Free Form RPG Opinions Wanted

 >>  What you're saying is that all development shops must now support TWO
formats, fixed and free-form, with fixed for old and free for new.

Well right from the get-go Hans has always said that in their opinion /free
is for new programs.  It is an opinion that I don't share - but nor do I
agree with your stance.

I think one can make the argument that in some ways the on-going upward
compatibility that RPG has given us over the years has done more harm than
good.  Too many people still code RPG II (they just use RPG IV syntax).  I
think it is about time that there _were_ features that can only be used if
you embrace their intent.  If you want to change the world and have more
people embrace new things, get mad Joe - but get mad with JDE and the other
software vendors who help keep their users in the dark ages.  They do far
more to inhibit growth and adoption of new technology than anything such as
%MOVE or fully supporting the new functionality in semi-free.

As you know I have been on the road for more years than RPG IV has existed
trying to persuade people to move to it.  Resistance to change, and the
aforementioned software vendors, together with managers who insist that it
can't be used if they don't understand it (but God forbid they should study
it!) are the major inhibitors.  Nobody has ever told me that lack of a
feature or specific feature implementations are the problem.

People who are going to embrace /free will do so.  They will determine their
own strategy and what Hans and Co do or do not do with regard to your
proposals in will not make one iota of difference to the adoption rate.
Those who are concerned about MOVE can (if they have any sense) go buy
Linoma's tool and have it take care of the problems with MOVE.  Personally I
have _always_ hated MOVE in RPG - it does too much "stuff" behind your back.
Any op-code that requires you to know the exact data type and size of both
fields before you know what the hell will happen is in my opinion a bad
idea.

So - to sum up my view - I'm happy with semi colons - not ecstatic but happy
enough.  I _love_ not having the MOVE op-code supported even though it has
caused me a couple of problems.  And I don't think the outcome of these
discussions will swing a single customer one way or the other.

I may pose a few questions to the attendees at next weeks RPG World
conference and see what they think.  So far I've presented the V5 stuff to
about 2,000 plus people.  Very few have ever complained about the MOVE
op-code and those that have once they think about it tend to go "yea! it is
a bit sneaky isn't it - I got caught badly by that x weeks ago"

Jon Paris
Partner400
www.Partner400.com