What’s New In CL Programming
Kevin Forsythe
DMC Consulting
kevin.forsythe@dmcconsulting.com
1
What’s New In CL Programming
In the last two releases, IBM has made huge and
unprecedented changes in the CL programming
language.
Until V5R3 and V5R4, CL had seemed about as
dormant as DOS! But now we can all thank IBM
for beefing up this language and providing us
with a number of great features.
These enhancements improve CL program’s
ability to interoperate with other languages, and
generally make it easier and more productive to
work with.
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What’s New In CL Programming
Included in the recent enhancements are:
• Support for Integer and Unsigned Integer data types
• Support for Pointer Data Types
• Select
• DoUntil Loop
• DoWhile Loop
• DoFor Loop
• Subroutines
• Support for processing up to five files
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What’s New In CL Programming
Integers and Unsigned Integers
These new data types provide an efficient
method of storing certain numeric data.
Obviously if the data contains decimal values
then these two data types are inappropriate, but
otherwise it provides an even more compact
form than the traditional packed (*DEC)
format. The following chart illustrates the
maximum values expressed by *INT, *UINT,
and *DEC formats (for comparison).
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What’s New In CL Programming
•
•
•
•
•
•
Data Type
*INT
*UINT
*DEC
*INT
*UINT
*DEC
Size in Bytes
2
2
2
4
4
4
Maximum value
32K
64K
999
2 Bil.
4 Bil.
9,999,999
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What’s New In CL Programming
A simple example of when to use one of these is
any time that you need a “counter” or “index”
variable. In the following example, the
program receives a file name as a parameter; it
attempts to create an achieved copy of the
object and then deletes the original. If it fails to
get a lock, it retries up to 3 times before giving
up.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM PARM(&FILE &LIB)
DCL &FILE *CHAR (10)
DCL &LIB *CHAR (10)
DCL &X *UINT (2)
CRTDUPOBJ OBJ(&FILE) FROMLIB(&LIB) OBJTYPE(*FILE) +
TOLIB(ARCHIVE) DATA(*YES)
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0000) EXEC(DO)
DLTF ARCHIVE/&FILE
CRTDUPOBJ OBJ(&FILE) FROMLIB(&LIB) +
OBJTYPE(*FILE) TOLIB(ARCHIVE) DATA(*YES)
ENDDO
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What’s New In CL Programming
DLT: DLTF &LIB/&FILE
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0000) EXEC(DO)
CHGVAR &X (&X +1)
IF COND(&X >= 3) THEN(DO)
SNDUSRMSG MSG('File' *BCAT &FILE *BCAT +
'in library' *BCAT &LIB *BCAT 'Was not destroyed.') +
MSGTYPE(*INFO) TOUSR(*REQUESTER)
GOTO END
ENDDO
GOTO DLT
ENDDO
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What’s New In CL
Programming
SNDUSRMSG MSG('File' *BCAT &FILE +
*BCAT 'in library ' *BCAT &LIB *BCAT +
'destroyed.') MSGTYPE(*INFO) +
TOUSR(*REQUESTER)
END:
ENDPGM
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What’s New In CL Programming
Pointers
• Pointers are fairly new for most RPG
programmers, but they have been around a
long time, and are commonly used in other
languages such as C. Unlike most other data
types, pointers do not contain data. Instead,
they contain the memory address for a piece
of data. Each pointer is 16 bytes long, which
corresponds to the size of a memory address.
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What’s New In CL Programming
• These sophisticated variables might seem out
of place in CL programs, which are typically
fairly simple programs. However, for greater
interoperability with other languages and
API’s, pointers provide much needed
flexibility.
• The following example shows how to use
pointers to scan through a large text field
holding the current user portion of the library
list and searching for a specific library.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM
DCL &LIBL *CHAR (2750)
DCL &PTR *PTR ADDRESS(&LIBL)
DCL &LIB *CHAR (10) STG(*BASED) +
BASPTR(&PTR)
RTVJOBA USRLIBL(&LIBL)
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What’s New In CL Programming
CHECK:
IF COND(&LIB = 'EUREKA') THEN(DO)
SNDUSRMSG MSG('I Found it!') +
MSGTYPE(*INFO)
TOUSR(*REQUESTER)
GOTO END
ENDDO
CHGVAR VAR(%OFS(&PTR))
VALUE(%OFS(&PTR) + 11)
GOTO CHECK
END:
ENDPGM
+
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What’s New In CL Programming
The field &PTR is defined as a *PTR data type and
initialized with the address of &LIBL.
The variable &LIB is “based” on &PTR. This means
that it does not have its own location in storage
(memory). Rather, it moves to the location given in
&PTR.
When this program loads, &LIB initially overlays the
first 10 bytes of &LIBL. Each time the program loops,
the pointer moves 11 characters further down the
&LIBL field.
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What’s New In CL Programming
The offset function (%OFS) allows the CL program to
easily adjust the location of the pointer by simply adding
or subtracting a number of bytes.
The program uses an increment of 11 because there is one
byte of blank data between each library name in the list,
and each library name is 10 characters long, so the total is
11.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM
DCL &LIBL *CHAR (2750)
DCL &FIRSTLIB *CHAR10) +
STG(*DEFINED) DEFVAR(&LIBL 1)
• Variables may be defined as being sub-fields of other
variables. This is similar to a data structure in RPG.
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What’s New In CL Programming
SELECT Statement
The select statement is nothing more than a specialized
“IF” structure. It defines a set of mutually exclusive
tests. Each test has a corresponding command to
execute upon a successful test. As soon as that
command is complete, control passes to the statement
after the ENDSELECT.
This may not present any truly new ability, it does
however, provide a much easier to read and understand
logical control for CL Programs. The following
example illustrates the use of the select statement by
sending users to a different menu based upon their user
class.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM
DCL &CLASS *CHAR (10)
RTVUSRPRF USRCLS(&CLASS)
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What’s New In CL Programming
SELECT
WHEN COND(&CLASS = '*SECOFR') THEN( +
GOTO UBERLEET)
WHEN COND(&CLASS = '*SECADM') THEN( +
GOTO NOTSOUBER)
WHEN COND(&CLASS = '*SYSOPR') THEN( +
GOTO REALWORK)
WHEN COND(&CLASS = '*PGMR') THEN( +
GOTO GEEKDOM)
OTHERWISE CMD(GOTO LOCKDOWN)
ENDSELECT
END:
ENDPGM
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What’s New In CL Programming
DOUNTIL Statement
The DOUNTIL command provides a nice and
easy to use tool for looping until some event
happens. The following example shows how to
use DOUNTIL to force a program to loop
continuously until the job, subsystem or the
system itself is shut down.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM
DCL &ENDJOB *LGL
DOUNTIL COND(&ENDJOB)
CALL PGM1
CALL PGM2
CALL PGM3
RTVJOBA ENDSTS(&ENDJOB)
ENDDO
END:
ENDPGM
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What’s New In CL Programming
Its important to note that DOUNTIL does not test
the value of &ENDJOB until after the code inside
the loop has processed once.
The test is performed when control of the program
reaches the ENDDO for the loop.
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What’s New In CL Programming
DOWHILE Statement
If DOUNTIL’s test at the end of the loop bugs
you, you could use DOWHILE instead.
It is very similar in function. However, it loops
while the condition is true, and exits the loop
when it is not true.
And the test is performed at the beginning of the
loop, so there is no guarantee that the code inside
the loop will ever execute.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM
DCL &ENDJOB *LGL
RTVJOBA ENDSTS(&ENDJOB)
DOWHILE COND(*NOT &ENDJOB)
CALL PGM1
CALL PGM2
CALL PGM3
RTVJOBA ENDSTS(&ENDJOB
ENDDO
END:
ENDPGM
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What’s New In CL Programming
• Example:
PGM
PARM(&SLSDIST &DATE)
DCL
VAR(&SLSDIST) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(3)
DCL
VAR(&DATE)
DCL
VAR(&ERRORS) TYPE(*LGL) VALUE(‘1’)
TYPE(*DEC)
LEN(6 0)
ENDPGM
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What’s New In CL Programming
DOFOR Statement
If you have a loop that executes a specific number of
times, DOFOR will come in handy.
The following example illustrates a modified version
of an earlier example.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM PARM(&FILE &LIB)
DCL &FILE *CHAR (10)
DCL &LIB *CHAR (10)
DCL &X *INT (2)
DCL &ERR *LGL
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What’s New In CL Programming
CRTDUPOBJ OBJ(&FILE) FROMLIB(&LIB) +
OBJTYPE(*FILE) +
TOLIB(ARCHIVE) DATA(*YES)
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0000) EXEC(DO)
DLTF ARCHIVE/&FILE
CRTDUPOBJ OBJ(&FILE) FROMLIB(&LIB) +
OBJTYPE(*FILE) +
TOLIB(ARCHIVE) DATA(*YES)
ENDDO
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What’s New In CL Programming
CHGVAR VAR(&ERR) VALUE(‘1’)
DOFOR VAR(&X) FROM(1) TO(3) BY(1)
DLTF &LIB/&FILE
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0000) EXEC(ITERATE)
CHGVAR VAR(&ERR) VALUE(‘0’)
LEAVE
ENDDO
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What’s New In CL Programming
IF COND(&ERR) THEN( +
SNDUSRMSG MSG('File' *BCAT &FILE +
*BCAT 'in library‘ *BCAT &LIB +
*BCAT 'Was not destroyed.') +
MSGTYPE(*INFO) TOUSR(*REQUESTER))
ELSE CMD( +
SNDUSRMSG MSG('File' *BCAT &FILE +
*BCAT 'in library ' +
*BCAT &LIB *BCAT 'destroyed.') +
MSGTYPE(*INFO) TOUSR(*REQUESTER))
END:
ENDPGM
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What’s New In CL Programming
Subroutines
Okay, is it just me, or is it incredible that IBM has added
subroutine support to CL programs?
While its true a lot of CL programs are far too simple to benefit
the use subroutines.
There are plenty of places where it is very useful. The
following example shows the code for a program that calls
several programs and monitors for errors in each one.
A subroutine provides common error handling for the program.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM
DCL &MSG *CHAR (80)
DCL &ANS *CHAR (1)
DCL &X *INT (2)
DOUNTIL (&X = 1)
CHGVAR &X 1
CALL PGM1
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0000) EXEC(CALLSUBR ERR)
ENDDO
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What’s New In CL Programming
DOUNTIL (&X = 2)
CHGVAR &X 2
CALL PGM2
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0000) EXEC(CALLSUBR ERR)
ENDDO
DOUNTIL (&X = 3)
CHGVAR &X 3
CALL PGM3
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0000) EXEC(CALLSUBR ERR)
ENDDO
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What’s New In CL Programming
SUBR
SUBR(ERR)
RCVMSG MSG(&MSG)
SNDUSRMSG MSGID(CPF9897)
MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA(&MSG) +
VALUES(C I D R) DFT(R)
TOMSGQ(*SYSOPR) +
MSGRPY(&ANS)
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What’s New In CL Programming
SELECT
WHEN (&ANS = C) THEN(+
SNDPGMMSG MSGID(CPF9897) +
MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA(&MSG) +
MSGTYPE(*ESCAPE))
WHEN (&ANS = R) THEN(+
CHGVAR &X 0)
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What’s New In CL Programming
WHEN (&ANS = D) THEN(DO)
DUMPCLPGM
SNDPGMMSG MSGID(CPF9897) +
MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA(&MSG) +
MSGTYPE(*ESCAPE))
ENDDO
ENDSELECT
ENDSUBR
END:
ENDPGM
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What’s New In CL Programming
Notice that the calls to PGM1, PGM2, and
PGM3 are all wrapped up in a do loop.
That loop allows the retry function of the error
handling sub routine to work.
If an error occurs and the user takes an “R” to
retry, &X is set to 0 and the loop will continue
calling the program again.
If no error occurs or if a different option is
taken, &X will be unchanged ending the loop.
37
What’s New In CL Programming
Multiple Files
Another great and recent addition to CL is the ability to handle
more than one file in a single program. Sure, the CL language
is not intended for intensive I/O handling programs. However,
there are still times when it is very convenient to read two or
more files in the same program.
The following example shows a CL program that searches a
list of libraries for source physical files and then performs a
FNDSTRPDM command against each of these files, looking
for a specified string.
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What’s New In CL Programming
PGM
PARM(&TEXT)
DCLF
FILE(APPLIBS) OPNID(LIBS)
DCLF
FILE(QAFDBASI) OPNID(FILES)
DCL
VAR(&TEXT) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(40)
/* LOOP THROUGH EACH LIBRARY
/* IN THE APPLIBS FILE
/* AND ADD ALL OF FILES
/* IN EACH TO QGPL/FILES
*/
*/
*/
*/
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What’s New In CL Programming
DOWHILE COND(1 = 1)
RCVF
OPNID(LIBS)
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0864) EXEC(LEAVE)
DSPFD
FILE(&LIBS_LIBNAME/*ALL) +
TYPE(*BASATR) +
OUTPUT(*OUTFILE) +
OUTFILE(QTEMP/FILES) +
OUTMBR(*FIRST *ADD)
ENDDO
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What’s New In CL Programming
/*
/*
/*
/*
READ EACH FILE IN QGPL/FILES
AND PERFORM A FNDSTRPDM
AGAINST IT. SEARCHING FOR
THE PARM &TEXT
OVRDBF FILE(QAFDBASI) +
TOFILE(QTEMP/FILES)
DOWHILE COND(1 = 1)
RCVF
OPNID(FILES)
*/
*/
*/
*/
MONMSG MSGID(CPF0864) EXEC(LEAVE)
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What’s New In CL Programming
IF (&FILES_ATDTAT = 'S' *AND +
&FILES_ATFTYP = 'P') THEN(DO)
FNDSTRPDM STRING(&TEXT) +
FILE(&FILES_ATLIB/&FILES_ATFILE) +
MBR(*ALL) OPTION(*NONE) PRTMBRLIST(*YES) +
PRTRCDS(*NONE)
MONMSG MSGID(PDM0000)
ENDDO
ENDDO
DLTOVR FILE(QAFDBASI)
ENDPGM
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What’s New In CL Programming
Each of the declare files have an OPNID parameter
(LIBS and FILES respectively) which provides a
unique identifier for the files.
The RCV command should reference the appropriate
file ID to ensure reading the next record from the
appropriate file.
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What’s New In CL Programming
Each of the fields from the files must also use the open ID as a
prefix to the field name, such as &FILES_ATFILE. The field
name is ATFILE, the open ID is FILES, and so the variable
name in the CL program is &FILES_ATFILE.
If you are only using one file in the CL program, you can omit
the open ID from the RCV command and the field names.
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What’s New In CL Programming
• Use Procedure calls to integrate more tightly with
ILE applications. This also allows us to create
more practical and functional tools.
45
What’s New In CL Programming
• CALLPRC PRC(‘RUNSQL') +
PARM((&SQLSTMT *BYVAL)) +
RTNVAL(&SQLCODE)
46
Possible Future Changes
•CLOSE command (read file more than once)
•INCLUDE command (like /COPY in RPG)
•Modify CVTDAT to support larger year range
•Compiler option to keep unreferenced CL variables
•Show DO/SELECT levels on compiler listing
•Support *BYREF/*BYVAL for ILE CL procedures
•Increased variable sizes
•Support for Arrays
47
What would you like…
What changes/enhancements would you like to see?
48
Any
Questions
?????
49
What’s New In CL Programming
While it is doubtful that many shops will jump to V5R4 just
to get these new features in CL, its still true that most shops
will be happy to take advantage of these enhancements as
they move up to the current release.
The enhancements to CL in the last two releases also leave us
wondering what pleasant surprises might be in store for the
next release…
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