Re: *** ADMIN: Ok, one more time, a POLL on www.midrange.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Jon.Paris@halinfo.it <Jon.Paris@halinfo.it>


>OK Don - I'll bite.
>
> >Reasons not using RPG IV include:
>
> >No business reason to do the conversion.
>
>I'm constantly hearing about the RPG programmer shortage.  I would have
>thought that a language that has a minimal to non-existent learning curve
>but brings significant productivity increases is reason enough.  I would
>say it's hard to find a business reason _not_ to do the conversion.  Also
>in this category, you're locking yourself out of almost everything new on
>the system - IBM are not going to go on building CALL type APIs.
>
>Many people on this list complain about IBM lack of marketing etc. (and I
>agree with that) but sometimes I wonder if this "it ain't broke so don't
>touch it" attitude also contributes to the view of the box as "old
>fashioned" (my turn to run and duck now <grin>)

Hi, Jon!

Have you ever tried to cost justify a major convert and test project on
hundreds of programs on the basis of "if we ever go in to change this code
again, we'll save money then"?  Management always comes back with "Well,
what other benefit is there in it?  Will the users see any changes?"  "Well,
no, not unless we break something.  But that's why we need all this time to
test it."  "And you won't be able to do anything else while you're working
on it?"  "Well, no, but we'll make it all up later with our improved
productivity."

In the end the result is always "You can use it for new things.  You can
convert old ones when you need to work on them.  But we don't have the time
and resources now to do a wholesale conversion."

---
Dave Shaw, General Nutrition, Greenville, SC (just down the road from BMW -
Bubba Makes Wheels :)
The opinions expressed may not be my employer's unless I'm sufficiently
persuasive...


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