YOUR IBM i TRAINING SOURCE

Overview

RPG IV is unique among programming languages in that it supports two ways to enter statements. Older versions of RPG use a fixed-format syntax, in which the components of a statement must be entered in specific columns. The current version of RPG supports this traditional syntax as well as a free-form syntax that is similar to that used by most modern programming languages. It is this free-form syntax that is taught in this series.

Approximate Study Time for the Entire Series: 19-25 hours

Topic Outline

The Free-Form RPG Programming series contains the following courses:

• Fundamentals of Free-Form RPG
• File Processing with Free-Form RPG
• Rounding Out The Essentials of Free-Form RPG
• Working with Complex Data Types in Free-Form RPG
• Developing a Modular Free-Form RPG Application
• Developing an Interactive Program in Free-Form RPG
• Advanced Free-Form RPG Programming
• Free-Form RPG Programming Competency Exam

Audience

This series is intended for programmers new to the RPG programming language. It can also be taken by RPG III programmers who want to learn RPG IV and by RPG IV programmers who want to learn the free-form syntax.

Prerequisites

All courses in this series assume that you are familiar with computer programming concepts. In order to satisfy this prerequisite, you should have some programming experience with another programming language.

These courses also assume that you have a working knowledge of basic IBM i concepts and facilities. You can satisfy this prerequisite by successfully completing the courses in the following Manta series:

• Introduction to the IBM i Environment

Finally, the courses in this series also assume you familiar with IBM i programming concepts and facilities. You can satisfy this prerequisite by successfully completing the courses in the following series:

• The IBM i Programming Environment

Related Products

A Student Reference Guide is available for this series.

This series is contained in the following combination packs:

• Program Development Combination Pack
• RPG Development Combination Pack

The Free-Form RPG Programming series is intended for new programmers who need to learn only the free-form RPG statements. Students who need to learn the older, fixed-format statements should take the Manta RPG Programming series instead. That series also discusses key differences between RPG III and RPG IV.

Students who have completed the RPG Programming series (or who already know RPG, including the free-form C specs introduced in 2001) can take the Coding Free-Form RPG course to learn the free-form H, F, D, and P specs introduced in 2014.

IBM has announced that the free-form RPG statements will never be supported in SEU, the Source Entry Utility. We recommend that RPG developers use RDi, which is covered in the Manta series Using Rational Developer for i (RDi). RDi contains prompting and help facilities expressly designed for the free-form RPG programmer.

This series covers the standard, record-oriented I/O that is supported by RPG. Today, most organizations use embedded SQL statements in addition to — or instead of — the RPG I/O op codes. Using embedded SQL is covered in the Manta Using Structured Query Language (SQL) series.

Both Using Rational Developer for i (RDi) and Using Structured Query Language (SQL) can be taken before, during, or after the Free-Form RPG Programming series. The IBM i Programming Environment series, which is a prerequisite to this one, introduces both RDi and SQL at a level sufficient to complete this series.