RE: Standards issue - Comments please. -- RPG400-L

From a  developers prospective, I prefer PRTF.

They are simple to code, easy to modify and reusable.


hth,
Rajan Tangri

From: "DeLong, Eric" <EDeLong@Sallybeauty.com>
Reply-To: rpg400-l@midrange.com
To: "'rpg400-l@midrange.com'" <rpg400-l@midrange.com>
Subject: RE: Standards issue - Comments please.
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 2003 15:56:40 -0600

Dave,

I know this a a dangerous topic <g> but I needed to get more fuel.....
Bruce
Vining pointed out the national language support issue, which is just now
becoming a research project for one of our devo teams.

As several others have stated, I'd put myself in the group that prefers
o-specs "just because". But once I began looking at it as a "problem", I
found that I cannot justify "just because" as a valid answer to why we
should use o-specs. So far, the only advantage is outputting array
elements,
which seems pretty mild as arguments go..... :)

RPG cycle issues are null and void.  Cycle is used ONLY for batch
maintenance programs, not reporting.

RLU?  Is this really an argument in favor of Prtf?  I freely admit that
it's
been a few years since I looked at RLU, but I feel that the main reason
most
programmers avoided (past tense) PRTF in the first place was crappy old
RLU.
Is it better now?  I know that Code Designer (and its successor when it's
developed) are much easier to use, but I see less than ten percent of the
developers here with any interest in the new tools.

Thanks to all.

Eric DeLong
Sally Beauty Company
MIS-Project Manager (BSG)
940-898-7863 or ext. 1863

-----Original Message-----
From: Leland, David [mailto:dleland@Harter.com]
Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 2:55 PM
To: 'rpg400-l@midrange.com'
Subject: RE: Standards issue - Comments please.

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One thing that you don't mention in the "pros and cons" is the speed issue.
Back on v3r7 and prior, PRTF's added a significant amount to the runtime of
the RPG program.  Don't know if that is still the case or not, but it's
something you should consider.

Dave
p.s.  You do realize you're starting up a discussion similar to the
"cycle/no-cyle", don't you.  The archives should have quite a bit on this
subject already.

-----Original Message-----
From: DeLong, Eric [mailto:EDeLong@Sallybeauty.com]
Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 3:40 PM
To: 'rpg400-l@midrange.com'
Subject: Standards issue - Comments please.

We will be having a review of shop standards soon, and I've been asked to
assemble a "pros and cons" list for the O-spec -vs- Prtf topic.  Our
current
standard recommends O-spec, but exceptions come up occasionally.

The arguments boil down to the following:
(The group that favors O-spec)
"O-specs are simpler to code and easier to maintain"
"Report programs are self contained"
"Fewer members to check out"

(Now the PRTF group)
"PRTF is simpler to code and easier to maintain"
"Separation of presentation attributes from report logic makes report
layout
changes easier"
"PRTF can support advanced features such as barcoding, font control,
embedded images/graphics, etc."

Obviously, some (most?) of this is just a matter of personal preference, as
the "simpler and easier" is whichever they've used most.  Otherwise, the
argument falls to capability, which PRTF wins without fail.  Some feel that
being self-contained (O-spec in RPG) is an advantage during debug
situations, but again, I'm not sure that this is a real advantage.  I'm
having a hard time imagining other advantages or disadvantages, so if you
have opinions, feel free to tell me.

tia,

Eric DeLong
Sally Beauty Company
MIS-Project Manager (BSG)
940-898-7863 or ext. 1863

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