RE: DB and App Agnosticism on the iSeries (thinking about: Question about UDB on iSeries)

Colin,

Thanks for the input.  If all you are going to develop on is the iSeries,
then you are absolutely correct.  It makes no sense to write a Java app when
an RPG app, perhaps with native I/O is going to be light-years faster.

But, if my interest is in being able to run on other platforms, then I need
to look at alternative to RPG.

My concern is, if we concentrate on writing ONLY applications that run on
the iSeries, then we have two challenges when it comes to selling:  1.
Convince them to buy an iSeries and 2. Convince them that our application is
superior to any other (and, that there is greater value in that combination
than elsewhere)

We sell to school districts and the O/S politics are very high there.  They
have folks who know Microsoft server products and, increasingly, Linux.
When we tell them that they will HAVE to buy a server that no one in the
district has experience with, we have an uphill battle.  If we can tell them
"I don't care what you are running hardware/OS-wise, as long as you want to
live with the limitations and hassles of WinTEL or LinTel, you can run our
software" we don't have near the battle.  OF COURSE we recommend an iSeries,
but they may balk.  Saying we can also run on other platforms may close a
sale we might otherwise lose.

That is the battle that rages here.  Write only for the iSeries, or write in
ways that can run on pother platforms.

Peter Helgren
Value Added Software, Inc
801.581.1154 x202

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Colin Williams
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 9:30 AM
To: 'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'
Subject: RE: DB and App Agnosticism on the iSeries (thinking about: Question
about UDB on iSeries)

Pete,

All of the above,

We have applications that use bog-standard DDS defined Pf's and LF's, SQL
defined views, Native RPG, Stored Procedures and Functions defined in the
database but written in RPG, so accessible both from RPG CGI, net.data and
Java Web Applications native RPG applications.

Why would you stick to native RPG for everything? Use whats most appropriate
to what your trying to do.

Eg theres no point in doing hefty batch updates in Java, Theres no point
trying to write web screens in RPG, when its so easy to do with jsp's,

If you don't try them all, how do you know whats best for each situation?

cheers
Colin.W

http://as400blog.blogspot.com
 
Extension   5800
Direct dial   0870 429 5800


-----Original Message-----
From: Pete Helgren [mailto:pete@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 30 November 2004 16:19
To: 'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'
Subject: DB and App Agnosticism on the iSeries (thinking about: Question
about UDB on iSeries)


I started with "RE: Question about UDB on iSeries" but this takes the
discussion off thread so I'll start another:

I am going to extend the conversation to help satisfy some of my questions
about DB2 UDB on the iSeries as well. I wonder how many of us folks are
running the iSeries solely as a DB server and only running the DB using SQL
tables rather than physical files ( I know they are similar but there are
also some fundamental differences between CRTLIB/CRTPF and CREATE
COLLECTION/CREATE TABLE).  How many folks are running iSeries that may serve
applications and those apps are either 100% SQLRPG or 100% Java (that is, no
"native" DB I/O)?

Things get fuzzy in this iSeries world precisely because OS and DB are so
tightly coupled so it is difficult to treat this box solely as a DB server
or an application server.  I know nothing about mainframes but are DB and
applications separate in that world?

My curiosity here stems from the fact that we have raging debates within the
company about developing our apps using a cross platform orientation
(agnostic as to DB and application serving) vs. sticking to what we know and
use RPG and native I/O in our app design.  I love the iSeries for it's
stability and ease of management but I think it is short sighted to write
applications that only run on the iSeries.  Again, I LOVE this box, but the
world out there, as indicated by many of the conversations in this forum,
ain't "iSeries centric" and there is a much bigger market for us to tap into
if we design the software to run on the iSeries AND another platform that
can run Java and a DB like DB2 or mySQL or MSSQL or....

Just wonder what the rest of you thought.

Peter Helgren
Value Added Software, Inc
801.581.1154 x202

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