Dear Community,

I tried the following:

• define PL/I alias e.g. "define alias t_date char(10)"
• use those types for all kind of variables and structs e.g. "dcl 1 table_foo, 2 start_date type t_date, 2 amount .... "

Unfortunatelly the compiler gives me a "IBM3888I The reference start_date has no corresponding DB2 type" which is on the one hand understandable, on the other hand a bit harsh :-).

Any suggestions how to deal with the situation? I know i can just remove the alias and switch back to native char(10)  but i enjoy having "domain specific aliases" for better readability etc.. 

thanks in advance, johann

I don't know if and when the DB2 coprocessor will support defined types in PL/1. For pure readability, you could use pre-processor macros instead of aliases:

%DCL t_date CHAR INIT('CHAR(10)');

DCL 2 start_date t_date;

The macro preprocessor runs ahead of the DB2 coprocessor so the substitution is done correctly.

hi pete!

thanks for clearification.

br johann

You need to provide an actual compile-able piece of code,

not just a couple of incomplete lines.

We need to know the context of your code.

Hi Robin!

Thanks for trying to help, but this question is already answered.
Maybe i should have asked it in some DB2-related forum as its DB2-preprocessor related, but i missed that fact.

br Johann 

I know.

Suggest you keep in mind  what I wrote for future reference.

just for the records: i submitted a RFE which was accepted for future release,

br johann

rfe: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rfe/execute?use_case=viewRfe&CR_ID=70240