Ted Holt
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Where Did I Come From?
March 23, 2005 Hey, Ted
How can I tell which job queue an active batch job was submitted to?
–Tim
Do you mean how a human can see that information or how a program can determine it? I’ll show you both ways.
A human can use the Work with Job (WRKJOB) command to determine which job queue a batch job came from. Take Option 2, Display Job Definition Attributes.
Here’s a second method that you probably won’t need. The job queue name is also in a message in the job log. Display the job log and look for a message that says “Job 123456/SOMEUSER/SOMEJOB submitted”
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PC5250 and the Print Key
March 9, 2005 Hey, Ted
I have a tip for your newsletter. For ages, I have always used the PrtScrn button from a Client Access PC5250 terminal emulation session to print the contents of a display on my local network printer. Recently, I needed the screen contents to go to an output queue instead, as would occur when I would press the Print key on dumb terminals in ages past. It took a while, but I found the key sequence for the Print key.
To send the contents of a display screen to an output queue, use Control NumLock. I could not find this information
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OPNQRYF and ILE
February 16, 2005 Hey, Ted
I converted an RPG/400 program to ILE RPG, and now the OPNQRYF in the calling CL program no longer works. Doesn’t OPNQRYF work with ILE?
–Tracy
I have two interactive inquiries, and each one consists of a CL program that runs OPNQRYF, then calls an RPG program that loads a subfile and displays the results of the query. The user wants to be able to press a command key while in one inquiry screen to run the other inquiry. However, the call ends abnormally, sending message CPF4174 (Control language program INQPGM in library MYLIB detected an error at statement number
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Running Query Without Adopted Authority
February 9, 2005 Hey, Ted
Because of the Sarbanes/Oxley Act, we are tightening our security. One problem we have is using AS/400 Query. Several of our menus include options that run the Work with Queries command. The problem is that a user who takes one of these options is running WRKQRY under adopted authority, and therefore has access to files that should from now on be secured. How can we change the WRKQRY command so that the user does not have adopted authority?
–Lin
You can’t change the command. You may be able to change the command-processing program, QSYS/QQUDA, but I don’t like to monkey
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Repeated Characters in SQL
February 2, 2005 Hey, Ted
Using SQL, how do I fill a 128-byte character field with asterisks? Please don’t tell me I have to key every one of those puppies into my SQL command.
–Jack
I’ve got good news. Use the SPACE function to generate 128 spaces. Use the TRANSLATE function to convert the spaces into asterisks.
insert into somefile (somefield) values (translate(space(128),'*',' '))Or use the REPLACE function to convert the spaces into asterisks.
insert into somefile (somefield) values (replace(space(128),' ','*'))I haven’t run any speed tests, but TRANSLATE seems to run faster than REPLACE.
If you had wanted to fill your field with
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Yet Another Way to Build CSV Files
February 2, 2005 Hey, Ted
I know offshoring gets a lot of blame for the decline in programmer positions these days, but there’s another culprit that I never hear about: the vast array of reporting and data-mining tools available to users.
Twenty years ago a programmer had to write code to build a report program. Now users create their own reports with Microsoft Excel. In my shop, that means we have lots of programs that create CSV (comma-separated values) files. Let me add a simple but effective technique to the Copy to Import File (CPYTOIMPF) command and the plethora of third-party products that create files
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Another Reason to Use P-Fields
January 26, 2005 Hey, Ted
Within a subfile, I am using an indicator to highlight a field if the value of that field is invalid. Is there a way, when I read a subfile record, to analyze the attributes of the field to see if the indicator was switched on or off when the subfile record was written? My problem is that the display attribute is losing its original setting.
–Alan
I don’t know of a way to determine the original setting. I have included hidden one-byte fields in a subfile to store the settings of indicators so I could reset the indicators before updating
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The Save-Restore Commands
January 26, 2005 Hey, Ted
We have a new machine and have joined the world of logical partitioning. We have a partition for production and one for development. I am struggling with copying data and source code between the two machines. FTP copies source members without a problem, but it drops the modification dates on the source records. To copy data files, I’ve been transmitting save files in binary mode, which is a hassle. Also, I’d like to set up a scheduled job to refresh certain files on the test system from the production system at night, and while FTP would work, it would be
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Extracting Zoned and Packed Decimal Values from Character Fields
January 19, 2005 Hey, Ted
I have a physical file that includes a large alphanumeric field that is defined differently for many different record types. I am creating logical files for each of the record types and must redefine this large field in different ways for different record types. For some of the record types the field contains packed decimal values. How do I define a substringed field (one created with the SST keyword in DDS) as packed decimal?
–Mary
Your situation is not unusual, especially in shops that use packaged software. Since developers can’t foresee everything users may have to store, they sometimes include
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The Dangers of Temporarily Changing User Profiles
January 12, 2005 Hey, Ted
In “Monitoring for System Request Menu Option 2,” you answered a question from Paul, who needed to write a CL program that temporarily changes a user profile. I always worry when I hear someone is going to temporarily change a user profile and then change it back. Lots of things could happen that would cause problems. Paul realized System Request menu option 2 (ENDRQS) could cause problems that would prevent him from returning the user profile to its original state. What neither you nor Paul mentioned, however, is that options 1 and 90 from the System Request menu could also