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Status Future consideration
Workspace IBM i
Categories Languages - RPG
Created by Guest
Created on Mar 18, 2026

RELATED IDEAS

Improve FOR-EACH to also have the name associated with the constant

Using Enums in RPG improves the final quality of programs because it translates symbolic names into values, thus avoiding the need to use unnamed constant values.
Using For-each, we can access the values ​​of the constants in an Enum definition. It would be very useful to also have access to the name associated with the constant.
Thus, the following code:


DCL-ENUM colors;
Green '0,255,0';
Red '255,0,0';
Blue '0,0,255';
End-Enum;
Dcl-s Color varchar(20);
Dcl-s ColorName varchar(20);
Dcl-s Txt varchar(20);

Dcl-pi *n;
End-Pi;

FOR-EACH color , ColorName IN colors;
Txt = ColoreName + ' is ' + color;
DSPLY Txt;
EndFor;


Displays:


Green is 0,255,0

Red is 255,0,0

Blue is 0,0,255

Idea priority Medium
  • Guest
    Jul 13, 2026

    It would even be great if this %NEWBIF could also be used to obtain the names of the constants, not just the ENUMS during the FOR-EACH loop.

    Example:

    dcl-c HTTP_NOT_FOUND const(404);

    snd-msg 'An HTTP ERROR ocurred: ' + %NEWBIF(HTTP_NOT_FOUND) + %char(HTTP_NOT_FOUND);
    // The above display: 'An HTTP ERROR ocurred: HTTP_NOT_FOUND 404'

    Maybe the name can be %CONSTNAME or similar

    Reply
  • Guest
    Apr 30, 2026
    IBM will use this Idea as input to planning, but no commitment is made or implied. This Idea 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 Idea.

    Instead of adding new syntax for the FOR-EACH statement, it is more likely that a new built-in function would be added. This built-in function would return the constant name associated with the value of a variable defined like an enum.

    DCL-ENUM colors varchar(20); // Add enum data type
    Green '0,255,0';
    Red '255,0,0';
    Blue '0,0,255';
    End-Enum;
    Dcl-s Color like(colors); // Define LIKE the enum

    Color = Red;
    DSPLY %NEWBIF(Color); // Displays "Red"

    FOR-EACH color IN colors;
    Txt = %NEWBIF(colors) + ' is ' + color;
    DSPLY Txt;
    EndFor;

    Displays:

    Green is 0,255,0
    Red is 255,0,0
    Blue is 0,0,255

    - IBM Power Systems Development
    Reply
  • Guest
    Apr 14, 2026

    The CAAC has reviewed this IBM Idea and recommends that IBM view this as a high priority Idea that is important to be addressed.
    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 IBM Ideas on the broader IBM i community and has therefore reviewed your Idea.

    For more information about CAAC, see www.common.org/caac
    Carmelita Ruvalcaba - CAAC Program Manager

    Reply

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