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Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Hello,

We never used "_" in our programs. We use "." to separate words in variables and we never had a problem. Probably someone 40 years ago found out that, and put it in our standards. :)

On another hand, I don't recall any programming language to treat "_" as a space.

Regards,

Chris

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Hi, 

Given there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different programming languages out there. What language are you talking about ?

Hello,

We never used "_" in our programs. We use "." to separate words in variables and we never had a problem. Probably someone 40 years ago found out that, and put it in our standards. :)

On another hand, I don't recall any programming language to treat "_" as a space.

Regards,

Chris

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Hello,

We never used "_" in our programs. We use "." to separate words in variables and we never had a problem. Probably someone 40 years ago found out that, and put it in our standards. :)

On another hand, I don't recall any programming language to treat "_" as a space.

Regards,

Chris

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Yup, I've seen some doozies in my day - my favorite was using a variable named 'Debug' - the coder had a line in their program that said 'IF DEBUG THEN DEBUG'.  It worked, but YUCK!

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

What's wrong with that?  Of course, it helps if you have standards and use upper/lower case consistently as part of those standards.  In my personal stuff on my own PC, in REXX:  "If debug Then..."  In perl, "if $debug" seems quite clear.  Or sometimes the variable is dbg / $dbg if I'm being lazy.

I wish PL/I was more widely used.  Then I could code:  IF WRITE THEN WRITE ... .  That would cause a FORTRAN compiler to have a heart attack.

Yup, I've seen some doozies in my day - my favorite was using a variable named 'Debug' - the coder had a line in their program that said 'IF DEBUG THEN DEBUG'.  It worked, but YUCK!

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

There are a lot of things wrong with 'If debug then debug' - the most obvious being maintainability. If you were the sole architect on a system, and you had the foresight to use that line and concept every single place you wanted the program to call the debugger - maybe I would agree its a plausable idea. But this is PICK - I know of no place that has only had one coder. Additionally, *most reserved words cannot be used as variables - which is how this thread started, so doing so is risky. It also brings in an additional level of confusion. I don't like to have to follow variables to know what they are - there is increased and efficient maintainability in code that uses appropriate language. In this case you are making a flag, so I personally would use 

IF DEBUG.FLG THEN DEBUG

Just my opinion after almost 40 years of maintaining other people's code.

What's wrong with that?  Of course, it helps if you have standards and use upper/lower case consistently as part of those standards.  In my personal stuff on my own PC, in REXX:  "If debug Then..."  In perl, "if $debug" seems quite clear.  Or sometimes the variable is dbg / $dbg if I'm being lazy.

I wish PL/I was more widely used.  Then I could code:  IF WRITE THEN WRITE ... .  That would cause a FORTRAN compiler to have a heart attack.

Yup, I've seen some doozies in my day - my favorite was using a variable named 'Debug' - the coder had a line in their program that said 'IF DEBUG THEN DEBUG'.  It worked, but YUCK!

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

What's wrong with that?  Of course, it helps if you have standards and use upper/lower case consistently as part of those standards.  In my personal stuff on my own PC, in REXX:  "If debug Then..."  In perl, "if $debug" seems quite clear.  Or sometimes the variable is dbg / $dbg if I'm being lazy.

I wish PL/I was more widely used.  Then I could code:  IF WRITE THEN WRITE ... .  That would cause a FORTRAN compiler to have a heart attack.

Yup, I've seen some doozies in my day - my favorite was using a variable named 'Debug' - the coder had a line in their program that said 'IF DEBUG THEN DEBUG'.  It worked, but YUCK!

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

What's wrong with that?  Of course, it helps if you have standards and use upper/lower case consistently as part of those standards.  In my personal stuff on my own PC, in REXX:  "If debug Then..."  In perl, "if $debug" seems quite clear.  Or sometimes the variable is dbg / $dbg if I'm being lazy.

I wish PL/I was more widely used.  Then I could code:  IF WRITE THEN WRITE ... .  That would cause a FORTRAN compiler to have a heart attack.

Yup, I've seen some doozies in my day - my favorite was using a variable named 'Debug' - the coder had a line in their program that said 'IF DEBUG THEN DEBUG'.  It worked, but YUCK!

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Yup, I've seen some doozies in my day - my favorite was using a variable named 'Debug' - the coder had a line in their program that said 'IF DEBUG THEN DEBUG'.  It worked, but YUCK!

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Hi Kathleen, 

  I also think that DEBUG as a variable is totally inadequate. But the technique of having a debug flag to activate in certain conditions is good, for example, when you have to debug particular cases of a big billing program. In that cases, what we do is to have a set of debug flags, and even with counters, so you can debug certain number of cases and then let the program run.

  You set up, for example, three debug flags, as:

  debFlag1 = 5

  debFlag2 = 8

  debFlag3 = 1

  Then, in the branches of the code you want to watch, you place:

  if debFlag1 then 

     debug

     debFlag1 -= 1

  end 

    And so on. So, in the example, debFlag1 will fall into the debugger up to 5 times, debFlag2 up to 8, and debFlag1 just once, and then the program will run through without stopping. 

   Saludos,

Yup, I've seen some doozies in my day - my favorite was using a variable named 'Debug' - the coder had a line in their program that said 'IF DEBUG THEN DEBUG'.  It worked, but YUCK!

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?

Hi All,

I'm sure I've posted on this matter before but I just had a bit of a wobble understanding why my code wouldn't compile, until I notice the variable I had used started with the word NEXT (as in Next_Available) and the D3 compile went out and took another shot of tequila and said 'nada - not today hombre'

So, just put it out there NEXT (suffix not allowed) and I'm sure there may be others - like NOT and FOR and ...

Does anyone care to comment?