Re: PDM/SEU

[Buck Calabro <buck.calabro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Booth Martin wrote:

>I would be curious if anyone has ever gotten 
>the evaluation package to actually work on 
>one of their own programs without the guiding 
>hand of someone that has actually done it already.

I have.  I am an old-fashioned two-finger typist.  I originally had problems
understanding how to name my "servers" (I have multiple 400's here - the
default of "OS400" won't cut it for me.)  Also, the application of service
packs is a bit odd, but it is documented in the "README" file well enough
that I got it done.

As far as the learning curve goes, it wasn't that bad for me.  I could use
SEU faster then CODE for about one day.  After I learnt to jump between IF
and END quickly, CODE was on par.  Using regular expressions to
search/replace took a few days to get under my belt, but once I did, SEU's
meagre search seems like using DOS EDLIN.

One thing that has not been addressed directly here is the gain in mental
productivity - not simple keystroke elimination.  When I used SEU, I thought
about programs in the same old monolithic way.  Now that I use CODE, I think
about them in a much more modular fashion - because I can open a window
positioned to a subroutine or procedure and keep it right there, to
reference the parameter list, etc.  I can easily collapse the detail out and
see only the Big Picture: the names of the procedures and subroutines.  The
new mindset has made me a better programmer, because I *think* like a better
programmer!  

Could other editors do that for me?  Maybe, but they aren't RPG-aware.  I
tried editing RPG on my Linux box with Emacs and vi, but RPG is still too
column sensitive to be worked on by the vanilla versions.  I am tinkering
with writing an RPG personality for Emacs, but personal time is at a
premium... :-)

Buck Calabro
Aptis; Albany, NY
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