Re: Using OO concepts in RPG

["Brad Stone" <brad@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 12 May 2003 10:25:32 -0500
 "Bartell, Aaron L. (TC)" <ALBartell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> RPG just needs an easy pathway into these technologies.
>  The RPG user
> community has gotten us to a certain point with some nice
> service programs,
> but I would like to see much of the XML technologies tied
> more closely to
> the compiler.  Then your options are wide open as far as
> what you can do
> with RPG, or rather how RPG can use other technologies.
> 

Very well put Aaron.  I know when people see me here
arguing to use RPG for the web, the automatically read into
that as me saying "don't use anything else".  And that
couldn't be further from the truth.  

The truth is if RPG is your skillset, then try it out.  You
will have to learn HTML, XML, Stylesheets, SSI, etc... for
any web technology you choose.  Why add more complexity
right on top of that?  Once comfortable with those things,
then looking into new technologies may be the right step.
 But, with a lot of my customers having problems with just
HTML, I wouldn't even think of trying to introduce Java,
XML, Parsers, etc. to them.  And the end product is still
functional, customizable, updatable, etc...

What makes a programming team valuable is knowing when and
why to use a certain technology.  This also means knowing
that using the newest flashy tool on slashdot may be fun,
but it doesn't fit the scope of all projects, or more
importantly the skill level of a particular team.

We have the luxery on this and other lists of talking with
a very small percintile of the actual AS/400 community.
 And usually they are the more educated.  But, Ma's RPG
Shop in West Undershirt probably doesn't want to hear about
a lot of the new stuff, and when we vent at places like
this, it helps to keep the other 90% of the AS/400
popluation in mind when presenting arguments for "the
world".

Brad
www.bvstools.com