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Status Future consideration
Workspace IBM i
Categories Languages - RPG
Created by Guest
Created on Jan 26, 2022

Compiler directive /SET should temporarily set a new default value for DECEDIT

Recently the compiler directives /SET and /RESTORE were introduced. It can be used to temporarily set a new default values for CCSID, DATFMT and TIMFMT.
I would like that this also was possible for DECEDIT ( and perhaps DATEDIT ).


Use Case:

In XML files the decimal character is a point. And this causes a problem when processing or generating them and the default setting of the control specification is a comma. Like this DECEDIT('0,').

It would be nice if the following is possible:

/SET DECEDIT('0.')
x = %dec('1,23.4' : 5 : 1);
c = %char(x);
/RESTORE DECEDIT

Here x = 123.4 and c = '123.4'

if you use the default settings ( the decimal character is comma ) then it should be
x = %dec('1.23,4' : 5 : 1);
c = %char(x);
And here x = 123,4 and c = '123,4'

If it was possible to change DECEDIT with /SET on the fly this would make coding much more flexible and easy.


Idea priority Medium
  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Feb 21, 2022

    A new RFE have been raised for allowing duplicate CTL-OPT keywords.
    https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rfe/execute?use_case=viewRfe&CR_ID=154195

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Feb 18, 2022

    Peter, please open a separate RFE for allowing duplicate CTL-OPT keywords.

    I think it would be more convenient for programmers (and more convenient for the compiler too :-) to just have a way to allow the CTL-OPT keywords to be specified more than once. For example, the first CTL-OPT keyword seen by the compiler could be something like ALWDUPKW(*YES or *NO). If it was *YES, then the compiler would allow any H spec keyword to be specified more than once, and it would just take the last setting.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Feb 18, 2022

    Getting creative I could imagine /SET to overload other control specification keywords specified
    in the data structure RPGLEHSPEC or a copy file.

    For example
    /SET DFTACTGRP(*NO)
    /SET ACTGRP(*NEW)
    /SET BNDDIR('QC2LE':'MYLIB')

    This would cause ACTGRP(*NEW) to be used instead of the default ACTGRP(*CALLER)
    specified in data structure RPGLEHSPEC or a copy file. It would give you the possibility
    to modify your default specifications with new options and have them implemented
    when you compile the program the next time. For example EXPROPTS(*ALWBLANKNUM)

    Of course these compile time keywords should be specified in the beginning of the source and /RESET is not relevant here.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Feb 10, 2022

    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.