Re: Why you shouldn't be afraid to use VARCHAR in RPGLE

Sorry the previous message "sent itself" before I finished. 

Isn't there a bif or technique that can be used in the D-specs to get the size of the %len() part of the VARCHAR, or get to the actual data of the variable?

--Alan Cassidy


> > On 12/05/2025 10:12 PM EST Daniel Gross <[email protected]> wrote
> > 
> >  
> > AFAIK - I might have to test it - this should be possible:
> > 
> >   dcl-s w_address1 varchar(%len(phaddress1)) inz;
> > 
> > At least it should be possible to define a constant and use this to define your varchar variable:
> > 
> >   dcl-c #LEN %len(phaddress1);
> >   dcl-s w_address1 varchar(#LEN) inz;
> > 
> > As long as the expression value is resolvable at compile time. But I'm pretty sure, that also the first form should work. 
> > 
> > -> https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/i/7.6.0?topic=length-len-used-its-value
> > 
> > And you can also use %LEN to get the maximum size of a VARCHAR variable, simply use:
> > 
> >      %len(varchar_variable:*max)
> > 
> > -> https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/i/7.6.0?topic=lgsl-len-used-get-maximum-length-varying-length-expressions
> > 
> > But when %LEN is used in definition statement, it always returns the maximum length of variable length fields like VARCHAR. So it should also work the other way around:
> > 
> >   dcl-s x_address1 char(%len(w_address1)) inz;
> > 
> > HTH
> > Daniel
> > 
> > 
> > > Am 06.12.2025 um 03:41 schrieb Jon Paris <[email protected]>:
> > > 
> > > Not quite, Charles.  $SIZE returns the storage required to hold the field - it's capacity will be 2 or 4 less than that due to the storage used by the length.
> > > 
> > > So:
> > > 
> > > Dcl-S  myVarLen  Varchar(200) Inz;  // %Len = 0, %Size = 202 bytes.
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Jon Paris
> > > [email protected]
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > >> On Dec 5, 2025, at 6:08 PM, Charles Wilt <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >> 
> > >> LIKE should pick up the both the type and size...
> > >> 
> > >> dcl-s w_address1 like(phaddress1);
> > >> 
> > >> note: %len() on a varchar is always the length of the current value.  The
> > >> max size is retrieved using %size().
> > >> 
> > >> HTH,
> > >> Charles
> > >> 
> > >>> On Fri, Dec 5, 2025 at 3:28 PM DEnglander--- via RPG400-L <
> > >>> [email protected]> wrote:
> > >>> 
> > >>> Does anyone know how to do something like this:
> > >>> 
> > >>> I would like to define a %TRIMmed disk field that is CHAR(200)
> > >>> [PHADDRESS1] as a VARCHAR and eliminate the %TRIMs.
> > >>> 
> > >>> So as not to hardcode the size of the VARCHAR, can I define it as VARCHAR
> > >>> but based on the length of the CHAR(200) field? Something like:
> > >>> 
> > >>> dcl-s   w_address1      varchar(%len(phaddress1));
> > >>> 
> > >>> 
> > >>> Can that be done?
> > >>> 
> > >>> Thank you,
> > >>> 
> > >>> Doug
> > >>> 
> > >>> 
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