RE: Adoption of new RPG techniques

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Bartell, Aaron L. (TC)
> 
> Lowest common denominator stuff clouds progress, IMO.  If a company
wants
> to stick with RPGIII or fixed format for the rest of their lives let
them,
> but don't let that hold back the companies that need RPG to get into
this
> centuries programming model(s).

How is fixed format holding back programming?  RPG IV added real
functionality, from procedures to ILE interoperability to a whole slew
of BIFs.  Those were real enhancements.  What does /free add that gets
RPG into "this centuries programming model(s)"?

/free adds almost nothing.  It allows you to indent your code and lose
the "eval", at the price of having to add semicolons and losing syntax
checking (and of course, the whole issue of MOVE and, as Jon has pointed
out, the differences in the various mathematical opcodes).  The only
real additions seem to be a couple of extra BIFs - BIFs that could be
added to the fixed syntax with almost zero additional effort.

So, to try to force the majority of people to move to /free for what is
in effect no real value add is not progress.  It's change for change's
sake, in my opinion.

Joe