Re: IBM's AS/400 toolbox for JAVA

["Roger Pence" <rp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Currently, my favorite mechanism is simple data
>queueing to/from an RPG server program on the AS/400.  Clean, no hassles
and
>fast.  I write my user interface using Swing classes [with Java], and
everything runs
>wonderfully.
>
>Where's the bang for the buck with ADO?

Kishor Patel has already provided a great answer to this group:
"Choosing between OLE DB and JAVA Tool box?  Life long question.  What is
your ultimate goal?  How much MONEY you have right now and for maintenance?
Is your solution very dynamic ?  Is it a throw away application in a year?
Decision is very difficult, but has to be made right now for business
solutions."

I agree completely with Kishor. OLE DB/ADO versus Java and the Toolbox isn't
an either/or question. It's a "which is best in what situation" question.
Clearly, IBM's trajectory is aimed squarely at Java and the OLE DB stuff
represents a token effort, at best, to throw Windows a bone.  For me, the
big payoff with OLE DB today is its nice integration with MS Office
products. You can write really cool, seamless transfers (both up and down)
in Excel and Access--transfers that reveal other methods for the beer cans
and copper they really are (for an Access upload/download example, email
me).

For more line-of-business application development though, the OLE DB-VB
connection breaks down. It is poorly documented, has poor examples, has
other silly limitations (such as requiring two conversations to do indexed
access). Forget the Web, browsers and applets, even for Windows-host
application development, Java (you pick, Inprise, IBM, Symantec, et al) and
the Java Toolbox make a strong combination and gives VB a solid run for its
money. Until Swing, Java interfaces were a pitiful joke and didn't compete
with VB. But Swing levels the playing field and you can do amazing things
with Swing and the Toolbox.

The days are forever gone when you curl up in the corner with your favorite
language and wrap a career around it. Any rational shop today should be
exploring both options, Java and the Toolbox and VB and Project Lightning.
Using both where they are best and for what they can teach.

rp






>
>Joe the Uninformed
>
>
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