RE: DDS Support

[Bill Erhardt <ERHARDT@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree that change must be forward and positive and I agree that RPG IV is
one of the best things that IBM has done for us in a long time but please do
not try to say that SQL is not a positive and forward change.  I've been
around for a very long time (actually wrote code in RPG (not II, III, or IV)
and since day one every program has been about the manipulation of data.
Your program reads it in, separates the wheat from the chaff, massages it,
and converts it into meaningful information.  Using the SQL select statement
makes the data selection process to clean and simple it should be a crime
not to use it.  


> -----Original Message-----
> From: M. Lazarus [SMTP:mlazarus@ttec.com]
> Sent: Friday, June 30, 2000 5:27 PM
> To:   MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
> Subject:      Re: DDS Support
> 
> James,
> 
> At 6/30/00 01:36 AM -0700, you wrote:
> >Well, actually, not running, I am sort of trotting, maybe briskly
> >walking, into SQL and JAVA. ;) It's the whole print thing and stuff like
> >level breaks that are holding me back. I still have a lot of RPG/CL/DDS
> >clients to support, but I am given liberty (without budget) to try out
> >different approaches.
> 
>   Then you're luckier than many us!  I'm all for practical, forward 
> change.  I'm against change for the sake of change, especially one that 
> doesn't fully replace the functionality of what we already have.
> 
>   A positive example of change would be RPG IV.  It provides all the 
> functionality of RPG/400 and a whole lot more.  IBM also provided a
> simple, 
> but functional conversion utility.
> 
>   A negative example of change would be the discontinuance of OV/400 (with
> 
> all its warts).  The stated migration path is Notes, which doesn't have
> all 
> the functionality of OV/400 and there doesn't seem to be a migration 
> utility yet (correct me if I'm wrong) to make the migration easier.
> 
>   IMHO, the SQL falls mostly into the latter category.
> 
> 
> >Maybe when I get up to speed on SQL I'll have a better appreciation for
> >the "missing" parts you mention.  But, again, I stand by the premise
> >that if you have your own tool for data definition, you can control the
> >creation of DDS or SQL (of any flavor or limitation) and not have to
> >worry or care about if IBM makes enhancements to DDS, which I think is
> >what started this discussion.
> 
>   You seem to be assuming that all / most shops have some sort of code 
> generator to do the work for them.  In my experience this is not the case.
> 
> 
> >Personally I could care less about -how- I must define a file, my issue
> >is whether I can automate the process.  With the proper tools, you can
> >become platform or implementation independent.  IMHO, DDS is just a
> >particular platform, and from what you tell me, IBM's SQL is just a
> >particular implementation.
> 
>   My contention is that the hard work has already been done by the DB2 
> folks.  Putting the additional functionality into DDS should be relatively
> 
> trivial.
> 
> 
> >Maybe my view point was slanted by my
> >first mentor that made a simple, yet profound (to me anyway) statement:
> >"Programs -are- data."  For a compiler writer a source program is the
> >input, for a tool writer the program is the output.  The same can be
> >said for DDS or SQL or IDDU or whatever the world throws at us next.
> 
>   So you're putting the burden on the tool writers??   I don't that's fair
> 
> either, but as I mentioned above, most shops don't seem have these tools 
> anyway.
> 
>   BTW, while the quote you mentioned is an interesting view of programs,
> it 
> must be anecdotal, since the common usage of programs does not fall into 
> the description of "Programs -are- data."
> 
>   -mark << File: Message Body >> 


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