Driving like Grandma - Was "Real ILE"

Following the recent discussions about who uses ILE, WDSC/RSE edtors and 
why or why not, I feel compelled to share a past experience, which to me 
is the single biggest reason to keep current with the technology:

In the early 90's I worked for a company managed by a stubborn old goat 
who'd 'rather fight than switch'. It was a S/36 environment on AS/400. 
Rather than learn and use the already paid for features of the box (simple 
stuff like external file descriptions, program calls, batch subsytems for 
batch jobs etc...), everytime performance went south (basically annually), 
he went to the CFO and asked for more money to upgrade the hardware. CFO 
agreed, saw performance improve (somewhat) and users were temporarily 
satiated. 

I often explained that what they were doing was akin to owning a corvette, 
but always driving it in first gear. Rather than learning to shift gears 
to make it go faster, and ride smoother, they were in effect overhauling 
the engine (with a bigger engine) but still always driving in first gear. 
I tried many times to explain that they needed to learn how to 'shift the 
gears' so that they wouldn't have to spend more money overhauling the 
engine, and thereby take advantage of 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears, which would 
ultimately lead to using the product as it was designed to be used. 

I think the fear of changing gears (to use ILE) exists in way too many 
shops. They keep driving in first gear because it does get them where 
they're going. But what they don't realize is that they're really driving 
like my grandma. 

If you are one of the grandma's then take the initiative, learn and use 
ILE (two weeks with a bit of hand holding is enough to get started), and 
don't ask for permission (it's easier to ask forgiveness that to get 
permission). Make sure you can show the benefits of your effort. Start 
simple by creating a sub-proc to do a simple edit that returns a y/n value 
and show how it can be (re)used, instead of copying that same-old edit 
subroutine into dozens of different programs you need for your new project 
.

Then when the pointy haired guy asks why you're doing this, use the 
thinking out of the box response (since all companies today like to hear 
that their people are willing to think outside the box). And if you get 
fired/reprimanded, tell HR you want it on your record that you were trying 
to save the company money.

And if you don't know where to start, you already have just by reading 
this mailing list.

Regards, Jerry

Gerald Kern
IBM Certified AS/400 RPG IV Developer & RPG IV Programmer
MIS Project Leader, Lotus Notes/Domino Administrator
The Toledo Clinic, Inc.
4235 Secor Road
Toledo, OH 43623-4299
Phone 419-479-5535
gkern@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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