Re: Please advise

> I'm sorry Roger, what exactly was your recommendation for his problem

Well, since you asked...

For the record, I have never said RPG wasn't the language to use to build
applications _today_ for the AS/400. If you need a rock-solid deliverable
today, and the user interface doesn't matter, RPG is clearly the tool of
choice.  However, green-screen RPG isn't enough to build the next generation
of applications the AS/400 so desparately needs to be competitive. AS/400
applications for the next decade will _not_ be written with subfiles and
fetch overflow!

To Uday, I'd suggest he consider how quickly he needs a deliverable, what
scope of tool he wants to buy, and how much time and effort and he wants to
spend. LANSA offers a great set of tools, but the LANSA solution borders on
being a more than a development direction, it imposes a lifestyle change. If
you're ready or need an across the board set of integrated solutions, and
have the time and checkbook, LANSA deserves serious consideration. There are
other top-tier tools besides LANSA out there, but beware, there are also
lots priced like top-tier that are nothing but top-tier smoke and mirrors.

Java is also a consideration, but I'd guess that Uday, like many AS/400
shops today, isn't quite ready to use Java for line-of-business AS/400
applications. While it's clear that Java isn't going away, it's still a long
way from committing to for _today's_ deliverables. Having said that, anyone
who bets against Java's long-term success on the AS/400 is betting against
the AS/400.

If Uday is looking for something he can more easily claw his way into, but
still offer a strategic solution, (why, oh why can't LANSA make LANSA Lite?
I've asked them that several times!) he should look at tools such as ASNA's
Visual RPG and System Objects' Delphi/400. These tools let you put an app up
quickly, without major learning curves, but still offer plenty of muscle to
leverage them over the long haul.

The AS/400 is behind the 8-ball today because of its woefully inadequate
lack of modern applications. IBM dragged its feet way too long on OS/2 and
ignored the realities of Windows (don't make this religious!). The AS/400
division to this day still doesn't offer a competitive Windows development
tool! VisualAge for RPG and the OLE DB stuff are hobby tools at best!

As good as green-screen RPG has been in the past, it's not good enough
today. Ask any ISV trying to sell AS/400 applications today: green screen
applications _do not_ sell. As for the numbers, consider that in one year
(1998), MS put three times more copies of NT Server in the marketplace
(1.7m) than IBM has with OS/400 in 10 years! I'm not wagging the NT flag,
I'm wagging the reality flag. If the AS/400 is gonna compete against NT
Server (and its follow-ons) as a competitive enterprise server, it needs new
tools and fresh new ideas from developers. The AS/400 _will not_ acquire any
more new customers with an "RPG rules!" attitude.

Uday, your challenge is to weigh a decision that results in a quick
deliverable (if all you need is a quick deliverable, maybe a new generation
screen scraper is for you) versus a decision that results in a long-term
strategic tool with a longer time to a deliverable. The best tools today do
both. Good luck.

rp







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