RE: Calling similiar (overloaded) procedure that has *nopass *omit in the parameter

["Morgan, Paul" <Paul.Morgan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm curious where in the V5R4 documentation it mentions that using %addr() on a *NOPASS parameter is unreliable?  With my testing on program subprocedures it works.  Maybe with further testing it won't.  Maybe it won't work with a service program procedure.  The RPG documentation (reference and user guide) talks about using %addr() on an *OMIT parameter but no mention of results on a *NOPASS parameter. 

Paul Morgan

Principal Programmer Analyst
IT Supply Chain/Replenishment

-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John McKay
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 1:35 AM
To: RPG programming on the IBM i / System i
Subject: Re: Calling similiar (overloaded) procedure that has*nopass *omitinthe parameter

Barbara,

     Lucky programmers document and test, test and document.  They also 
read the documentation  and the code.

Regards,
John McKay   mba

On 08/03/2011 23:00, Barbara Morris wrote:
> On 2011/3/8 3:18 PM, Morgan, Paul wrote:
> > Have you tried to check the address of a *nopass parameter if it
> > wasn't passed?  I get *NULL when I check in my test program and the
> > program doesn't break.
> You've been unlucky then.  If you were lucky, you would have seen a
> non-null pointer that just happened to be lying around where your
> program was looking for it, and your program would have broken because
> it thought the parameter had actually been passed.
>
> Sometimes programs and procedures that access unpassed parameters can
> work for years, and then something changes about what happens before the
> program or procedure gets called, and *boom*, you get an error.
>
> Everything might seem to work fine until you demo it to your boss, or
> until just after it goes into production, or until just before you go on
> vacation, or ...