Re: No giving up on System i (was: I'm about to give up)

Steve,

I don't think we are disagreeing in spirit. I would maintain that if someone
used WDSc instead of PDM, and were fired for it, you would hire them.

It takes some initiative to HAVE a career, and if a prospective employee was
still coding in SEU because they were told to, it shows a lack of
initiative. Regardless of whether or not you have retired your brain in
preparation for retiring at your job, I think it is important to be a
developer, not just an RPGII or RPGIII programmer.

As for modernization, this list is not the bible. This list is a place where
individual questions are addressed. There are major business reasons why RPG
free format should be adopted. And just because a company adopts it, does
not mean they should immediately "replace" every line of code with it. You
don't see all of the reasons, since most people are answering a specific
question. To claim that people advocate modernization "just because" really
does not do justice to the resource here.

Trevor



On 10/8/07 8:50 AM, "Stephen.Raby@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
<Stephen.Raby@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Trevor Perry <trevor@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
08/10/2007 14:17
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Subject
Re: No giving up on System i (was: I'm about to give up)






Trevor,

It blows my mind that you ignore all the good advice, find one small nit,
and pick it.

Of course, you don't jeopardize your career!

WHOA WHOA The quote was

"> 6. Ignore the "boss" who tells you to keep using SEU+PDM and risk your
job

on becoming more productive at coding - leading to reduced maintenance.

If

you lose your job, complain here - or apply to the places that complain
here all the time that there are no resources available."

That in my mind is not a 'small nit'. That was the point I was making,
advocating someone jeopardize their career, and I don't think there is any
other interpretation on that statement, unless English is not your first
language.

There are people, however, who can spend time on the side to do something

they were told not to do - say,

WDSc, and after researching in their own time, return to their boss with

a

true productive means to reduce maintenance, and offer it.

Something I did myself, if you want read my mails from last year.

The problem is, there are a lot of people in management who have their

own

agenda. If you want to work for them, fine - just stop whining that you
cannot do anything. You ALWAYS can - you just have to risk a little.

The problem is that many people on the "shop floor" can only see things
from their narrow perspective, they do not know what the big picture
is,(awful cliche but works sometimes) money cannot always be given get the
latest technological advances, even if the manager wants it.

As for modernization for the sake of modernization, that is certainly the
approach you can hear from vendors. On this list, no one seems to

advocate

that - you must be reading something between the lines that is not there.
There are many business reasons to modernize, and if you use the excuse

that

you should not, because everyone is just saying "do it", then your

business

brain is not engaged.

I have seen on more than one occasion on this list when newbies ask where
to start they are advised to go straight to free format ILE, don't bother
with the "old" stuff, which, as there are still millions of lines of "old"
stuff code out there, is limiting their options a little. Also I have seen
people state that if they come across an old program they just re-write
it, fine if your manager has the money to allow that, not so fine if the
manager is on a tight budget and you should be fixing the problem with the
invoicing. And if you have nothing to do other than re-write programs

And, call me old-fashioned but, I would still see "And tell them that you
were a leader in IT, but your previous boss was not" as, "he doesn't do as
he is told". But then I am just a miserable old git who doesn't see change
as an absolute necessity to my remaining existance, but more of, lets do
it when we can and I will probably be retired before I see it anyway. :-)

Steve