Re: RDi vs SEU

"RPG400-L" <rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote on 04/03/2015 03:48:00
PM:

----- Message from Paul Raulerson <paul.raulerson@xxxxxxx> on Fri,
03 Apr 2015 14:27:29 -0500 -----

To:

"RPG programming on the IBM i (AS/400 and iSeries)"

<rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

Subject:

Re: RDi vs SEU

Seriously? Do you have any idea how mqny tiny little shops are
running old i's out there, with a 1 or 2 person shop? Or even little
5-7 people shops?

They do not run on anything like a $100k per year budget for SWMA
and hardware support. (Grin)

I often wonder why midrange gear like he i's are so dramatically
more expensive than the top enterprise mainframe gear, or the open
systems gear at the low end.

Don't get me wrong, I love the i's, but even I am not blind to the cost.

Typos courtesy of my iPhone and my fat fingers!

Maybe I'm misreading because of a typo, but lets check the facts on this.
I just verified the *list* prices at ibm.com.

Rational Developer for System z Authorized User License + SW Subscription
& Support: $5910.
Rational Developer for i RPG & COBOL Tools Authorized User License + SW
Subscription & Support: $1030.

I think there are a few more things included for System z, but my point is
we're not paying anything close the tooling cost for System z.

Taking this logic a little further, let's compare the cost for Microsoft's
IDE. Yes, it's less expensive yet..But I'll defer to our beloved David
Gibbs tag line "IBM i on Power Systems: For when you can't afford to be
out of business!" You may get the tools for a PC cheaper, but the system
takes more to maintain. Studies have proven this over and over. On top of
that, plan to rewrite your application with every significant new OS
release, plus relearn the basic interface every time the wind shifts and
someone comes up with a new Ribbon UI/Metro UI, etc. I'm personally very
happy developing applications for IBM i with RDi. As Jon Paris said it
elsewhere in this thread. I would love it if RDi were free. But it isn't
and I'm not in control of that. I find I'm far more productive with RDi
than I ever could be with SEU.