Re: Are SQL statement lines limited to 80 characters ?

The RPG reference says this:

-> https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/i/7.6.0?topic=functions-sql

And this:

-> https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/i/7.6.0?topic=specifications-free-form-statements#freestmt

The essence is: 

- in **free there is no limitation of the statement length

- in /free (or "column-limited free-form source") everything after column 80 has to be preceded by // and therefore is a comment

So there shouldn't be a problem with source after column 80 in **free source. 

Which error message is emitted by the pre-compiler? Does RDi flag the statement as invalid?

HTH
Daniel


> Am 06.02.2026 um 19:15 schrieb Dan Bale via RPG400-L <[email protected]>:
> 
> I found a program in production that has **FREE at the top of the source and one SQL statement that extends to column 85.
> 
> Just remember that **FREE is different than /free.  Someone can confirm/deny, but I think /free is still limited to 80 columns.
> 
> - Dan Bale
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: RPG400-L <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Richard Schoen
> Sent: Friday, February 6, 2026 12:45 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Are SQL statement lines limited to 80 characters ?
> 
> Maybe some of you already know this, but I just spent a couple hours debugging an SQL statement that worked great in ACS Run SQL but would not pass the SQLRPGLE pre-compiler test.
> 
> As it turns out I believe each line of an SQL statement can only be up to position 80 before you need to continue on the next line.
> 
> I read something that alluded specifying **free would allow longer lines, but that didn't seem to help.
> 
> Can someone tell me what the reality is for this ?
> 
> Am I limited to 80 line SQL statements in SQLRPGLE ?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Regards,
> Richard Schoen
> 
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