More cycle rants

[rbbaird@xxxxxxxxxxx]

I can't resist.  Lord forgive me ;)

I'll say it again, just another tool in my tool box, that has served me very
well for many many years.


To all those who refuse to learn the cycle, what do you do when you run across a
      large WORKING cycle program that needs modifications?

Do you just guess, poke and prod, and hope it works?  Do you rewrite it?  Are
      either of these options acceptable where you work?  They aren't in my
      business.

I don't condemn anyone for not using the cycle, as long as their control break
logic is clean, documented and easily maintained.   All I ask is that I not be
condemned for wanting and encouraging its use.  Using the cycle forces
programming standards and when used appropriately and with discretion decreases
progam complexity.  It's nearly always used the same way, and always works the
same way no matter who wrote it.

I can sit down with an mediocre to average RPG programmer and in 10 or 15
minutes explain the major functions of cycle programming to the point that
he/she can use them effectively.  It's really not that hard!  Remember the rpg
debuging templates we all used to carry around (years ago) that had that handy
little flow chart showing the cycle?  Those 10 or 15 flow steps contained all
you ever really needed to know about the cycle to use it effectively.

The following words were used by someone to describe cycle programs.  Patched,
modified, cloned, changed, monolithic total hell to maintain etc. These words
are not inherent to cycle or non-cycle programs.  They are inherent to bad
programming standards and bad programmers.  Nothing more, nothing less.

5 hail marys, 10 our fathers....

Rick





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