Re: [IBMiOSS] OPS Version Information

Rexx is one of the major computer languages of the 20th century.

ObjectRexx is a marvellous tool and is open source at http://www.oorexx.org/

Rexx + CMS Pipelines is the zenith of z/VM programming.

Rexx was on the Amiga when that landmark machine was released in 1985. It
was of course the scripting language of OS/2. It is ported to every modern
platform.

Recently retired IBM Fellow Michael Cowlishaw is one of the great computer
scientists of his generation. Almost single-handedly, he whipped and
frog-marched IBM into Java.

My 1996 interview with Cowlishaw for *Dr. Dobb's Journal* is posted (badly
formatted) here:
http://www.drdobbs.com/a-conversation-with-michael-cowlishaw/184409842

On Thu, Oct 20, 2016 at 7:36 AM, Vernon Hamberg <vhamberg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

I think there's a lot to like about REXX - associative arrays (like PERL,
I think), no data typing, marvelous for working with strings, part of the
OS since forever, can be set as a command-processing program, and command
parameters are SO easily parsed.

REXX on IBM i has not been changed for years - there are other flavors out
there, seems there are some that could run in PASE. There is an ObjectREXX
that I've seen and not tried.

REXX itself is basically and IBM thing - written by an IBMer named
Cowlishaw, I think maybe at the Hursley lab in England. It gets a pretty
good amount of use on mainframes, IIRC.

Just my 2-pence-worth on a THursday!

Vern


On 10/20/2016 6:46 AM, Aaron Bartell wrote:

On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 5:41 PM, Jon Paris <jon.paris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Surely Rexx doesn’t require anything though Aaron? - I have always been

surprised that it is not used more for work like this. For production
stuff
it can be a bit slow - but for installs and tools - more than good
enough.


Jon Paris

​True that Rexx could probably work out of the box (though I am not sure
if
it comes with the OS by default). These days I approach language
selection
more like a manager than a language-lover. Specifically, I look for
languages that I believe are a good investment. Rexx seems like a poor
investment.​

Aaron Bartell
litmis.com - Services for open source on IBM i

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