Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?

Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?

Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?

The RPG Reference still describes the fixed-format specifications (called "traditional" specifications in the manual), and there are many examples of fixed-format code throughout.  Just be aware that copy/paste from the .pdf does not retain the proper columns for the code.  You can use SEU prompting for fixed-format code (I usually highly discourage the use of SEU, but if you are intentionally writing/learning outdated fixed-format code I don't feel quite so bad offering it as an option).  The RPG Programmer's Guide has details on the RPG cycle programming if you need to go that far back.

Scott Klement always has some of the best RPG code you'll ever see, so I would look at his examples (i.e. https://github.com/ScottKlement/httpapi/tree/main/src/rpglesrc), and he has some recommendations for learning as well (https://www.scottklement.com/rpg/howtolearn.html).

Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?

The RPG Reference still describes the fixed-format specifications (called "traditional" specifications in the manual), and there are many examples of fixed-format code throughout.  Just be aware that copy/paste from the .pdf does not retain the proper columns for the code.  You can use SEU prompting for fixed-format code (I usually highly discourage the use of SEU, but if you are intentionally writing/learning outdated fixed-format code I don't feel quite so bad offering it as an option).  The RPG Programmer's Guide has details on the RPG cycle programming if you need to go that far back.

Scott Klement always has some of the best RPG code you'll ever see, so I would look at his examples (i.e. https://github.com/ScottKlement/httpapi/tree/main/src/rpglesrc), and he has some recommendations for learning as well (https://www.scottklement.com/rpg/howtolearn.html).

Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?

Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?

Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?

This is the book everybody has and the one most people (including those who've written other RPGIV books) have learned on:

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-RPG-IV-Language/dp/1583470646/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3T7FKBH7OF91D&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YUb2QY9AzWIgtkA7FWNgTJAoo9f6oLkUE3eNFRoIT6DHY9XGoSfHbqQGYtLvamP2jvEdZ1ThilJM7boEjOw5rhAn0yjRBREcLGJDs2BTvPprPDpwC3jr_8JSLja0oWhV.mkdiaVmCV5SkkA7SRSusQmjJCUySq6_235KQPmbtYKc&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+modern+rpg+iv+language&qid=1710514480&sprefix=The+Modern+RPG+IV+%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-1

Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?

Dear all,

I'm a beginner in the IBM i world and currently I'm learning RPG programming language.

Fully free format is not a problem because Internet have plenty of tutorials and there are a lot of educational textbooks that I use to gain knowledge.

Difficulties start when I have to write fixed-format specifications. I surfed a lot on the web, even in the official documentation of IBM, but I wasn't able to find any resources to learn legacy RPG syntax and logic (that is, fixed form syntax).

In particular I need to learn:

• how to declare variables;
• variable types;
• columnar format (where to write the right thing in the designated column);
• syntax for calculations...
  • ...and so on.

I'm looking for a textbook, or an online course, even a GitHub repository with commented code, or a website with a knowledge base focused on RPG fixed format. Could you suggest me some?