Faster Fetching
Hey, Ted:

When using embedded SQL to read data, I have the option of retrieving one row or multiple rows with one fetch. Does fetching more than one row at a time improve program performance? READ MORE >

A Bevy of BIFs: %Dec to the Rescue
by Susan Gantner

More and more in RPG applications these days, it seems we need to process data that comes from 'the dark side.' Translation: from a non-i system. This data could be coming from a browser screen via an RPG CGI program, from a CSV (comma-separated values) flat file, from an XML document, or myriad other ways. One thing these dark sources often have in common is that data that should be numeric often isn't--at least not by RPG's definition. So common is the issue of invalid numeric data that one of the recommendations from IBM on using the XML-INTO operation code is to define the fields in the DS to receive the XML data as character and then translate them into numeric fields using RPG logic later. READ MORE >