate * 1.5);Endsl;/END-FREE

Free-Format Specification

•Statement can span several lines

–Semicolon ends each logical line –Multiple statements per line not allowed

Free-Format Specification

•Statement begins with opcode

–OpcodeFactor1 Factor2 Result;

/FREEChain(ne) EmployeeIDEmployees;Select;When %Error;Return;When %Found;Eval(h) TotalPay= (RegHours* Rate) + (OvtHours* Rate * 1.5);Endsl;/END-FREE

Free-Format Specification

•If statement doesn’t begin with opcode…

–EVAL is assumed for assignment expressions –CALLP is assumed otherwise

/FREEEmpNbrErr= *OFF;…CalcTaxes(EmployeeID:TotalPay);…Eval(h) TotalPay= (RegHours* Rate) + (OvtHours* Rate * 1.5);/END-FREE

EVAL assumedCALLP assumed

/FREEEmpNbrErr= *OFF;…CalcTaxes(EmployeeID:TotalPay);…Eval(h) TotalPay= (RegHours* Rate) + (OvtHours* Rate * 1.5);/END-FREE

Free-Format Specification

•Opcoderequired when extender isnecessary

–E.g., EVAL(H) or CALLP(E)

EVAL required

Free-Format Specification

•Indicator columns not supported

–No conditioning indicators

•Use structured opcodesinstead

–No resulting indicators

•Use BIFsinstead

–No level indicators

•Revert to fixed format to specify indicator

Free-Format Specification

•Free-format comments begin with //

–May start anywhere from columns 8-80 –Inline comments allowed

....1....+....2....+....3....+....4....+....5....+....6....+....7....+....8/FREE// Calculate total pay for employeeChain(ne) EmployeeIDEmployees;If %Found; // If employee active, calculate total payEval(h) TotalPay= (RegHours* Rate) + (OvtHours* Rate * 1.5);Endsl;/END-FREE

Comments

Free-Format Specification

•Fixed-format comments may also begin with //

–Anywhere from columns 6-80 –Inline comments not allowed

CL0N01Factor1+++++++Opcode(E)+Factor2+++++++Result++++++++Len++D+HiLoEq// Calculate tax for total transactionC TotTaxableMULT TaxRateTaxAmount

Comment

Comments

•Convert to // comments

–Eliminate all * comments

•Avoid right-hand "end-line" comments incolumns 81-100

–But use inline // comments where appropriate

Comments

•Use comments to clarify —not echo —yourcode

–Brief program or procedure summary –Title for subroutine, procedure, or other sectionof code –Explain an obscure technique

Comments

•Always include a brief summary at thebeginning of a program or procedure

–Program or procedure title –Brief description of purpose –Chronology of changes –Summary of indicator usage (if any) –Description of the procedure interface –Example of how to call the procedure