Re: Programming tools (was DDS Support)

This thread has raised many interesting points but I have picked Karen's as it reminds us that it is our clients whom we have to please - we are in the service industry.  It can be amusing discussing the technical merits of different tools and methods but in the end we are in business to deliver infinitely flexible, robust, efficient, integrated, highly functional applications that can be delivered by more than one means - e.g. 5250 and HTML and within reasonable time and cost scales.  As Karen says " my clients are moving fast".  Current tools cannot keep up.

Many of the tools, on whatever platform, don't substantially alter the way we work - they just tinker with inefficient processes with little benefit for the users  If we could improve our productivity for development and maintenance by, say, 10 times or more, rather than soon being out of work as we ate up the application development backlog, we would be flooded with work as users would produce their lists that have been siting in their desk drawers for some long time.  With such an increase in productivity, cost justification for development would be so much easier.  But if to achieve these benefits, we have to change our methods of working, will anyone be brave enough to have a go?  Maybe a few will try the new tool, but will they really persevere to understand how to use it and  what it can do, or, at the first hurdle (there are bound to be some) will they stumble and return to their old bad ways even if these cannot satisfy user needs?  I fear that they will.  They have spent years learning and honing their existing skills and they will generally not be prepared to spend enough time trying the new ways to fully understand them.

So who will prove me wrong?

My company has a  AS/400 product, ERROS, that that can deliver productivity benefits well in excess of 10 times.  By storing data and application definitions as a business model in the same Neural Database in which the user data is stored , and by using the definitions to drive an ERROS "kernel"  program, new, totally integrated, applications with stunning response times can be created without any program generation (so it is NOT a case tool) and largely without any program coding.  I believe that ERROS eliminates about 90% of coding.  As ERROS generates HTML on the fly, applications can be used instantly over the Inter/Intranet (and ERROS can serve images).  No physical file design is required, no logical files are used (yet any item can be indexed 1,000,000,000 **2 ways) and the database structure and applications can be changed whilst the system is live.  The development and operational environments together are under 50 AS/400 objects and creation of new applications rarely changes this number (i.e. no new files are created!).

So, you are asking for new tools and here is one. Anyone want to try it at 2 in the morning?  For free?

Rob Dixon
 
 

Karen Summers wrote:

I just had to pick up this one...
It's hard to justify a tool on the 400 that is less effective and costs more
than a similar tool in the PC world.  And while IBM has some great discount
programs, other major vendors don't seem to subscribe to this.  I can't ask
a client to install a tool that I have no experience with and I can't afford
to drop 5k every time I want to try something.
Screen scrapers, change management, spool file management, test suites.  I
can probably download something for free in each of these categories that
will run on a PC.  AND where is the online documentation so I can at least
determine if the package is worth trying.  AND, no, I don't want the vendor
to come out and demonstrate it.  Once they have sent you something they
never leave you alone!  I just want to try out tools, sitting in my
comfortable chair, at 2 in the morning before I have to make a
recommendation.  My clients are moving fast and we don't have time to sit
around and wait for the 400 vendors.  It's so frustrating.  It's no wonder
everyone talks about "preaching to the choir".  We know the platform rules
in so many areas, but tools is definitely not one of them.

Karen Summers
My opinion is my own and may be the opinion of my company if I say so.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
[mailto:owner-midrange-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Steven Easton
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2000 8:52 PM
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject: Re[2]: Programming tools (was DDS Support)

There are a lot of good tools out there.  Most AS400 programmers refuse to
use
them.  Compound that with, many companies who refuse to pay for tools (they
want
solutions).

Steven Easton
www.5-10.com
seaston@ionet.net

____________________Reply Separator____________________
Subject: Re: Programming tools (was DDS Support)
Author: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
Date:  7/3/00 2:39 PM

From: Stone, Brad V (TC) <bvstone@taylorcorp.com>
 > But as long as we're willing to pay 40k for a tool that puts a spooled
file
 > into PDF format, it isn't going to get any better.  We need more folks
 > willing to put in the time to write competitive tools for low $$.
 >
 > Removing tierred pricing is the first step.  Biggest scam since 90 minute
 > martinizing.

another problem is the closed architecture of the AS/400 that makes it
hard for tool-makers to make efficient system-type tools such as compilers,
file-converters, and the like.

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