RE: RPG IV and CF-spec "keep it IBM"

Is this argument redundant. Those that want to will, those that don't
wont. Know what I mean.

>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Bob Cozzi [mailto:cozzi@rpgiv.com]
>>> Sent: Friday, August 06, 1999 5:32 PM
>>> To: RPG400-L@midrange.com
>>> Subject: RE: RPG IV and CF-spec "keep it IBM"
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Under what Rocks? Well geology is/was one of my hobbies.
>>> 
>>> I consider AS/400 programmers people, however, not 
>>> gastropods. They work,
>>> they go home, they barbecue on the weekend. They want their 
>>> language to
>>> provide them with features that make their lives easier.
>>> 
>>> Sure there are hundreds of people besides the dozen or so 
>>> on this list that
>>> may want free format RPG. Maybe even 1000 people. But with 
>>> 500,000 AS/400
>>> installed, and if we make up an average of 1.5 programmers 
>>> per system,
>>> that's about 750,000 RPG programmers. So assuming I'm not 
>>> over estimating
>>> the count here, that means about 1/750th of the RPG 
>>> programmers want this
>>> feature.
>>> 
>>> Let's say I'm way off, let's say that there are 2,000 
>>> programmers out there
>>> that want CF-specs (I doubt it, but I'm easy). And let's 
>>> say there's only
>>> 100,000 RPG programmers in the world. So that's 2 percent that want
>>> CF-specs.
>>> 
>>> It's kind of like this Republican Tax cut. They're doing it 
>>> because they
>>> think a few of their vocal contributors will like it. 
>>> Nobody citizen is
>>> going to stand up and say don't do the tax cut, I don't 
>>> want it. But many
>>> will say, do the tax cut, I want it.
>>> 
>>> Then you've go the Fed Chair saying, well, it would be 
>>> better to not do the
>>> tax cut instead of doing a tax cut. Then there's the 
>>> President saying that
>>> we're going to cut costs to the government by refinancing 
>>> the National Debt.
>>> Which everyone thinks is _the_ correct thing to do. It 
>>> will, increase the
>>> surplus.
>>> 
>>> But we keep hearing about the tax cut, tax cut... rah rah.
>>> 
>>> I think the CF-spec is the same way. It isn't even here and 
>>> people are rah
>>> rahing it. I have little confidence that it will be 
>>> implemented correctly.
>>> Hans and especially Barbara are very good programmers, but I don't
>>> necessarily believe that NOT having a product planner 
>>> overseeing the design
>>> of a radical new feature is good.
>>> 
>>> (FYI: Okay, I'm writing this on an airplane with a guy next 
>>> to me that is
>>> holding is 7 month old baby. So I'm a little distracted... 
>>> hence no great
>>> train of thought here...)  // end
>>> 
>>> Bob Cozzi
>>> 
>>> http://www.RPGIV.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> > -----Original Message-----
>>> > From: owner-rpg400-l@midrange.com 
>>> [mailto:owner-rpg400-l@midrange.com]On
>>> > Behalf Of Eric N. Wilson
>>> > Sent: Thursday, August 05, 1999 2:51 AM
>>> > To: RPG400-L@midrange.com
>>> > Subject: Re: RPG IV and CF-spec "keep it IBM"
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Bob I sure don't know what rocks you are finding these so 
>>> called thousands
>>> > of RPG programmers from. (Perhaps S/3 machines). I to 
>>> speak to probably
>>> > hundreds of RPG programmers and they have been clamoring for free
>>> > format RPG
>>> > since the days of RPG/Free (A wonderful program in it's 
>>> own right).
>>> >
>>> > I truly can not understand how you can be against this, 
>>> the reasons that
>>> > you have given in the past emails can and should be 
>>> moderated by shop
>>> > standards. If anything I believe that the CF spec will 
>>> save RPG (the flint
>>> > axe of programming languages).
>>> >
>>> > And yes I have been programming since 1972 on various 
>>> architectures PDP8 -
>>> > PDP11. S/3 S/34 S/38 AS/400 PC's and the list goes on and 
>>> on. I have tried
>>> > to make it a goal to learn a programming language a year 
>>> (which I was able
>>> > to do until C++ threw me a curve with Object Orientation) 
>>> If a programmer
>>> > does not learn and adapt to refinements in languages then they
>>> > are limiting
>>> > their usefulness and ultimately will be moved off into 
>>> the grungy world of
>>> > continuous maintenance coding with no new development.
>>> >
>>> > It is coming and you might as well get used to the idea. You do
>>> > not have to
>>> > use it. Products that you buy do not have to use it. Why 
>>> you could even
>>> > specify that vendor packages could not include free 
>>> format calc specs in
>>> > order to be considered.
>>> >
>>> > Team Toronto full speed ahead and damn the torpedos!
>>> >
>>> > ______________________________________________
>>> > Eric N. Wilson
>>> > President
>>> > Doulos Software & Computer Services
>>> > 2913 N Alder St
>>> > Tacoma WA 98407
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
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