<snip>
>
> I had two thoughts. Actual documentation -- printable in fact -- done
> as a community effort like Sourceforge. Or some sort of online database
> like a Wiki. Personally, I would prefer a "Redbook" type of document
> that is contributed to by all and stored in a neutral place like
> Sourceforge (or CBT) or whatever is better.
Another alternative could be the expansion of things like REXX built-in
functions, or things like Callable Services Libraries (CSLs) on the z/VM
world, letting programmers retrieve information they're looking for without
needing to things like control block crawling themselves. The term "idiom"
comes to mind.
And of course the source code for these routines should be freely available
for inspection should you want to incorporate it into your program
directly.
An example of what I'm talking about was provided to me in my
previously-mentioned search for timezone offset, where I learned about this
alternative to CVT chaining:
/* Get the local offset from GMT */
/* Courtesy Robin Ryerse <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> from TSO-REXX mailing list
*/
days_diff = mvsvar('SYMDEF','LYR4') - mvsvar('SYMDEF','YR4')
if days_diff = 0 then
days_diff = mvsvar('SYMDEF','LJDAY') - mvsvar('SYMDEF','JDAY')
hours_diff = mvsvar('SYMDEF','LHR') -,
mvsvar('SYMDEF','HR') + 24 * days_diff
min_diff = right(abs(mvsvar('SYMDEF','MIN') -,
mvsvar('SYMDEF','LMIN')),2,'0')
sign = substr('+-',(hours_diff < 0)+1,1)
gmt_offset_hhmm = sign || right(abs(hours_diff),2,'0')min_diff
return
Best regards,
Mark Wheeler, 3M Company
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