Re: NT vs AS/400 -- MIDRANGE-L

Thanks Nathan,
Some valid points that you made..
Another persective if RPG and VB were rock groups I would compare
VB to say "Radiohead" and RPG to "The Rolling Stones".
The Stones may release an album every 3 years or so with a nice
modern production but it would never be on the cutting edge.
Dave


----- Original Message -----
From: Nathan M. Andelin <nathanma@haaga.com>
To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 10:27 AM
Subject: Re: NT vs AS/400


> > The real question, is what does all this bode for our
> > careers as OS/400 professionals? Obviously, there
> > will still be work for some years to come.  However,
> > demand *will* fall off on a gradual basis, as is common
> > for a mature market. Again, we only need to look
> > around with our eyes open to see that this has already
> > begun. With the possible exception of a few hot spots
> > across the continent, demand for RPG programmers
> > has declined over the past decade.
>
> A year or so ago, Roger Pence advised in one of his columns that RPG was
> dying.  I think people have been predicting the death of RPG since its
first
> release.  A record of  RPG compiler sales over the past decade might
> strengthen one's ability to predict.  I don't think IBM shares that
> information with the public.  On the other hand, IBM continues to enhance
> RPG.  And one member of the RPG Compiler team stated in answer to my query
> about the Roger Pence article, that more people were doing more things
with
> RPG than at any time in its history.
>
> Part of my fastination with RPG is its stability.  Let me illustrate with
an
> example.  I'm familiar with a large hotel in Salt Lake City that runs most
> of its business with home-grown RPG programs.  Reservations.  Check in.
> Check out.  Movie Rentals.  Credit Card Authorizations and Clearing.
> Accounting.  Financial Reports.  Even the electronic locks and door keys
are
> ultimately controlled by RPG programs.  One interesting point, is that
much
> of the code for the system was written in the mid to late 80's.  This is a
> perfect example of lower cost of ownership.  If the original code had been
> written on an Intel platform, it would have probably gone through multiple
> iterations of rewrites by now.
>
> One more interesting point.  The AS/400 that supports the Hotel System,
> along with about 20-30 active terminals has only 96 meg of RAM.  That
> underscores the efficiency of RPG.  The use of RPG is probably a drop in
the
> bucket in comparison to Visual Basic.  But my feeling is that RPG programs
> probably run more critical operations than VB programs.  At least in
> business settings.
>
> I previously considered the lack of a GUI to be a major RPG handicap.  I
was
> explaining this to one of my non-technical coleagues and suggested that he
> might be interested in learning Visual Basic.  Ironically both of us were
> working on a Web based Reservation System for the hotel I mentioned in the
> example above.  He was representing the user group that sponsored the
> system.  I was using CGI at the time.  He looked at the browser and said.
> Well, isn't that an RPG GUI?
>
> I don't know for sure whether RPG has been dying, or not.  One thing I do
> know is that Web technologies, and a browser based GUI, have the potential
> of breathing new life into RPG.  It makes sense to move more function back
> to the server rather than out to the client.  The trick is to come up with
a
> framework that makes a Web interface as easy to write and maintainable as
a
> 5250 screen.
>
> Nathan.
>
>
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