Using LIKE to define records in 4GL

Ok all, I feel like an argument. Has anyone got any views on the use of LIKE to define RECORDS in 4GL, or any limitations on how you use it based on personal experience? To start the ball rolling I hate it and where I can insist that it is not used. I particularly dislike its use in GLOBALS files! Here are my reasons: 1) When used in the globals file, it results in the runtime app opening the db and attempting to locate the tables of interest. In an enviroment where you have multiple copies of the db, not necessarily with the same name, this method forces you to have to recompile the programs for each db, or to have a dummy db that is used to compile and is left in existance in each db enviroment. 2) The db table and record become tightly coupled. Using LIKE tends to lead to the widespread use of select *, input by name record.*, display by name and so forth. These statements become very dependant on the layout of the table, and in an evolving db environment, become a pain to maintain because you end up having to test entire programs completely to check the affedt of inserting a column instead of only the sections of programs that use it. I prefer to define the record structures explicitly, and use LIKE (if at all) to define individual fields. I don't use it at all in a globals file and certainly not in an environment where there are multiple copies of the database with different names. Heres looking forward to an interesting debate. Mark Denham BBC London, UK Mark.Denham@bbc.co.uk