Greetings,
No, you are correct IBM has not gone and created our own new UI data
stream that could provide a web based display. The reason, there are many
industry solutions in the open source world that are already there. IBM
has not been in to the you have to do it only the IBM way for a long time,
one of our strategies as a company is to be open and to leverage open
technologies as it brings value to our customers as well as opens the
window for companies to leverage talent. Once you move in to wanting a
Web based GUI. You are now going to require a Web Server. Would like to
point out that IBM i does have an integrated Web contain that is part of
the operating system. Been there for over a decade. This container is
Java based (and it runs GREAT I might add) and realizing that the Java
language is not easy for everyone, we also have included a PHP web
container on the platform. This is also a FREE delivery for the first
year. PHP has also been on the machine for over a decade. The Open
aAccess that I talked about, that was not only for ISVs, just so happens
they were able to leverage and exploit, I am aware of several customers
that have leveraged and created their own new UI while making nearly no
change to their backend RPG.
The point is, the IBM i platform has been far from static. One the past
nearly 30 years, the platform has advanced. Both in Hardware, database
technology, Application languages, tools, and methodologies. The
opportunities for user to take advantage of these advancements have been
there. We have countless numbers of customers that have either paid
attention to the new support and had some champion who was not willing to
be content with the status quo to push their applications forward. Sure
some of these were from the top down, but others, were the worker bees.
They saw a better way, and push forward with skunk works. The Operating
system has everything you need to do this already init. Just need some
imagination and willingness to get your hands dirty.
One of the biggest faults that the IBM i team has done is also one of our
biggest strengths. We have allowed application written 30 years ago to
run on the latest OS and Processors, un changed. This is crazy but true.
We have always had a view of protecting the investment companies have made
in their applications. Other platforms... every so often, application have
to be re-written or thrown away. Sort of the carrot and stick approach.
Same holds true for the database. Its been what, 15 years that you have
been able to leverage modern data architecture including SQL on IBM i,
yet we have never forced applications, so we have many still happily
(well happy until they run into a tangled data mess or scaling problem)
running with record level access.
So no, we have not forced a new UI on anyone , but the options for new
support have been there for a long time.
Tim Rowe, timmr@xxxxxxxxxx
Business Architect Application Development & Systems Management for IBM i
IBM i Development Lab, Rochester, MN
(507) 253-6191 (Tie) 553-6191
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/are/index.html
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