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Status Future consideration
Workspace IBM i
Categories Languages - RPG
Created by Guest
Created on Nov 25, 2016

RELATED IDEAS

Enable mixed case DB2 table column names to be used in RPG Data structures defined with ExtName + Alias keyword

Our DB2 tables are defined with both Alternative Name and System Name specified for many columns. We want be able to define the column names in a mixed case that then can be used in our RPG programs by data structures that refer to external names using the alias keyword.

We want IBM to enable mixed case for table column Alternative and System names. And that the subfield names of the data structure referring to these tables respect the case of the table column names.

See the attachment for example source.


Use Case:

Sources defines data structures as such:

dcl-ds myDataStructure extname('MYTABLE') qualified alias end-ds;

Our tables are created like this:
CREATE TABLE MYTABLE (
LongNameField1 for SysName1,
LongNameField2 for SysName2
)
AS (
SELECT
REF.ReferenceField1 SysName1,
REF.ReferenceField2 SysName2
FROM MYDATADICT REF
) WITH NO DATA INCLUDING DEFAULTS;

We are using the content assist in RDi, but when doing so the reference to subfields of myDataStructure are extracted as LONGNAMEFIELD1 instead of LongNameField1.

Creating the column alias surrounded with double quotes retains the mixed case in the table definition but RPG defaults to using the column system name in this case.


Idea priority Medium
  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Nov 23, 2020

    The CEAC has reviewed this requirement and recommends that IBM view this as a MEDIUM priority requirement that should be addressed.

    Background: The COMMON Europe Advisory Council (CEAC) members have a broad range of experience in working with small and medium-sized IBM i customers. CEAC has a crucial role in working with IBM i development to help assess the value and impact of individual RFEs on the broader IBM i community and has therefore reviewed your RFE.

    To find out how CEAC help to shape the future of IBM i, see CEAC @ ibm.biz/BdYSYj and the article "The Five Hottest IBM i RFEs Of The Quarter" at ibm.biz/BdYSZT

    Therese Eaton – CEAC Program Manager, IBM

  • 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 25, 2020

    The CAAC has reviewed this requirement and recommends that IBM view this as a high priority requirement that is important to be addressed. This is an issue when someone comes in from a non-IBM i environment, since IBM i requires them to remember the case rules. New developers would be comfortable faster if this RFE were implemented, making IBM i more like other development environments. The names also need to include embedded spaces.

    Background: The COMMON Americas Advisory Council (CAAC) members have a broad range of experience in working with small and medium-sized IBM i customers. CAAC has a key role in working with IBM i development to help assess the value and impact of individual RFEs on the broader IBM i community, and has therefore reviewed your RFE.

    For more information about CAAC, see www.common.org/caac

    For more details about CAAC's role with RFEs, see http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/Blogs/i-Can/May-2017/COMMON-Americas-Advisory-Council-%28CAAC%29-and-RFEs/

    Nancy Uthke-Schmucki - CAAC Program Manager

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Apr 10, 2019

    RFE 130271 might satisfy this requirement.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Sep 22, 2017

    I now understand that the underlying issue is that RPG does not support alternate names with double quotes, and that using double quotes is the only way to retain the mixed case for the alternate name. So the requirement is for RPG to support alias names surrounded by quotes, as long as the name within the quotes conforms to RPG's naming conventions. If this requirement is implemented, the name used internally within RPG would be uppercased as usual, but a matching enhancement in RDi would pick up the mixed case version of the name within the quotes for the outline view and content assist.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Aug 28, 2017

    Yes, that would satisfy the requirement in terms of the RDi usage. However, that would also mean from our side that we have to change the alias on all columns using one to use the double quote form which retains the mixed case in the alias definitions, correct?

    Thanks,
    Mathias

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Aug 25, 2017

    I believe it would satisfy this requirement if RDI content assist and outline view used the mixed case names. Please confirm.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     May 11, 2017

    Due to processing by IBM, this request was reassigned to have the following updated attributes:
    Brand - Servers and Systems Software
    Product family - Power Systems
    Product - IBM i
    Component - Languages - RPG
    Operating system - IBM i
    Source - IBM User Group

    For recording keeping, the previous attributes were:
    Brand - Servers and Systems Software
    Product family - Power Systems
    Product - IBM i
    Component - Application Development
    Operating system - IBM i
    Source - IBM User Group

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Nov 25, 2016

    Attachment (Use case): Example source displaying the structure of our code and the problem with externally described data structures not using mixed case for field names.

    Example Source.rar
    Example Source.rar
    Open full size
    Example Source.rar
1 MERGED

Option to show and use long fieldnames instead of short fieldnames in auto-completion of RDI

Merged
It would be nice for the autocompletion fin Rational Developer for i eature for fields of a database file to use the longer SQL fieldnames instead of the old shorter cryptic names. Use Case: If you create newer files with long fieldnames it would ...
over 3 years ago in IBM i / Languages - RPG 6 Future consideration

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