RE: FW: Random

Booth:

I think you're talking about two different things.  "FOR" is, to me as a
programmer, an enhancement.  It allows me to write more readable code.
Making people used to GUI software appreciate the 400 is a different issue
altogether.  Almost any PC based report writer is more user friendly and
more powerful than Query/400.  With ODBC you can hook one up to a 400 data
base and throw together an executive information system that will make many
people happy.  

I think the trick is making access to the data a non-issue for the end user.
If people can produce nice looking reports and get to the information they
need easily, they won't worry about where the data resides.  If the data
happens to reside on a 400, they won't necessarily know it, but they'll
probably be better off.      


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Martin, Booth [mailto:BoothM@goddard.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2000 11:18 AM
> To: 'MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com'
> Subject: RE: FW: Random
> 
> 
> "FOR" is nice I guess.  But what I need to make my users like 
> the AS/400 and
> RPG is something akin to the role originally played by RPG.  
> I need a way to
> get knowledgable users to the data and allow them to use it.  
> The people I
> am talking about can deal with Query/400 but not SQL.  They 
> need to be able
> to build decent applications, they need to be able to 
> establish commands,
> they need to be able to layout reports that are attractive.  
> You know, like
> they can do with Excel.  Otherwise, "FOR" becomes a moot feature on an
> unappealing platform.
> 
> Sorry, but making RPG more obscure and pendantic will not 
> bring in the users
> that I meet every day.  
> 
> 
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