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

Hi Alan,

if you mean, that a D-spec %LEN should get the actual length of the contents of a VARCHAR at runtime? Then NO - this isn't possible.

If you use %LEN in a D-spec with a VARCHAR field, it will return the same result als %LEN(...:*MAX) would return for that VARCHAR field at runtime - the maximum length of the VARCHAR contents according to the D-spec where the VARCHAR was defined. The %LEN in a D-spec must be resolved at compile time.

So again - NO you can't define a field at compile time based on the length of another fields contents at runtime.

HTH
Daniel


> Am 06.12.2025 um 14:59 schrieb Infodorado InfoDorado <[email protected]>:
> 
> 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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