RE: Free Form RPG Opinions Wanted

> From: Jim
>
> There is an area that I consider to be much more dangerous than Mr. Paris'
> sentiment is your statement of:
>
> "If I am a shop that's running just ducky on RPG II style code, and I have
> programmers who program that way, and we're making our numbers and beating
> our competition and doing what we need to do, then how can you possibly
> justify making us change our ways?"
>
> I will tell you now, that with sentiments like those above, your corporate
> management will begin to go around you to look for other ways to solve
> complex business problems - and the solutions they come up with
> will not be to your liking.

Jim, I have to assume you don't know who I am or what I do.  I'm the leading
proponent of browser based interfaces to RPG back ends.  I published a book
that contained an Open Source web enabling solution for green screen
applications back in 2000 - before IBM introduced WebFacing.  I own my own
company, and we specialize in converting legacy applications to run on the
web.  I am in no way a technological Luddite, but at the same time, not all
technology is good technology.

I assume you know that there are still old model AS/400's out there in use
today.  Heck, there are still S/36's and S/38's.  Probably even a Series/1
or two.  Why?  Because they do the job just fine.

Here's a real-world example: I was brought in on a consult for a company
that was considering a Web interface.  Another consultant had proposed a
somewhat costly but very elegant solution that would support up to 10,000
hits an hour, and thousands of orders a day, and could be scaled up to even
higher numbers.  The IT department was already considering possible hardware
alternatives for this solution, and I was brought on as the security liaison
to make sure their internal data would be secure from unauthorized acces
once they brought up their Internet-enabled order entry system.  After
listening to us for a few minutes, the CEO of the company asked me to speak
with him for a few minutes.  After our discussion, the project was scrapped
and I went home (with no consulting gig, but that's okay).

Why?  Because the company sold... RAILROAD CARS.  Yup.  The IT department
and the consultant were going to add a Web-based storefront with all kinds
of wonderful configuration doodads for a company that basically closed four
orders a year.

Interestingly enough, that consultant never asked me to consult on another
project.  Go figure.

Anyway, my point is that you don't have to apply every technology to every
company.  And the concept of the latest round of RPG enhancements has been
that in order to get the new stuff, you have to upgrade.  You cannot get
%KDS unless you go to /free.  This is the Microsoft philosophy, and is
completely alien to the companies that made the AS/400 what it is today.
It's also one of the leading causes of software failure in our industry -
the fact that software that worked yesterday doesn't work today because of
some change to the operating system that breaks working code.

But that's getting pretty far afield from the topic at hand.  I just wanted
you to understand that I am NOT suggesting that shops stay on RPG II, or
III, or IV.  I'm all for people using all the technology THAT IS APPROPRIATE
FOR THEIR BUSINESS.  What I am doing is  advocating a simple, staged upgrade
path from one technology to the next.  Minimal disruption, easy conversion,
minimal retesting.  I won't go into the pros and cons of upgrading only a
few programs (and thus having a mixed technology shop) as opposed to
upgrading all programs (and thus having to retest programs without getting
any real benefit).  It's a business decision.  But the easier IBM makes it,
the more likely people will be to upgrade.  Every barrier, like the lack of
MOVE support, is just one more hurdle to overcome.

Joe