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  3. May 2013

Re: Recommendations for a newcomer?

One of the difficulties with expressing opinions regarding the state of the
midrange ecosystem and it's languages is that many people on these lists
are blinded to external realities by what they see happening at their
workplace or environment.

- IBM i is a niche platform
- RPG is a language on a niche platform
- IBM i (and therefore RPG) are not mainstream systems and therefore most
development does not take place using RPG.
- New customers are not flocking to IBM i (though there are wins here and
there)

All the examples cited here to disprove the argument that RPG is dead are
exceptions to what is happening in the general industry. It's dead inasmuch
as knowing RPG is not a ticket to a large number of job choices and work
wherever/whenever you want it.

Is IBM i a good platform ? Certainly, it's a great platform.

Would I make it my career choice if I was starting out now ? No.

Therefore, learn SQL before you learn RPG; learn RPG if you have a use for
it and learn only what you need to learn. Learn HTML, PHP, Java .Net or
anything else that is trasnportable.




On Wed, May 15, 2013 at 10:05 AM, Anderson, Kurt <KAnderson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

All development my team does is in relation to batch processing.

Are you saying that shops that solely use keyboard as a means of data
entry are archaic? I doubt data entry on keyboard is becoming extinct.
Can you cite a source for such a claim? What might be true is that
keyboard entry is declining with new technologies available, but that's
hardly the same as extinct.

The way you're communicating your opinions comes across as hostile.
Calling things dead and asking for concrete evidence and ignoring it when
you hear it isn't a discussion. How is calling something dead to people
who use it not offensive? And then for people to say that they produce
'new' code only to have you refute them, how is that not offensive?

Seems like this is the second time in a month where someone new to the
platform asked a question only to have it derailed by someone crying that
the sky is falling in some manner or another. It's really too bad. I'm
not asking for everyone to share the same opinion, but at least to discuss
differing opinions with professional courtesy to one another.

Or maybe it's me overreacting, and if so I apologize.

-Kurt

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:
midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dan Kimmel
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 3:32 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: RE: Recommendations for a newcomer?

With few exceptions, "batch processing" is a dead horse. Today's systems
process transaction at a time directly from whatever capture mechanism is
used. Data entry on a keyboard is fast becoming extinct. We grab
information in barcodes at a retail checkout or IFR tags in a warehouse.
Even those transactions are processed transaction-at-a-time. Proctor and
Gamble knows my wife has purchased a can of Folgers before she swipes her
credit card at the local Walmart.

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:
midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Gqcy
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 3:21 PM
To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Recommendations for a newcomer?

Dan,
are you saying that "batch processing" is to be replaced?

or can you provide some examples of where SQL would "be a better batch
transaction processor"?




Paul Nelson wrote:
> Name a better batch transaction processor than RPG or COBOL, please Dan
Kimmel wrote:
>SQL
Paul Nelson wrote:
> Now go write me a payroll timecard processing program in SQL.

On 5/14/2013 3:08 PM, Dan Kimmel wrote:
Payroll time card processing is not a batch application. It's a user
interface transaction...

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