I support a third party core application (Amisys). 

When adding fields to existing sets, I'm a fan of adding it to the end, unless the core application is undergoing a broad upgrade and multiple datasets are being updated as well.  When the vendor issues a new version, identifying our changes and re-tacking on is alot easier.

The programmers will find it out of alphabetical order.

George Kinsler
Healthcare Information Technology Services
(734) 673-5864
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Roy Brown <[log in to unmask]> wrote: In message <001001c8bbbb$f0730f50$a0f23e45@DJFJQK21>, Walter J. Murray 
 writes
>Greetings,
>
>This question came up during a discussion with our Database
>Administration group, and I thought I'd poll the -L to see if there were
>any consensus.
>
>When adding an item to a data set using one of the fine TurboIMAGE
>maintenance programs, you have a choice of where to add it.
>
>Do you:
>
>1.  Generally always add it at the end, on the theory that it is least
>likely to cause a problem there?  Or,

Pretty much every time. Our datasets are configured with extra tail-end 
FILLER space in the copylibs, so you can generally do this without 
needing to recompile the whole system.

>2.  Insert it wherever would seem most logical,

Yes, for a key item, where recompiling the whole system is generally 
advisable OR if the new item needs to go in a particular place in the 
implied sort order of a sorted chain.

>maybe even keeping your items in alphabetical order within the data 
>set?

I've never thought of that as logical.

However, I *do* like to re-order datasets as alphabetical within A/M/D 
from time to time. Which Adager lets me do nicely, and which the 
programs don't care about [1]

>I'm just curious about common practice.

Make the least change possible, consistent with maintainability going 
forward

Roy

[1] I know it is possible to write programs which care about this. 
However, I have never seen any need to, so not on my watch you don't.

-- 
Roy Brown        'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be
Kelmscott Ltd     useful, or believe to be beautiful'  William Morris

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