× The internal search function is temporarily non-functional. The current search engine is no longer viable and we are researching alternatives.
As a stop gap measure, we are using Google's custom search engine service.
If you know of an easy to use, open source, search engine ... please contact support@midrange.com.


  1.  Home
  2. MIDRANGE-L
  3. December 2006

Re: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch

Thanks, Pete.
I'm (slowly) coming to the same conclusion. A native and easy way to re-use existing programs in a GUI environment, without screen scraping, would be a great boon for the iSeries (IIRC the model 810 is). If there were a way for dyed-in-the-wool green screen aficionados to get GUI "for free" (and not subject to the interactive tax), who wouldn't use it?
My impression is VARPG (which I haven't used) is the "closest" IBM offering, and Joe Pluta's PSC is probably the most reasonable to-the- web solution. I've been doing less iSeries development of late, and more application administration, so my view may be a little dated. 

--Loyd

On Dec 8, 2006, at 10:51 PM, Pete Helgren wrote:


Loyd.

Good point.  But a point I made a few hours back and buried in the
activity on this thread is:

Since IBM did such a GREAT job on integrating all these things as you
have well outlined, why did they NOT integrate the GUI ? Why do we need to even seek alternatives that can (and sometimes have to) run on other 
platforms? Had they done so, we wouldn't even be having this
conversation. Most of us would be thumbing our noses at those poor folks who have to piece together a GUI application on Windows, Unix or Linux. 
Think of 5250 and how well it is integrated into the whole system and
then imagine something that delivered the same basic result but in HTML. 
It'd be cool and perform perhaps better than any alternatives.
The i, as I understood it, was "integration". IBM failing to integrate 
a GUI into a System i "breaks" the i (Hmmm, sound like the "rain in
Spain stays mainly on the plain....").  As I said a while back:

"Give me a native [System i] GUI that I can quickly develop, performs
better than other technologies and allows me to go where other
technologies cannot go, and we'll have not only a rockin' box, but a
rockin' box that sells."

I believe that.

Pete Helgren


http://www.blackrobes.net

There's nowhere to run, so let's just get it over.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This thread ...
Replies:
Follow On AppleNews
Return to Archive home page | Return to MIDRANGE.COM home page

This mailing list archive is Copyright 1997-2025 by midrange.com and David Gibbs as a compilation work. Use of the archive is restricted to research of a business or technical nature. Any other uses are prohibited. Full details are available on our policy page. If you have questions about this, please contact [javascript protected email address].

Operating expenses for this site are earned using the Amazon Associate program and Google Adsense.