RE: RPG Cycle (was Reinventing Code)

[Joel Fritz <JFritz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gee, this is starting to approach religious proportions.  I have been
programming in RPG for 6 years.  I learned RPG on the job with the help of
my co-workers.  At the time I started, my employer had 2 cycle programs in
production.  (This is a shop that moved from a system 38 to a 400 in the
'80s and has some programs in production that are over 10 years old.) I
never had a need to learn the cycle because there was nothing for me to
practice on. My previous background was taking programming courses at my
local junior college which meant mostly C and PASCAL.  

I'd learn the cycle if I had to.  Never having used it, I really don't miss
its benefits.  I don't feel like a hacker/cowboy.  I write programs based
what I have learned in school and on the job.  I don't think use of the
cycle is a sign of moral degeneracy.  

BTW, from what I've seen of the cycle, it doesn't seem simple to me.  I
think it's mostly a matter of experience, but I am the one who wrote linear
searches for six months because I couldn't remember which indicator went
where on LOKUP.  (It's only 3 or 4 lines of code.)

###########################################
The above is my personal opinion and is not intended to represent good
programming practice or the product of a sound mind.

Joel Fritz  

-----Original Message-----
From: boothm@ibm.net [mailto:boothm@ibm.net]
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 1999 7:00 AM
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject: RE: RPG Cycle (was Reinventing Code)


RANT(*AGHAST)

Can this be true?  I am sitting here absolutely flabbergasted that anyone
would teach RPG and not require a thourough grounding in the cycle.  

RANT(*LARGE)

The concept is so simple, and the results so predictable that any one that
ignores the cycle is ignoring one of RPG's greatest strengths.
Additionally, there is so much cycle code out there right now, how can an
instructor not teach the cycle?  How can a programmer claim to be an RPG
programmer and not understand the cycle?  

RANT(*LARGER)

Are these people that started with a C course in college and feel they are
the last great cowboy and its up to them to  preserve the Code of the West
by rolling their own?  

RANT(*OFF)



In <415593AAC1B1D111B21100600856D2080E2902@TECHNOCRATS01>, on 04/06/99 
   at 10:16 AM, Colin Williams <Williamsc@technocrats.co.uk> said:


>Remember, many RPG programmers have not used the logic cycle much, if at
>all. So why introduce code that going to take someone a week to
>understand 

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------
boothm@ibm.net
Booth Martin
-----------------------------------------------------------

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