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

In this article I would like to introduce a service program that provides RPG subprocedure “wrappers” for using SQL scalar functions. This means you can use an SQL scalar function as if it were an RPG built-in function.

Using an SQL scalar function can be a lot easier than using the RPG alternative:

• Use the UPPER function instead of defining two translation strings and using %XLATE.
• Use DAYNAME function instead of calculating the day of the week and using an array to provide the day name.
• Using the

In the previous episode of this exciting series, I wrote about FOR, arguably the most useful of the SQL PL looping structures. Next in line of usefulness, in my opinion, is the LOOP structure. Like the rest of SQL PL, this is an easy structure to master, and I am pleased to write about it.

In its simplest form, the syntax of the LOOP structure is as follows:

LOOP - body - END LOOP

Here is a more realistic version of the syntax:

label: LOOP - body - END LOOP label

The body contains any assortment of simple statements

I have a problem with an FTP script. I wish to send a file in QTEMP to a remote system, but the script tries to send the file from QGPL instead. The PUT command does not tell which library to send the file from because our standards prohibit the use of hard-coded library names. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

–Al

I commend you and other wise people in your shop for outlawing the hard-coding of library names, Al. The library list is a wonderful feature of IBM i, a feature that is sorely missing from other database systems. I have