RE: IFS files and VARPG

Hi Jon,
 
<snip>
It may surprise you but I agree completely with you.
</snip>
 
Not at all - you're a very intelligent man! <wink>
 
I have wondered about the native XML support to be announced next week when
the details of V5R4 come out. To be honest, it is more out of morbid
curiosity than expectation. I can't imagine I would need it as I already use
the XML Toolbox and we have a nice little RPG service program which wraps
the C++ SAX parser. This gives us FULL functionality including validating
parsing using xml schemas, namespace awareness, etc...
 
But I would imagine that native XML supprt is more about exposure to XML
than a full-blown solution. l think it is very good for that reason. Whether
we like it or not we are going down the road of using stream files in our
everyday work and we need to learn how to do it properly.
 
 
<snip>
I've been teaching RPGers the Unix APIs for years now - I don't think I do a
bad job, but still probably less that 40% or so "get it".
</snip>
 
To be honest, that isn't a bad figure. I wouldn't expect 40% of RPG
programmers will work on stream files in the next 5 years. For example,
there are 37 RPG programmers in my department and there are probably less
than 5 that work with stream files often - even though we have MANY projects
using them. I have worked on all of these projects as I am now deemed the
"most knowledgeable" in this area. But it constantly surprises me how many
programmers really don't want to know. I have been in meetings where another
team has been given a requirement which uses XML and I have had to present
to them on the kind of work involved. The programmers and their managers
listen politely to my presentation and conclude that it all sounds a bit
PC-ish and very non-RPG. So I get sent off to do the work for them. Crazy!
Just from a support perspective it is totally crazy. It is not as though I
am presenting open-heart surgery. But, some people just don't want to learn
it. It is a plain fact of life. However, this does give the small percentage
who do want to learn this stuff the opportunity to do so.
 
Maybe native XML support will help them move on to it. I hope so. But, it
does raise the following:
 
Question 1: If we did a poll of all RPG programmers about whether we need
native stream file support in RPG what percentage woud say yes? 
Question 2: If we did a poll of RPG programmers who use stream files often
about whether we need native stream file support in RPG what percentage woud
say yes?  
 
I think the percentages would be very, very different. I use stream files
all the time and I would say we don't need it. Whenever a programmer asks a
question on this forum about working with stream files they are always
directed to Scott Klement's excellent tutorial which uses the unix system
interface. I have yet to see a posting by one of our members exhalting the
merits of their new service program which wraps the open(), close(), read()
and write() APIs to make them easier to use. Why? Because thay're simpe and
a wrapper would serve no purpose. If it was complicated it would have been
wrapped by now. I have never even thought of creating a wrapper for this
purpose, but we wrapped the C++ XML parser because it is very complicated
and needed a more user-friendly interface.
 
(Ok, there is once exception, in my SQL2XML service program I put a
writeToFile() procedure in to allow other programmers the ability to write
the XML data to a stream file without needing to know how it was done. But
neither they, nor I needed native stream file support to do our jobs
effectively.)
 
All good stuff, though...
 
Cheers
 
Larry Ducie