RE: Look Mom - No Application Servers

> From: Pete Helgren
> 
> I wasn't aware that "JSPs eventually compile down to machine code."  I
> assumed that JSP compiled to servlets which ran in a JVM which meant it
> was still "interpreted" to some extent.

Do a little Googling on "Hot Spot Compiler" or "JIT Compiler".  It's pretty
cool stuff, and a great reason why certain logic, especially stable code
that gets used over and over (I call these static solution sets), really are
well suited for Java.


> Agreed that Java has many more tools and ready made API's.  But, I
> wouldn't use that as the sole rationale for not developing RPG
> equivalents.

It seems easier to learn to use a couple of APIs rather than spend the money
to reinvent the wheel.  That's almost like rewriting OS/400 system APIs
because the API interface is complex.


> There are some "pain points" that I think could be
> addressed in RPG that would encourage more application modernization and
> would give RPG programmers a more comfortable environment to grow from.

I'm not sure what this paragraph means.  Could you give me an example?


> Not everyone enjoys jumping into Java, PHP, and other non-RPG web
> technologies.  The success of the System i platform, is, to some extent,
> still tied to RPG programmers so I'll continue to pursue tools that pull
> them into the 21st century.

The success of the IBM midrange is completely tied to its ability to
integrate many different technologies.  RPG is one, and happens to be my
favorite language.  At the same time, by making a small investment in
learning a simple Java framework, you can make your RPG programmers much
more productive.  They never have to worry about the UI at all; instead,
they just write business logic.

Really, there are very few situations anymore where you can justify an
RPG-CGI approach.  A small one- or two-person shop with zero training budget
is probably one such place; few others come to mind.  If your IT shop
doesn't have the skill set to learn the 1000 or lines of Java required to
create a web application environment, I can't see how you can possibly have
the skill set to rewrite something like SOAP in RPG.  It's just not
possible.

Joe