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Adding 'Value' to Your Prototypes

December 2004 | by Jon Paris and Susan Gantner
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Note that the prototype specifies CmdString as being a pointer, passed by VALUE. By using Options(*String), we have allowed ourselves to pass the variable
Command, and the compiler does the work for us. The result is that we can pass a character field (not a pointer) to the function on the call. If you use a regular RPG
variable, rather than the variable-length field, remember to use %Trim when passing the parameter. If you're running V5R3 or later, you can avoid this by coding
Options(*Trim) on the parameter.
We've covered the basic prototyping information to make use of the C-function library, including the use of EXTPROC, VALUE and OPTIONS(*STRING). Some
more advanced C functions require the use of call-back procedures in your RPG program. Click here for an example of using this with the qsort function.
In the meantime, a few more details are necessary to make all of this work. First, you must specify the Binding Directory name QC2LE, preferably on your RPG
programs H spec. This is the binding directory that references all of the service programs in the C-function library. The system binder needs this to locate the
functions when creating your program.
If you prefer to use the Create Bound RPG (CRTBNDRPG) command (or option 14 in PDM) to compile your code, you must also specify DFTACTGRP(*NO) to
allow for bound calls. This can also be specified on the H spec. Here's how your H spec might appear:
H BndDir('QC2LE') DftActGrp(*No)
More Information
If you find a C function that you would like to use and need some help in translating the C data types into RPG data types, you can find that information as well as
some other examples on calling C functions from RPG in the IBM Redbook, "Who Knew You Could Do That with RPG IV?"
Try your hand at using C functions to open up your code to the C-function librarys power.

Page 1 2 3
Jon Paris is a technical editor with IBM Systems Magazine and co-owner of Partner400.
More Articles From Jon Paris
Susan Gantner is a technical editor with IBM Systems Magazine and co-owner of Partner400.
More Articles From Susan Gantner

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