RE: Is this the Free-Format that we asked for?

["John Taylor" <john.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From Jon Paris

> You have ignored the main point of my comment.  I said "no one is taking
> anything away".  I perhaps could have said "more modern" but
> since that was
> not the point I was trying to make

I didn't ignore it. But I didn't think it necessary to argue semantics.

- free format is the strategic direction for RPG.
- most, if not all, future enhancements will be delivered to free format.
- GOTO is not part of free format.

It's obviously been deprecated.


>....  I find it strange that
> someone who
> effectively describes RPG as being out of date is so passionate about a
> language feature that dates from the item of the dinosaurs!

So does record level data access, but that doesn't mean that I don't still
find it useful in this (increasingly) SQL world.

 *OLD <> *BAD

>  >> Why do you presume that we will always use GOTO in the worst possible
> way?

> I don't - and have noted that in other messages.  But my distrust of its
> use is based on 30+ years in this business which have taught me
> that if you
> give people "weapons" they will use them - appropriate or not.

So we should punish everyone for the sins of a few? If that is the basis of
your argument, then we'd better stop writing code altogether. Jon, have you
ever had the "pleasure" of running across a badly constructed SQL statement?
I'd say that you can do a lot more damage with SQL than with GOTO.

(note: I do NOT want to start a thread on the *potential* evils of SQL. I
happen to like the GOTO, and SQL.)

Speaking in general, not singling you out Jon:

I say if it's your shop, set the standards and enforce them accordingly. If
you're contracted to work on someone else's code, then deal with it! That's
what you're getting paid for, and no one is holding a gun to your head to
accept the work.



John Taylor
Canada

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