Note: The code accompanying this article is available for download here.

Until IBM i v7.1 has made a pervasive appearance on virtually all IBM systems, the cool new v7.1 updates to RPG IV are out of reach for many RPG developers. Fortunately, with IBM i v7.1, IBM has finally stopped “point release” updates to the RPG compiler, giving us the ability to use anything implemented on (for example) technology refresh 5 all the way back to TR1. Life is good for RPG developers today.

If you’re a software developer or, like me, consulting with clients that have everything from

I found your article 10 Facts You Should Know about Special Values very interesting. I have a few questions related to a command I am writing.

–Glenn

I owe Glenn an apology. He is one of the many people whose email I never responded to. I’m sorry, Glenn. Sometimes life presents too many opportunities.

Here’s Glenn’s first question:

1. If a user specifies *ALL for a parameter, how do you prevent the user from typing in other values?

Fair enough. Define *ALL in the Single Value (SNGVAL) keyword, not in the Special Value (SPCVAL) keyword.

CMD        PROMPT('Do it')

PARM KWD(RPTTYPE) 

IBM Power system customers usually buy more capacity than they need. A customer may buy an eight processor Power 720 machine but only activate five processors, leaving the additional processors for future growth. Because it’s expensive to activate Power system processors, IBM offers a program called Trial Capacity on Demand (TCoD) that allows you to test whether additional processors will alleviate system bottlenecks before you purchase.

What Is TCoD?

Trial Capacity on Demand (TCoD) is an IBM program that allows you to activate already existing system processors for 30 days at no charge. The intent is to allow users to