RE: Java and RPG comparison -- JAVA400-L

six things immediately come to mind.

1) oop and specifically polymorphism.  While with today's RPG you can write
subprocedures but you cannot overload them.  One of my most used features of
C++ and Java is the ability to write a function many times with many
different parameter data types and the SAME name. The compiler can
"automatically" determine which function you are using.  With RPG the naming
must be independent of each other even though the meaning is essentially the
same.

ex.

Java
int    power(int, int);
double power(double, double);

RPG
unsigned int    uintpower(unsigned int, unsigned int);
packed_decimal  pdpower(packed_decimal, packed_decimal);

2)  Price.  The last time I went to www.javasoft.com it cost me $0 USD to
get a java compiler.  I do not think RPG has reached this level yet.

3) multi-platform.  A good discussion has emerged the last couple of days
about whether it is better to develop on the PC and deploy to the 400.  Or
develop and compile on the 400.  Well the winner is us the programmers.
Because it does not matter ( considering JVM version ).  If you develop on
Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, Win32, OS/400.  Again I do not think RPG has been so
widely adapted.

3b) along with OS platform support is also multi database support.  JDBC
drivers have been widely developed and now used.  I develop applications
that read/write to and from Oracle/DB2.  I can choose to deploy on Unix,
Win32, or OS/400.  Even Oracle gives away Jdeveloper, an IDE built on
Borland's Jbuilder for Win32.

4) multi dimensional arrays.  I don't even want to think of the crud when
creating a multi occurance struct with a
dimensioned subfield.  Kludge!

5) graphical.  I have written green screen apps with PSHBTNFLD PSHBTNCHC and
SNGCHCFLD CHOICE for push buttons and radio buttons.  It isn't the same.
Some may like some may not.  I do not ever remember bringing up a graphical
image (picture) on an AS/400.  Others may have.

6) just basic language statements.  Only within a year and 1/2 have we had a
for loop in RPG.  Also see #4.  The inability to create programmmer defined
types.  We could do this in C before OOP.  Using a do loop with a negative
index, calculating a square root ( only recently ).


I believe the things I mention here continiously come back to the same
argument.  When you speak of defencancies of RPG the defenders always say
you are trying to make RPG something it isn't.  Easy to use and hack out
quick programs that work with LESS functionality.  If this is the desire
then great.  But if you want MORE than you must go elsewhere like Java.  It
is nice to have both skills.  You can go in either direction.

Dan Hoover


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-java400-l@midrange.com
[mailto:owner-java400-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Bartell, Aaron L. (TC)
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 6:20 PM
To: 'JAVA400-L@midrange.com'
Subject: Java and RPG comparison


I am doing a comparison of Java and RPG.  What can Java do that RPG can't
and vice versa?  Or if you have programmed in both for a decent amount of
time what do you like more about one language vs. the other?

Aaron Bartell
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