ILE RPG Certification
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COMMON Certified Application Developer - ILE RPG on IBM i on Power
The newest credential offered through the COMMON Certification Program, the exam for COMMON Certified Application Developer – ILE RPG on IBM i on Power debuts at the COMMON 2012 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Anaheim. This is your first opportunity to take the exam and gain this credential before leaving Anaheim and have your RPG expertise validated - become one of the first COMMON Certified Application Developers!
Two industry experts discuss their perspective on the importance of staying up-to-date with RPG and the importance of attaining a COMMON ILE RPG Certification. Click on each link below to read Charles Guarino's and Scott Klement's articles:
Recommended prerequisites include:
- 3 – 5 years performing a broad range of RPG design and programming activities
- Advanced knowledge of keywords and their functions
- At least 18 months to 2 years experience using ILE and /free format techniques
Exam Study Materials:
Study materials for each topic area are available in a compiled PDF file of articles published in different issues of the COMMON.CONNECT digital magazine: Click here to download the complete study materials as a PDF
Exam Objectives:
Use the exam objectives below in conjunction with the certification description and prerequisites/experience required for the exam to help you decide if the exam is appropriate for your expertise, skill, and experience.
To prepare for the certification exam, review the exam objectives as a tool to help you understand the scope of the exam and the topic areas you may need to study.
Each topic area in the exam covers a specific number of questions in the exam. The percentage listed in the section title below indicates the relative amount of content included in the exam for that particular topic area.
1. Core RPG, Subfiles, and Externally Described Files
- Use externally described database, display and printer files in a program
- Use EXTFILE.EXTMBR and OPEN/CLOSE operations in a program
- Create and maintain subfiles and programs that use those subfiles (DDS and RPG)
- Interpret subfile keywords (e.g., SFLCRRRN, SFLDSP, SFLDSPCTL, SFLDROP, SFLPAG, SFLFOLD, SFLRCDNBR, SFLEND,SFLNXTCHG.)
- Recognize appropriate use of RPG creation commands (e.g., CRTxxxPGM, CRTxxxMOD, CRTPGM, CRTBNDxxx)
- Use basic array handling (e.g., *IN, LOOKUP, SORTA, MOVE, MOVEA, indexing)
- Code and use figurative constants (e.g., *LOVAL, *HIVAL, *ALL, * BLANKS, *ZEROS, *ON, *OFF)
- Code and use job date and system date
- Code and use structured operations codes (e.g., DO, DOU, DOW, IF/ELSE/ELSEIF, SELECT/WHEN, EXSR, FOR/ENDFOR)
- Code and use structured operations codes with expressions (+,-,*,/,**,<,>,=,(), and, or, not)
- Code and use date data types and arithmetic operations, including date operations in expressions
- Code and use RPG IV built-in functions
- Use H-Spec keywords
- Use RPG IV OpCodes (e.g., Arithmetic, Date, Message, Array, Declarative, File, Branching, String handling, Structured programming, compare, initialization, subroutine, data area)
- Code and use D-specs, including keywords
2. Advanced RPG & Problem Determination / Resolution
- Given an example of complex logical expression, determine its results
- Use data structure arrays
- Code complex D-specs (.eg. OVERLAY, coding fields without attributes, etc.)
- Use modern techniques to handle numbered indicators
- Declare and use subprocedures
- Use externally described data structures
- Write logic (including I/O operations) without numbered indicators
- Code and use /free format Calc specifications
- Translate operation codes not supported in /free form (e.g., MOVE, CALL, etc.) into /free form
- Use qualified data structures (e.g., LIKEREC, LIKEDS)
- Prototype program calls
- Determine appropriate use of passing parms by value vs by reference
- Enumerate advantages of Prototypes compared with PARM and PLIST
- Determine appropriate use for prototype keywords such as CONST, VALUE, and OPTIONS (*NOPASS,*OMIT, *VARSIZE)
- Use EVAL-CORResponding
- Debug RPG Programs
- Diagnose and eliminate errors for date data types and arithmetic overflow
- Code and use Monitor and %Error to handle runtime errors
3. RPG Data Handling
- Utilize embedded SQL in an RPG program (including /free form)
- Code and use I/O directly to/from Data Structures
- Determine multiple ways to use partial keys, including KLISTS, Key Data Structures, and direct specifications of key fields on I/O operations.
- Demonstrate how to convert character and numeric data fields containing date values into Date data types and vice versa
- String manipulation with %substring, %scan, %replace
4. ILE
- Explain, create and use Binding Directories
- Differentiate bound procedure calls from dynamic program calls
- Differentiate "bind by copy" from "bind by reference" and their appropriate uses
- Determine appropriate use of activation groups, including ILE and non-ILE
- Create and use Service Programs
- Determine the impact and appropriate use of the DFTACTGROUP (Default Activation Group) parameter on the CRTBNDRPG (Create Bound RPG) command
- Determine causes and ways to avoid Signature Violation errors when using Service Programs
- Determine the appropriate use of the scoping parameters for Override and Open commands such as OPNDBF and OPNQRYF
