Re: More SQL precompiler

Hans Boldt wrote:

> Many of us here in IBM are within that choir.  We definitely
> do know that something needs to be done, and as someone else
> has already pointed out, improvements are in the works.

Rob Berendt posted the following a few days ago:

>I got off the phone after talking to a group of people at IBM regarding the
>SQL precompiler. In general many suggestions may not make it into the
release after V5R1,
>but a release after that.

Once again, nothing in V5R2, "but a release after that". So they're saying
_maybe_ V5R3. Forgive me if I have some trouble getting excited over the
rate of progress.

>
> More bitching over the issue would not help, and may indeed be
> counter-productive.
>

People don't start out bitching about things. It's a consequence of  the
frustration experienced when their needs are repeatedly ignored.

It's interesting to note how "bitching" seems to be so much more prevalent
on the midrange-l & rpg lists, than the code-400 list. After all, there
tends to be a noticable volume of product complaints and requests for
improvement to the WDT toolset, yet rarely does it ever reach a point where
it can be considered a bitch session. Why is that? Well, I'm no
psychologist, but one thing I've noticed is that the WDT development team is
very customer service oriented. They hear our complaints, acknowledge them,
and then they actually do something about them. What they don't do, is
belittle our problems, direct us to seek alternative products, or threaten
us that further complaints would only be "counter-productive".

> In the meantime, until the SQL Prep totally catches up with
> RPG IV, perhaps we here in RPG Development should halt all
> development of new features in the RPG IV language, and then
> add new features in the future only if the SQL Prep can commit
> to support them?

And perhaps we, the customers, should halt all further investment in iSeries
technologies, and tell IBM not to bother calling us until they've
rediscovered the value of the relationship with us, and are prepared to
begin addressing our needs.


John Taylor