RE: RPG to Java Conversion Tool.

So, here is a honest question. Is it a good idea to go translated Java

from RPG, which could be a hybrid of RPG and Java? Or is it good to go to
'RPG
converted to native Java' which could be understood even by our jr
programmers. 

I'm not altogether certain what you mean by "jr programmers" - do you mean
that all of your junior hires understand Java or ... ?

Personally I'm not in favor of switching to Java for the sake of it.  I can
see the advantages of using Java for the UI, but I still want my business
logic in RPG.  In this regard I think Joe and I are pretty much of a mind.

Converting from RPG to Java-coded-RPG is I feel a short term solution and
achieves little except giving management a short-term warm fuzzy feeling
which lasts until they try to maintain/enhance the code.

Re-engineering is a possible answer that has potential, and tools such as
those provided by Databorough (X-Anaysis) are certainly making great
strides.  At least the resulting code is closer to the kind of Java that
would generated by any other code-generator.

If indeed you are implying that your juniors can't understand RPG, then
frankly I think the problem lies more with the RPG than with the Java
programmers.  /Free-form RPG coded using subprocedures etc. will look like
"home" to them.  In fact I have found that many Java programmers once
exposed to /Free-from RPG often embrace it enthusiastically and when faced
with programming business solutions, find it a more productive language to
write in than Java.

Just as a general comment - I'm very much a "use the tool for the job" type
of person.  No matter what name we give it, from Ruby, to Java, to Python,
to ... there is no such thing as a silver bullet and the sooner we all wake
up to it and get on with modularizing and modernizing what we've got the
better off we'll all be.


Jon Paris
Partner400

www.Partner400.com
www.RPGWorld.com