RE: Trend towards platform specific languages

On Thu, 6 Oct 2005, Gregory A. Garner wrote:
> What?  Strategic How?  What flexibility?

Well, suppose your code is entirely in RPG. If IBM fails or starts doing
something unreasonable, it's very bad for you. Someone whose code is
written in something that runs anywhere has more options than you do
because his fate isn't chained to IBM's like yours is.

Maybe your competitor company codes everything in Java or C. They have a
huge number of options about compilers, libraries, platforms, etc. They
are more flexible. They aren't required to deal with any particular
company, etc.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of brian
> Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 1:35 PM
> To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
> Subject: Re: Trend towards platform specific languages
>
> I think platform nonspecificity is important from a strategic standpoint.
> If your software can "live" anywhere, its chances of long-term survival
> are better than if it is the software equivalent of a panda. Coding in
> platform nonspecific languages does not limit future options in the same
> way that coding in a language that only runs on, say, AS/400 would. Buying
> this agility and flexibility may cost you some runtime efficiency, but I
> think the general opinion is that this is a good trade in the long term.
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