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"Many RPG programmers would like to be able to port their apps to other operating systems." Hans, you are completely wrong about porting applications. As a long-time midrange developer and ISV, I can guarantee you the only reason I'll switch platforms is because IBM has erected one more idiotic anti-customer anti-business partner roadblock. Or if somebody else comes up with something palatable...and I like SoftVelocity's Clarion. The iSeries platform gives me outstanding reliability; this means I don't have to code recovery in applications (other than ROLBK) or worry about a specific drive filling up. If I moved to another platform, my entire design would destabilize because of all the additional coding I'd have to do, and my business would destabilize because of the increase in "system"-type service calls. My people know the application and I don't want them spending their time explaining how to restore a backup. The value of a programming language is in its capabilities to do what the programmer (and by extension the application designer) wants. While I have a large investment in code, I have a larger investment in industry knowledge. The System/38, AS/400, and iSeries (along with RPG) have provided a near-perfect environment for translating my industry knowledge into a significant application for the transportation/logistics industry. And ILE RPG IV (that's the one name that covers it all) now allows me to do even more. Going to another platform won't require learning the business rules over again; it will require a complete, platform-friendly design. One of the amusing aspects of my career has been dealing with IT managers running other platforms and refusing to believe one person (me) wrote a major ERP application. Having industry knowledge is a key part of what I've done; programmers who don't understand their business don't do things right, and they release a flawed application or they never release anything because they're shooting in the dark. We don't talk about that; instead I offer the Big Blue explanation: IBM's CPF-based midrange product is remarkably productive; there is virtually no "system"/DBA stuff, and there are few technical limitations in the system or programming environment. Let's get serious about applications: there are always a couple of key programs in any business system, and I'm not talking about some weenie reports. A high-level procedural language (RPG, COBOL, PL/I) is a requirement to handle exceeding complex business processes like rating (pricing), dispatch, and financial accounting. Business programming is NOT about adding one column to a report. There's an 80-20 rule in force here: 20% of the programs generate 80% (or better) of the intermediate or final output. Python would choke on some of the application logic I need to handle... Going to another platform won't require learning the business rules over again; it will require a complete, platform-friendly design and an implementation in the best language for the platform. -rf
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