RE: Help required to stop this company replacing their iSeries

... he cannot get decent RPG programmers. "It is very difficult" he was

saying "and all the ones we get are like you, grey haired, all the younger
ones are going for Java and the like."

I question his definition of "decent" - if he's saying that they are all
grey hairs - what's wrong with that?  Sounds more like a statement that he
can't get RPGers at a rate he can afford!

Tell him he may not be able to get RPGers today - but he won't be able to
get Java programmers tomorrow.  As a "less sexy" language RPG has just seen
this phenomena first.  What phenomena?  Nobody in North America is going
into Comp-Sci (or engineering, or math, or pretty much anything in the
science field).  Enrollment of women in those areas is even more pathetic -
it is at the lowest level since 1976! (And in those days women had a tough
time getting in at all!) Train 'em yourself!  Find a 

Other options?  Find a Java (or PHP) programmer and introduce them to free
form RPG.  Most of them soon realize that the language has a lot of power
and can do things very quickly.  Greta way to start brining new skills into
the shop. 

Alternatively find yourself a classically trained musician and teach them
programming.

To sum up - tell him that it won't get any better if he switches - just gain
him a year or so at best.   The problem is far more fundamental.  

Jon Paris
Partner400

www.Partner400.com