1.4.3 Programming Productivity
Perhaps what is most important about the LANSA 1.4.2 RDML Structures is what does NOT appear. If you compare this LANSA program to programs written in a language such as RPG or C, you will notice that this program does not contain many lines of code required by other development tools and languages.
For instance, the LANSA program does not require explicit statements for:
- file declarations with open and close statements
- variable declarations
- validation rules & error handling routines
- function key & menu processing logic
- indicators and other screen processing controls
- and much more.
Because LANSA is a repository-based 4GL, many of these requirements are met by the 1.2.3 Repository and RDML combination. Files, variables, validation rules, etc. are all defined to the repository. The LANSA RDML commands automatically handle screen I/O and error processing. Again, a simple seven line RDML program is equivalent to a several hundred line program written in RPG or C.