Don Wereschuk wrote:
I apologies to the list for taking up some of their time on something that seems so stupid to the rest of you and be assured that I won't bother the list again with such trivial matters.
Don:
IMO, never apologize for a sincere question that is asked. If a
good-sized thread comes out of it, you can feel sure that a LOT of
others are following it. Many are learning.
Joe's latest comments on this were on the mark.
I certainly hope that none of my attempts at discussing your
original question came across as either condescending or expressing
irritation.
It's almost impossible to choose words that are appropriate for the
level of knowledge on the other end when dialogs begin. It takes a
while to read multiple posts and to build up the image.
Some here might be 30+ year veterans who are just starting to get
into pointers or internal/external procs or various APIs. Others
might be newbies in i5/OS but well grounded in UNIX. Others might be
total newbies learning their first language and trying to grasp the
differences among MOVE, MOVEL and EVAL. The same wording might come
from each and each might get a very different impression of any
given response.
What's worse, a response might be created simply on a bad day --
poor choice of words that would have been different a day later.
What's better, though, an issue like yours can come into the list
and it starts a lot of posts back and forth. Very good info collects
under the thread. Along the line, corrections and clarifications add
up. Everybody benefits.
Take stuff that's useful and ignore what isn't. That's about all any
of us hope for.
Looking forward to your next question. If I learn as much from it as
I did from the comments in this thread, it'll be well worth it.
Tom Liotta
midrange.com
