Skip to Main Content
IBM Power Ideas Portal


This portal is to open public enhancement requests against IBM Power Systems products, including IBM i. To view all of your ideas submitted to IBM, create and manage groups of Ideas, or create an idea explicitly set to be either visible by all (public) or visible only to you and IBM (private), use the IBM Unified Ideas Portal (https://ideas.ibm.com).


Shape the future of IBM!

We invite you to shape the future of IBM, including product roadmaps, by submitting ideas that matter to you the most. Here's how it works:

Search existing ideas

Start by searching and reviewing ideas and requests to enhance a product or service. Take a look at ideas others have posted, and add a comment, vote, or subscribe to updates on them if they matter to you. If you can't find what you are looking for,

Post your ideas
  1. Post an idea.

  2. Get feedback from the IBM team and other customers to refine your idea.

  3. Follow the idea through the IBM Ideas process.


Specific links you will want to bookmark for future use

Welcome to the IBM Ideas Portal (https://www.ibm.com/ideas) - Use this site to find out additional information and details about the IBM Ideas process and statuses.

IBM Unified Ideas Portal (https://ideas.ibm.com) - Use this site to view all of your ideas, create new ideas for any IBM product, or search for ideas across all of IBM.

ideasibm@us.ibm.com - Use this email to suggest enhancements to the Ideas process or request help from IBM for submitting your Ideas.

Status Future consideration
Workspace IBM i
Categories Languages - RPG
Created by Guest
Created on Dec 15, 2016

Add template for function prototypes/Procedure Interfaces

Currently when defining a procedure prototype that references a procedure pointer, the prototype must be defined in scope with the pointer which causes issues for me in a highly modularized environment with service programs and sub-procedures. I find that either I have to define the prototype in both the caller and the callee because the prototypes are different (caller requires a reference to a procedure pointer, and the callee does not allow it). In addition, the prototype must be declared in the same scope as the procedure pointer. This at times causes me to define the same prototype in multiple functions in the same program just to get it into that scope. It would be better if I could just declare a function template which could be referenced in both procedure prototypes, and in procedure interfaces. This way I could define the template in a copy source, and then define prototypes and interfaces "LikeProc(template)", and then add any necessary bits such as ExtProc() or not depending on my specific need at the moment. I could also easily define my prototypes in scope with the pointer however many times I need to without having to duplicate the parameter definitions.


Use Case:

See description


Idea priority Medium
  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Apr 28, 2020

    IBM will use this request as input to planning but no commitment is made or implied. This request will be updated in the future if IBM implements it. IBM will use votes and comments from others in the community to help prioritize this request.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Feb 10, 2017

    IBM has received the requirement and is evaluating it. IBM will provide a response after evaluation is complete.

    If this is implemented, the most likely mechanism would be to add a LIKEPR keyword as suggested in the comments, and possibly also a TEMPLATE keyword as suggested in the description.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Dec 16, 2016

    The issue is that the Procedure interface on the callback can't use the prototype because a procedure can't be defined for a prototype when ExtProc is being used. The actual message is RNF1505 A procedure cannot be defined when the prototype specifies EXTPROC(variable) or EXTPGM. Maybe the real fix is to allow a procedure to be defined when the prototype specifies ExtProc(variable).

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Dec 15, 2016

    This could be done without creating a template, by simply allowing me to define a procedure with LikePR which would allow me to include ExtProc() with a reference to a procedure pointer. On the procedure interface side of things, I could define that LikePR and not have to define the parameters a second time.