Subprocedure Basics | IBM i | IBM Systems Magazine

1 of 7

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/enewsletterexclusive/26220p1.aspx

Administrator
Backup and Recovery
DB2
High Availability
LPAR
Networks
Performance
Security
Systems Management
Tivoli
Trends
AIX
Linux
Open Source
What's New
Tips & Techniques
Application Development
Systems Management
Miscellaneous
Case Studies
Automotive
Healthcare
Manufacturing
Miscellaneous
Non-profit
Retail
Storage
Disk
Servers
Software
Tape
Product News
Buyer's Guide
Administrator
Backup and Recovery
DB2
Domino
High Availability
LPAR
Networks
Performance
Printing
Security
Systems Management
WebSphere
Windows Integration
Developer
General
Java
Modernization
RPG
WebSphere
Trends
IBM Announcements
Linux
Open Source
SOA
What's New
Tips & Techniques
Application Development

9/27/2010 8:53 AM

Subprocedure Basics | IBM i | IBM Systems Magazine

2 of 7

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/enewsletterexclusive/26220p1.aspx

Systems Management
Case Studies
Automotive
Banking/Finance
Healthcare
Insurance
Manufacturing
Miscellaneous
Non-profit
Retail
Storage
Disk
Optical
Servers
Tape
Product News
Product Reviews
ENDPGM Main Page
Administrator
Backup and Recovery
CICS
DB2
High Availability
IMS
LPAR
Migration
Networks
Performance
Security
Systems Management
Tivoli
Trends
Linux
Open Source
Security
SOA
What's New
z/OS
z/VM
Tips & Techniques
Application Development
Systems Management
Case Studies
Automotive
Banking/Finance
Healthcare
Insurance
Manufacturing
Miscellaneous
Retail
Storage
Disk
Servers
Software
Tape
Product News
Stop Run
Buyer's Guide Main Page

9/27/2010 8:53 AM

Subprocedure Basics | IBM i | IBM Systems Magazine

3 of 7

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/enewsletterexclusive/26220p1.aspx

Business Strategy
Competitive Advantage
Consolidation
Executive Perspective
Green IT
Migration
Open Source
ROI
Infrastructure
Blades
Storage
Systems Management
Case Studies
Distribution
Healthcare
Manufacturing
Services
Web 2.0
Cloud
Social Media
Trends
Collaboration
IBM Announcements
IBM Research
Open Source
Social Media
What's New
Product News

AIX
MAINFRAME
POWER
Newsletters
About Us

Subscribe
Current Issue
Archive

IBM i
ALL EDITIONS
ADMINISTRATOR
DEVELOPER
TRENDS
TIPS & TECHNIQUES
CASE STUDIES

9/27/2010 8:53 AM

Subprocedure Basics | IBM i | IBM Systems Magazine

4 of 7

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/enewsletterexclusive/26220p1.aspx

STORAGE
PRODUCT NEWS
ENDPGM
BUYER'S GUIDE

Developer > RPG

Subprocedure Basics
How and why to convert subroutines to subprocedures
August 2009 | by Susan Gantner and Jon Paris

Print

Email

Last month, we wrote about why we write subprocedures instead of subroutines, and we promised to cover the basic how to this month. We'll use
the same example (i.e., a subroutine that takes a date and calculates the day of the week for that date) and convert the code to a subprocedure, which
gives us the chance to not only show the syntax changes needed, but also illustrate the benefits in more detail.
Here's the original subroutine code. We're not showing the entire program hereonly the parts specifically relevant to the subroutine and one instance
of calling it.

Initially, we're going to simply convert this subroutine into an internal subprocedure. Later, as we mentioned last month, we could choose to
externalize that subprocedure to be able to access it from multiple programs. But in this article, we'll just concentrate on the first step.
First, we may need to move the code for the subroutine within the source member. Subprocedures go after all of the ordinary main program logic.
Subprocedures go after any O specs the member may contain but before any compile-time data.
The next step is to replace the BEGSR and ENDSR operations with P specifications. The P spec contains the name of the subprocedure (aka

9/27/2010 8:53 AM

Subprocedure Basics | IBM i | IBM Systems Magazine

5 of 7

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/enewsletterexclusive/26220p1.aspx

procedure) and either a B for begin or E for end. The procedure name is optional on the ending P spec, but it's a good idea to code it there for clarity
when scrolling through the code. So our beginning and ending P specs will look like this:

A subprocedure can be thought of as a cross between a subroutine and a program. Like a subroutine, it can be (but doesn't have to be) coded in the
same source member as the code that calls or runs it. However, it's more like a program in the sense that it accepts parameters and has its own local
data definitions.
Next page: >>
Page 1 2 3
Susan Gantner is a technical editor with IBM Systems Magazine and co-owner of Partner400.
More Articles From Susan Gantner
Jon Paris is a technical editor with IBM Systems Magazine and co-owner of Partner400.
More Articles From Jon Paris

Advertisement

WEBINAR
Thursday, September 30 2pm (ET) from LANSA
IBM i Enterprise Web Development ---- Fact or Fiction?

Browse products and services for Developer.

Advertisement

9/27/2010 8:53 AM

Subprocedure Basics | IBM i | IBM Systems Magazine

6 of 7

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/enewsletterexclusive/26220p1.aspx

Maximize your IT investment with monthly information from THE source...IBM Systems Magazine EXTRA & Marketplace eNewsletters.
SUBSCRIBE NOW.
View past IBM i EXTRAs here

Related Articles
V5R4 Introduces Subroutines for CL
Administrator
The Case for CODE/400
E-Newsletter Exclusive
Paging RPG IV
RPG for the Web
Three Good Reasons to Stop Writing Subroutines
E-Newsletter Exclusive | Save time and reduce errors with subprocedures

9/27/2010 8:53 AM

Subprocedure Basics | IBM i | IBM Systems Magazine

7 of 7

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/enewsletterexclusive/26220p1.aspx

IBM i
AIX
MAINFRAME
POWER
Homepage
About Us
Contact Us
Subscriptions
Editorial Calendar
Advertise With Us
Reprints
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Sitemap
IBM Systems Magazine is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. The editorial content of IBM Systems Magazine is placed on
this website by MSP TechMedia under license from International Business Machines Corporation.
2010 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved

9/27/2010 8:53 AM