ILE RPG - Developer

ILE RPG – Developer

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COMMON Certified Application Developer – ILE RPG

The COMMON Certified Business Computing Professional, or CCBCP, is the top level of certification. This certification highlights that you have a strong background in IT but yet also have a solid understanding of how businesses operate. Many employers value certification, and it sets you apart from other IT professionals.

If you are actively using RPG in your job, COMMON Certified Application Developer – ILE RPG on IBM i on Power is the certification for you. Finding people with current RPG skills can be difficult for employers. This technical certification shows that you are capable of doing the job.

To read more about the benefits of ILE RPG certification, check out these two articles:

Online Exam: 65 questions, two-hour time limit

Price: $250/Member, $300/Non-Member

The ILE RPG exam also is administered online by a virtual proctor. If you do not pass the exam, you are eligible to retake the exam after 30 days. After the second attempt, you must wait 6 months from the original test date.

A study guide is available to assist you in preparing for the exam. Access it here.

Please contact COMMON at common@common.org for additional information.

Candidate Profile

Three to five years of experience performing a broad range of RPG design and programming activities
Advanced knowledge of keyword and their functions
A minimum of 18 months to two years of experience using ILE and free format techniques

ILE RPG Exam Topics

To prepare for the certification exam, review the exam topics below to help identify areas for which you may need to study.

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

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

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

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