If FILEX is the F-spec name, it needs to exist unless you override the compile to point to another file that does exist.

Further, if you override to another file, that file must have the same format-level identifier that FILEX will have. Otherwise there will be a level-check error when the program runs. That’s why you would use a duplicate of the file description — to ensure a format-level match.

Tom

the approach was simple, just had to override the file with a new file name(filex) which does not exist yet. RPG program will be compiled. For overhead of overidding again and again, created a new CL which overrides the file and then compile the programs.

Thanks all for your responses and suggestion.

Best,
Sangay

Is this still true? If the objects don’t exist, there is no way to override to point to them. The objects need to exist. The names don’t matter; they only need to have the appropriate file descriptions. Then you can use overrides.

Tom

Here is an example that you can use/test:

FFILE1        IF   E           K DISK    EXTFILE(fileY ) 
FFILE2        IF   E           K DISK    EXTFILE( fileX) 
F                                                        Prefix(x_) Rename(Rfile2: xRfile2) 

D fileY                s             21a   Inz('LIB1/FILE1') 
D fileX                s             21a   Inz('LIB2/FILE2') 

In this way you don’t need to make any OVRDBF in the CL because its done in your RPG program.

Good luck,
YuVa

Your approach is what i was looking for but i am afraid that i am not able to figure the steps to Override the files during compilation.

Any help.

Thanks,
Siddharth

There are two separate times to pay attention to when you are using externally-described files.

First is when a program is compiled. The compiler uses the name on the F-spec to locate the external description. If there is no *FILE object with that name, the compiler cannot create the necessary structures to process the F-spec.

So either you create a *FILE object with that name or you provide an override with OVRDBF in the job that runs the compilation. You can temporarily create a *FILE object with the F-spec name by running the CRTDUPOBJ command. This duplicate does not need any of the data; it is only a small container for the description of the file. When you create a duplicate file description, you don’t need overrides.

The only options “to change the file name in the program during compilation” are creating duplicate files with names that match the F-specs and running OVRDBF in the job that runs the compile. If the compile is submitted to batch, then any overrides must be submitted in the same job — that usually requires writing a CL program that does the OVRDBFs and the compile in a single program.

The second time that the F-spec file name is important is when the program runs. And again there are two options. You can run OVRDBF commands in the same job that runs the program or you can use the F-spec keywords to provide the external name and library.

Any OVRDBF commands may be run in the job before the program is called or they may be run by the program by passing them to an API before the program opens the file. Files that are overridden by the RPG program must be specified with USROPN. This lets you delay opening the file until after the override is done.

If the external name is changed by using a variable in the EXTFILE() keyword, then the file also must be specified as USROPN. This again lets you delay opening the file until after the variable value is set.

Tom

You can type the override command(s) and then compile the program interactively rather then in batch. You could also write a CL program that does the overrides and then run the appropriate compile command.

Carolyn