On 2/4/2013 12:49 PM, Nathan Andelin wrote:
We recently had a presentation at our local user group on ILE:
http://bit.ly/TQEjM4
Thanks for this Nathan!
At the end of the presentation, the RPG III programmers in the room were saying how glad they were that they didn’t have to mess with all the new concepts and techniques. I was actually beginning to see their point.
And thank you for giving me the opening to address the list.
I've been using ILE (not just RPGLE) for a very long time. Still, I
tried to watch the presentation as though I were new to it. Programmers
seem to like automotive analogies, so my impression was exactly as if
I'd tried to learn how to drive a truck across the country never having
driven a car, never having used a clutch and never having read a map before.
There's a lot of stuff in that presentation! It's mostly good stuff,
but for a newcomer, it's a lot to try to absorb. I can see why RPG III
programmers would feel overwhelmed. The good news is that virtually
everyone can drive. Although there are a fair number of steps involved
in the process, each one individually is not difficult to master. The
first time driver lurches and locks up the brakes and veers wildly
around, but in a very short time is able to stay in the lane, keep a
constant speed and adjust the radio at the same time.
Virtually everyone learning to drive finds a teacher; someone who will
point out the important from the mundane until the new driver is
comfortable enough to make those decisions herself. The ILE learner, in
contrast, almost always forges ahead alone or even worse, by copying the
code of others.
Programming isn't about source code. I can copy source code written by
the greatest programmers on earth and remain mediocre. Programming is
about thinking. I must emulate the great programmers thinking process
in order to be truly great. Source code is the impediment we must
traverse in order to make our thoughts concrete. ILE removes many
impediments that we have had to traditionally surmount on the midrange
platform.
That's what's good about ILE.
--buck
midrange.com
