convert ILE O spec to print file

[ciminello]

Does any one have a program the will convert ILE O spec to a print file?

[Sarge]

there are a couple of commercial products (dont remember the names) that will do this, but no share-ware that i am aware of.

of course, i have to ask: "Why convert to a print file?" there is not much more you can do with it that you cannot do in an O-spec. during conversions, i would not change them to printerfiles, but would instead save the printer files for new development or major (i mean MAJOR) overhauls of code.

-sarge

[Sergeant]

my preference is to NOT use external printer files. IBM's interface stinks, or I am really, really, really mentally challenged.

O-specs are easy to maintain, are NEARLY as functional as external print files and convert from one version to another.

the only upgrade I would do with internally defined printer files is to use exception output, based on EXCEPT statements, as opposed to programs that still use the RPG cycle.

and yes, I still use the RPG cycle for the quick-n-dirty update all or batch processing to read a file, if there are no calcs other than converting dates or very simple top-down calcs.

-sergeant

[taherte]

External print files are great using RDp/RDi. Everything is graphical and you code your report as you design it. So much simpler to visualize than O-specs, and easier to maintain.

[jvoris]

I too would question why. If you are thinking that going with External Printer Files will help you with Internationalization, I would refer you to my post on this

http://archive.midrange.com/rpg400-l/201308/msg00223.html

Constants in Printer Files are not like DSPF ! They usually require a certain amount work in the RPG code to extract the text that will be in the literal-constants which appear.

John Voris

[bbardini]

Hello!

If you have TAATOOLs on your system, then you should have a command CRTEXTPRTF (Create Ext Dsc PRTF) that will take an RPG source member's internal printer specs and create a DDS for an external print file. It does produce a report of things that it changed, or that you'll have to change.

Gumbo Software has a command CVTRPTSRC (Convert Report Source) that will take the internal printer specs of an RPG or RPGLE program and convert them to an externally described printer file. The command is part of Gumbo's Report Design Aid (RDA). RDA works pretty much exactly like SDA, so a very short learning curve.

I don't understand everyone's questions about why you would want to switch from internal printer specs to an external printer file. There's PLENTY that you can do with a printer file that you can't do with internal specs; barcodes, images, different fonts on the same page, text in different directions, colors. Some of these functions you can accomplish with internal specs and an overlay (I think), but that would be for static data.

That being said, if you don't have a tool to design your printer file, then it's not easy; I would hate to edit the DDS directly. I've never used RLU, but I think the general consensus is that IBM dropped the ball on that tool. Nor have I used the graphical tools that IBM has supplied.

Long story short, you CAN do more with external printer files than you can with internal printer specs.

Let me know how it goes!

Bruce