Re: IBM pushing Java

On 03/23/99 01:40:29 PM Blair Wyman  wrote:

>Take another hypothetical...  If MyModule is so convoluted that I have
>to relearn it every time I want to patch it, and it looks like I'll be
>patching it fairly frequently, it might make economic sense to start
>over and write the function from scratch using a more maintainable
>design.  Do I risk adding "undocumented features" such as poorer
>performance?  ...or changed behaviors?  ...or broken
>backward-compatibility?  You bet.  Risk vs. reward.  Cost vs. benefit. 
>Holyfield vs. Lewis. 

And the circle is complete.  You have exquisitely described traditional 
midrange programming technique.  The whole point of Java is that it's a 
chance to do it right - rather than have a MyModule that is too convoluted 
to understand, we'd write MyBean1, MyBean2, MyBean3... each bean is 
responsible for one business task (function) - no more, no less.  It then 
becomes easier to write, test and debug each bean (function) because each 
bean is simple.  The entire application becomes easier to understand 
because each bean does only one thing.  It also makes the application more 
robust (less brittle) because each individual component is more robust 
because they're easier to test/debug! 

You get these benefits with any parameterised, encapsulated design 
methodology, including ILE RPG IV, but Java is not confined to the AS400. 
This means that you can hire non AS400 people to help out and they'll be 
productive quickly.  How long does it take to bring a new RPG400 person up 
to speed?  New, as in "never heard of an AS400."

I've been doing RPG for 20+ years, and I'm happy to be learning Java - it 
has a lot of promise.  Think of it the same way you thought of S/38 CPF 5.0 
 :-)  It may not be perfect yet, but it's pretty good and getting better!

Buck Calabro
Billing Concepts Inc (formerly CommSoft), Albany, NY
mailto:mcalabro@commsoft.net
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