IBM receives many requests for the IBM i operating system to process all resources directly out of stream files. An enhancement added in version 7.3 puts IBM i closer to that goal.
When creating or updating a service program, the export source specifies the service program’s signature and exports. Exports are the names of procedures and data that a service program makes available to its clients. Specifying the export source file is done using the EXPORT parameter on the CRTSRVPGM (Create Service Program) and UPDSRVPGM (Update Service Program) commands. In the past, this source could only be processed from a physical file. Starting in IBM i 7.3, the binder language export source can be processed directly from a stream file.
With this enhancement, the export source file can be stored in the same location as the rest of the application source code and used directly from that location. In the past, the export source would need to be stored in a physical file or copied to a physical file before it could be processed.
A developerWorks article describing this new service program support exists at this URL (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/ibmi/library/i-binder-language-export-source-in-stream-files/index.html). If you create service programs, check it out.
I’d like to thank Mark Hessler, who works on the IBM i translator, for writing this blog article.
This blog post was originally published on IBMSystemsMag.com and is reproduced here by permission of IBM Systems Media.