In an earlier tip, I talked about how %Date simplifies our logic by converting our “date” values stored in numeric or character fields into true dates. In that tip, I mentioned that using %Date could potentially result in an error message in the event your “date-like” fields contain an invalid date value, such as zero or blank or a month value of 25.

Here I’ll cover how to avoid getting run time errors due to bad date values. Since many of the “date-like” fields we deal with in our applications come from screens, database fields, HTML or XML documents,

“I need to convert a numeric value into a character string. How do I . . . ?”

This type of question is often asked by RPGers in these days of comma separated value files, XML documents, and Web pages (HTML). Generating such files has become a common requirement in the lives of RPGers. If they aren’t yet commonplace in your corner of the world, then they soon will be; if that doesn’t happen soon, maybe you should be concerned about the future of your favorite platform in your organization!

So let’s start by taking a quick look at one

Last month, I wrote about an i5/OS issue involving the AS/400 Integrated File System. When opening the /QOpenSys folder inside the AS/400 IFS, I found a second /QOpenSys entry. Opening that entry revealed another /QOpenSys folder, and then another, and another, until the trail ended 15 /QOpenSys entries later. I passed the problem on to the Admin Alert readership for research. This week I explain what they found.

Reopening the Matryoshka Doll

The issue, where one /QOpenSys entry is nested inside another like a Power i Matryoshka doll, is simple to explain. When opening the /QOpenSys file system