Re: RPG compiler for LINUX!!!

James W. Kilgore wrote:
>My company has been providing RPG based solutions for a looooong
>time.  We've recently been looking at Linux as a communications
>server for our AS/400 shops.
>
>Now from recent news/rumors ... News: IBM will offer DB2 for free
>(free is good) for Linux.  Rumor: IBM will support/port Linux to
>the IPCS.  News flash via David: Linux will support RPG.  Sounds
>more like complimentary then competitive to us! ;-)
>
>From our view point, it just makes the AS/400 more competitive to
>those shops that care about uptime.  And broadens our market base.
> Can we say win/win?  I knew you could. :-)

First off, my opinions regarding this issue should
definitely not be confused with official company
policy.  Actually, I don't even know if there is an
official company policy regarding Linux!  Yes, IBM
has made available a free, unsupported version of DB2.
And yes, IBM has even released an open-source Java
compiler!  But regarding the Linux on IPCS rumor
(and other rumors), the official position is that if
it hasn't been officially announced, it doesn't exist!

And now on to my personal opinions and observations:
I've been an avid Linux user at home since June.  I
knew for a long time that I'd probably have to make
the switch from OS/2 to Linux, and when IBM announced
the dropping of support for an important internal
OS/2 based tool, I took that as a strong hint!
(Actually, I still use OS/2 at work after finding a
workaround to the tool that was dropped.)

In the past decade, companies have been moving to a
"fat client" client-server model in their systems,
and IBM has done a good job in meeting customer
demands.  Unfortunately, a lot of the expected
benefits have not materialised and solutions tend to
be more expensive and less efficient than traditional
"green screen" solutions.  A few years ago, some
companies tried to push the concept of "network
computers", but that seems to have fizzled as the
cost of "fat client" machines dropped.  So, the
pendulum seems to be swinging back and forth looking
for an acceptable middle ground.

I think you can see where I'm headed with this.  It
is my humble opinion that Linux has a definite place
in this middle ground.  A Linux workstation can be
set up to look as pretty as MS-Widows, but without
it's bloat, and with greater reliability, easier
maintenance, lower cost, and almost infinite
configurability.

Although I don't think anyone within IBM would be
upset if MS loses market share to Linux in the
workstation market, I think the server market might
be more contentious since Linux might be seen as
much of a competitor as NT (aka the W2K bug).  But
whereas Linux servers are much more reliable that
NT, let's face it - nothing matches the AS/400 in
terms of reliability, not even Linux!  But Linux
serves a somewhat different segment of the server
market. Let's say you need to add a firewall, or a
simple file, print, or web server, and you have no
budget.  OK, just dust off that old 486 machine
gathering dust in the back room, plug in a spare
network card, install Linux, and you're off and
running. You've spent practically nothing, and you
have a better server than if you spent a couple of
thousand dollars on an NT server!

Like I said before, I have no idea how IBM will
deal with Linux in the future.  Many people in
positions of power still don't even know what it's
all about.  When I asked a manager if I could
claim the cost of Linux on my educational allowance,
his answer was "Sure!  Uh, what's Linux?"!

Overall, I agree with you that Linux can complement
the AS/400 quite nicely.  However, the open-source
model that has made Linux the success it is today
means that the users of these systems have to be
more active in implementing and sharing code.  This
is a business model that many users and companies,
especially large companies like IBM, aren't used to.
But then again, in this business, the only constant
is change, right?

Cheers!  Hans

Hans Boldt, ILE RPG Development, IBM Toronto Lab, boldt@ca.ibm.com


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