RE: How to move forward -- MIDRANGE-L

midrange-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

>   9. RE: How to move forward (Joe Pluta)
>
>> But I'm
>> curious about the final question in particular. Why would IBM not
>support
>> it? How would it be any different from IBM supporting FTP or ODBC
>after
>> exit programs from a 3rd-party vendor were installed?

<snip>

>> What about
>> supporting a crashed web site that includes web-enabled applications
>after
>> 3rd-party conversion to alter dspf I/O statements to 3rd-party
>external
>> calls to handle JSPs?
>
>Hmm.  This is a pretty specific attack on my product,

Hmm, Joe, I feel I should suggest that your sensitivity regulator is a touch 
off center. While it certainly was included specifically because of your 
product -- just as the preceding statement was included specifically because of 
one of the products of my employer (PowerTech) -- it most certainly was not an 
"attack". To state that is was and to attribute such an attack to me is 
essentialy an attack against me.

The two statements were included in order to provide a context for discussion. 
I expected you to understand the need for a context. And I expected discussion, 
for the sake of the thread, not diatribe. By providing specific examples, 
others may recognize that you and I both have a stake.

In any case, you seemed to gloss over the fundamental difference that I pointed 
out. Python in particular comes with source code available. I know that 
PowerTech source is not included with the product; perhaps that's not true in 
your case.

Because a customer may compile Python and run it, numerous potential problems 
are possibly resolvable via standard IBM support. It certainly wouldn't be the 
first time that an application highlighted a problem that IBM eventually PTF'd 
or that IBM support recommended an existing PTF for.

And IBM will even provide application support though not without additional 
cost. Of course, IBM support comes at a price even for their own products.

Given that Python has source available and that it's a programming language and 
that the particular flavor of Python that was referenced is intended for 
iSeries systems, I hardly think it's beyond reason that it would be downloaded, 
installed, used and possibly even maintained by iSeries programmers. Given 
that, I don't see that IBM support would be any different than it would for any 
other application environment. At least, it never has been for any similar 
situation I've been in.

I previously worked extensively with Image Plus/400 for example. This included 
WAF/400, Client Access, OfficeVision/400 and imaging on OS/2 workstations, all 
talking over token-ring with image files stored on an AS/400 direct-attach 
optical jukebox. Keeping them all communicating well was a definite strain on 
my skill at negotiating IBM support groups.

Major parts of the actual application were written by me including various 
links between components, some other parts by a couple others. But when I had 
problems, IBM support was always available. As long as any component owned by 
IBM did not react as documented, support continued until it was fixed.

At times, I've shipped my own source to IBM to compile and test so they could 
replicate a problem. I see no reason why I couldn't do the same with a Python 
module.

Aside from that, if you choose to view anything in my previous reply as an 
"attack", there's not much I can do about it. Your views are personal. But I'd 
certainly appreciate if you wouldn't publicly make such an association.

Tom Liotta

-- 
Tom Liotta
The PowerTech Group, Inc.
19426 68th Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
Phone  253-872-7788 x313
Fax    253-872-7904
http://www.powertechgroup.com


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