Re: AS/400 vs. IBM i

> In my experience, backwards compatibility problems on IBM i are few
> and far between.
>
> This is one of its strongest value propositions.
>

Without question. We may complain that an old thing is hard to compile but on most other platforms it would be both impossible to compile as well as flatly impossible to run the old program. We can still load program objects from the S/38 and the will run.

Compare to for example Windows where such things routinely need significant upgrades at every new version.

We also allow things like multiple JVMs on the box at the same time and in use.

And what other database allows you to use SQL for access as well as Row and Column access at the same time?

Then look at the API calls. When new data is made available a new format is created so it's your choice to use the new format to obtain the new data or to keep using the old one if the old data set suits your needs.

If anything IBM has worked too hard to allow those 30+ year old programs to continue to work poorly as written without any changes!!

- Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis

www.Frankeni.com
www.iDevCloud.com - Personal Development IBM i timeshare service.
www.iInTheCloud.com - Commercial IBM i Cloud Hosting.

On 10/28/2019 1:09 PM, David Gibbs via MIDRANGE-L wrote:

On Sun, Oct 27, 2019 at 3:56 AM D*B <dieter.bender@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

A problem with a class name change in Java code is not related to java, it's
related to a programmer writing poor programms! Java has all you need to
avoid problems with backwards compatibility.

If the AS400Message class goes away then any application using that
class no longer works. No amount of programming skill can avoid that.

It's not a java problem or a programmer problem.

AS/400 (regardless how it might be named) has had some problems with
backwards compatibility. e.g.: new commands breaking applications using the
same commandname. introduction from SQLVARS changed the behaviour of the
compilers.

In my experience, backwards compatibility problems on IBM i are few
and far between.

This is one of its strongest value propositions.

david