On 6/9/2015 4:40 PM, Booth Martin wrote:
I am with Thomas on this. What a wonderful opportunity that would be to
have a development spot, using all the tools including RDi, to do some
simple projects? I wanted to do that with my "Ice Cream Project" but
frankly, I just didn't know how to do it.
http://martinvt.com/Code_Samples/Ice_Cream_Project/ice_cream_project.html
Devil's advocate here. In the 80s, it was possible (just) to put a full
working subfile example in a magazine. The sort of thing that anyone
could type in to SEU, compile with the included compile commands and run.
In 2015, modern applications don't consist of a single RPG program and a
single display file. In my back end work, where I provide stored
procedures for the web crew, each stored procedure has:
SQL declaration / definition
RPG program with specific parameter list
Service program(s) which provide various functionality
Binder source for the service programs
Binding directories
/COPY members for the prototypes
For newcomers to RPG stored procedures, that's a lot of moving parts to
have to explain. We've seen it on the RPG list; what seems like a bog
simple example takes dozens of posts to clarify the infrastructure
enough to get it working on the newcomer's machine.
For web apps, there's all that plus configuring Apache, configuring Zend
(which part calls what thing now?). Vendor-specific tools probably have
wizards for all that, or maybe you have to use the ports they specify
and juggle your existing infrastructure to allow for that.
Only then can you get into the actual coding of the thing. Some of that
infrastructure is implied by the code, but maddeningly difficult to root
out: I get a classpath error on com.ibm.as400.somethingorother. Which
jar file contains that, where do I put it, and where do I set the CLASSPATH?
None of this is insurmountable, but here's the rub: those with the
knowledge are usually quite busy. Look at the Midrange wiki: In the
past 30 days, there have been 4 changed content pages and one of those
was a typo. We, the community, could have already documented how to
deal with the infrastructure. We still can. The next person to
configure Apache, install Zend or set the Java CLASSPATH could take that
extra few moments to put it on the wiki.
Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame once answered a fan named Parker, who wrote
in looking for advice on finding the perfect career. Mike basically
told him to stop waiting for perfect, and to get up and start making his
own future.
soapbox(*off)
--buck
midrange.com
