lazy, /dumb or inept programmer

I think you want to achieve an end in a reasonable amount of time and be
productive as a programmer.
And that can be achieved in our 5250 world using the tools we have known and
loved for years very easily.
And I bet that 10 years from now, you could STILL find a job doing that.
Notice I said 'A' job.
I know just learning embedded SQL I became somewhat frustrated, knowing how
easy it is with OPNQRY. And regardless of the enhancements, OPNQRY still
seems to be more integrated into RPG than SQL. You see this when you use
VB.NET, where SQL is a natural fit.
But, with all that said, it seems there are 3 types of interfaces now.
Windows, Web or DOS. And guess what most of the world thinks our 5250
screens are? I will give you a hint, it is not Windows or the Web.
So you and I need to try to learn all or some of that new stuff. Unless we
are 69 years old and moved our 401K into a money market years ago.
The thing about PHP and SQL and even RPG IV is that these are portable
skills. You can take your PHP and SQL knowledge and become a web developer.
I think it is a dangerous thing for our futures if all we have in our bag of
tricks is DDS, RPG, CL, and OPNQRY. I wish that was all I needed to secure
my future but I just can't see that happening.

Of course unless we can be like superman and make the world spin backwards
to bring back the good old days.


I wish you the best.

Tom Deskevich