|
On 03/23/99 05:03:55 PM "Mark Willett" wrote: >It is a argument for not converting to IV. As you say, if the problem can >be reproduced in the Vanilla product it is the Vendor's responsibility to >fix it.....but ONLY in the Vanilla product. That fix still has to be >applied to the custom version and therefore it MUST be easier to do that >task when the source has not be converted. If the Software Vendor has a >really great product with very little problems then my point is mute and >conversion would be understandable. That is usually not the case (in my >experience). The software I have been dealing with dictates that fixes need >to be applied on a very regular basis. Once the vendor has fixed the RPG400 version, you can either CVTRPGSRC to convert the fixed code into RPG IV or study the fix and make the appropriate changes in your existing RPG IV version. Your point is very well taken that this is not a pretty sight, no matter which choice you make. It's no harder to make changes to the RPG IV version than the RPG 400 version, except for the intermediate step of running CVTRPGSRC. It has been my experience that a shop that uses 3rd party software typically writes their own programs (reports, inquiries, etc.) into the vendor's database. You can easily use these type of programs to start your RPG IV education, since the vendor won't be shipping a new version of them! RPG IV is incredibly easy to adapt to. Without having to read a single book or study the new features you get fewer limitations (array size, character field size, numeric field size, etc.) and long mixed case variable names. With a tiny (two hours with an example) bit of study, you can use prototyped procedures - these bring you local variables! If you can use the CL built in functions like %SWITCH and %SST, the RPG IV BIFs will be a piece of cake. Using RPG IV is not like having to learn another language - it's about the same as the switch from RPG III to RPG 400. The major change is that the columns are different (because of the longer variable names.) That's why you need to use CVTRPGSRC to "convert" your source to RPG IV. The conversion doesn't do anything to your code except juggle the columns. I am a self-taught RPG programmer, High School graduate (no university) and I started in 1978 on a System/3. I qualify for the old codger's club. I still own 96 column punched cards (great notepaper). If *I* can write in RPG IV, literally anybody can. Buck Calabro Billing Concepts Inc (formerly CommSoft), Albany, NY mailto:mcalabro@commsoft.net +--- | This is the Midrange System Mailing List! | To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com. | To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com. | To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com. | Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com +---
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
This mailing list archive is Copyright 1997-2024 by midrange.com and David Gibbs as a compilation work. Use of the archive is restricted to research of a business or technical nature. Any other uses are prohibited. Full details are available on our policy page. If you have questions about this, please contact [javascript protected email address].
Operating expenses for this site are earned using the Amazon Associate program and Google Adsense.
midrange.com
