Written especially for programmers adopting a free-format style, this manual explores the role of functions in writing RPG IV programs. Demonstrating the potential of functions, many topics are explored such as details about existing RPG IV built-in functions, writing new functions, using ILE concepts to use C functions, and utilizing IBM API’s functions. Explaining how to write small programs, either as sub-procedures or modules, and how to gather those parts together to make programs that are easy to write and maintain, this is a natural next step for programmers familiar with a free-format style of coding.

Jim Martin was employed by IBM for 26 years writing applications primarily in RPG and as a programmer at the Rochester, Minnesota programming laboratory working on portions of CPF and OS/400. He is a frequent speaker at COMMON and is certified by IBM as an iSeries RPG IV specialist. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri.