"It is only the inertia of the last 25 years that keeps us using RPG"
Name a better batch transaction processor than RPG or COBOL, please.
Paul Nelson
Cell 708-670-6978
Office 512-392-2577
nelsonp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dan Kimmel
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 1:54 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: RE: Recommendations for a newcomer?
And how many developers worked how many dedicated man-months on these "new"
RPG projects? :-) I'm finding fewer and fewer developers in RPG shops spend
their entire day/week/month writing RPG code. I work for an ISV. We have ONE
(and it isn't me).
RPG is good for reading and writing to file objects. DSPF, PF, LF, CMNF.
DSPF (Display Files) are unique to 5250 green screen. No one is (or should
be) creating new 5250 applications. PF and LF (logical and physical database
files) are being replaced by embedded SQL, even in RPG programs. Embedded
SQL is easier to use in C. CMNF (communications files) only ever had a use
when we were doing BiSynch or SNA/SDLC communications over TokenRing. Nobody
ever really used CMNF. 25 years ago, it was really cool that all these
objects used the same interface. AS400 was the first system (discounting
S/38) to have an integrated development environment that provided tooling
for the objects surrounded by RPG. SEU and PDM were light years ahead of
anything else. You could position your cursor on a line of code and press F4
and it'd, by god, prompt you for what to enter! That's why huge amounts of
new code development was done on the AS400 in the eighties and early
nineties.
Development environments are so much more capable now! And user interfaces
have advanced well beyond 5250 (which was, itself, ahead of anything else 25
years ago). It is only the inertia of the last 25 years that keeps us using
RPG. So many people developed so much code that they and the code won't go
away.
We really need new people to come onto this platform and show us old-timers
how to develop quickly with fewer errors using the new languages, interfaces
and tools.
-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Anderson, Kurt
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 1:16 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: RE: Recommendations for a newcomer?
"RPG and COBOL are dead. No new development in these languages is being
done. Others on this list may disagree: I ask them to provide concrete
examples of development being done beyond a few modules in either language."
Clay, I won't argue with Dan, but will instead give you my perspective of
these languages (at least specifically CL & RPGLE).
1. IBM is updating these languages, so it's not as if the languages are not
growing in terms of their capabilities.
2. I've done a lot of new development with RPGLE. For 'new' I do include
rewriting a process in order to get some fundamental enhancements into the
process, but there has definitely been 'new' development as well.
I don't recall if you said you're familiar with SQL, but I'd strongly
suggest that whatever direction you decide to go, pick up SQL. Play with
SQL. Even if you don't end up using SQL in programs, using SQL to
investigate data issues is stellar.
I'm of the opinion that we (RPG/CL) are a niche market. This can be good
(less competition for employment, potentially higher pay due to supply &
demand), and it can be bad (shortage of available jobs in comparison with
other languages).
One great step you've made already is entrance to this mailing list which
can provide a wealth of knowledge.
-Kurt
-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Clay B Carley
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 10:06 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Recommendations for a newcomer?
Being new to midrange systems, I'm attempting to pick up skills that will be
useful for me in the future, in hopes to get a job working with them.
Reading articles that say things like COBOL is uncool, and RPG is worse
isn't really giving me hope for a future working with a midrange system
though.
Is it going to be worth my time to learn things like CL, COBOL, and RPG now?
Or are they fading away? It would be pretty sad to finally become
proficient with these languages, only to find out that they are dead and
replaced with <blah> instead.
What would you recommend a newcomer focus on (aside from system operations)?
Reading Rob's message from last week regarding "20 years of experience,
versus one year of experience repeated 20 times" looks like a pretty good
starting place I suppose. I'm really trying to look at where we're going to
be in the years to come, not necessarily tomorrow.
Thanks for any suggestions,
Clay Carley
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