Re: When will the IBM i community adopt HTML for reporting?

On 1/21/2015 4:20 PM, Nathan Andelin wrote:

With all the travails that developers seem to go through to implement
overlays and advanced function printing, it makes me wonder how long before
shops might move to HTML for reporting?

I think that AFP is easy but I've been doing AFP since dinosaurs roamed
the world.

In other words, one might generate HTML stream files from RPG programs and
"spool" them to IFS directories rather than sending spool files to output
queues.

One might transform HTML stream files into PDFs for meeting precise
printing requirements.

There seems to be a preference for using traditional print and spool
functions instead, but why?

Several ideas; none should be considered anything more than a means of
spurring discussion!
1) RPG programmers are unfamiliar with HTML.
1a) There is no IBM tool to generate HTML from RPG.
(Many RPG programmers will only use tooling that comes from IBM.)
1b) Many RPG programmers are shy about APIs.
2) The business runs on paper. Yes, this is still a thing.
3) There is an institutional fear of disclosure.
(Web pages are 'easy' to steal vs paper.) Yes, this is a thing.
3a) Internal infrastructure makes it difficult to 'secure' HTML/PDF.
(Paper can be physically locked in a filing cabinet.) Still a thing.
4) The business leaders who are getting the reports are not
comfortable with HTML; some have their admin handle email.