Re: Why no header files for RPG? -- RPG400-L

Amen!

Kyle Collie


On Sun, 7 Nov 2004 22:06:36 -0000, Larry <larry_ducie@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Jon,
> 
> <snip>
> What a truly apathetic bunch we must be! Hundreds of people are wiling to
> bitch on forums like this but frankly why the hell should IBM bother if only
> 29 people give a .....
> </snip>
> 
> Ouch!!! Is that smoke coming out of your nostrils? Are those flames? :-)
> 
> <clarification>
> 
> 1) IBM should give a... because they're the vendor - It's their job! If I,
> and all of my colleagues, can't do our jobs as effectively as we could
> because the vendor that supplies the hardware AND software can't be bothered
> to write supporting documentation then we can't blame companies like our own
> for looking over the fence at the unix/oracle/java/C++/Win2K apps and
> thinking the grass is greener. I'm sorry, but writing the code is only half
> of the job - there MUST be sufficiently thorough supporting documentation.
> We're running multi-billion dollar businesses on this hardware/software. We
> can't afford to take chances.
> 
> 2) Regarding the Redbook review process:
> a) I didn't even see the review page. Is that MY fault? Am I appathetic
> because I didn't get to page 453 out of 454 in "the sorcerers guide"???
> b) The book was written in February 2000, I read it last year. Even had I
> seen the review form I would never have bothered reviewing a 4-year old
> programming document. It may be a "modern classic", but that would be like
> reviewing the latest Beatles album.
> c) If I thought reviewing 4-year old Redbooks would make a difference then I
> would. Frankly, I am currently not holding my breath.
> 
> 3) My initial post was about the fact that forming an "Integrated Language
> Environment" does not stop at the code. The API docs need expanding.
> Something as simple as putting the RPG prototype definition alongside the c
> function signature would be a start.
> 
> 4) To say that the prototypes are "on the web" just gets IBM off the hook. I
> would rather get a prototype for a IBM API from IBM. I should not need to
> look elsewhere. Granted, I could look on the web for usage examples, but the
> prototype definition for the API should be a minimum requirement from the
> vendor. It isn't just the prototypes though: I started using the stream file
> APIs to create XML files in the IFS. I had to create XML files in UTF-8
> format. The IBM API doc for open() specifies that I can use the O_CCSID
> flag, not O_CODEPAGE. This is what I need, it allows me to specify a CCSID
> of 1208 as the fourth argument during file creation. As a RPG programmer I
> wouldn't know that the value of O_CCSID is 32. C programmers don't "need" to
> know because it is defined in the header file and they can use the O_CCSID
> flag without needing to know it's numeric value. I had to search the C
> header files manually for the value - I couldn't find a single example on
> the web.
> 
> 5) On this forum, and many others, the "experts" always suggest that you put
> service program prototypes into copysource. This ensures that the "client"
> of the software always uses the correctly defined prototype. This is good
> programming practice, it's also common sense. Why should IBM be any
> different? The moment IBM changed the environment to allow a RPG program to
> call certain APIs directly then the correct RPG prototype should have been
> placed in a copysource file. I can't see any reason why they shouldn't.
> 
> 6) I spend most of my time convincing management that we can do ANYTHING on
> the iSeries. I truly love working on it, I'm passionate about it. I do not
> spend my time bitching about IBM. Sadly, I spend more time defending them. I
> just want them to meet me half way. I'm committed to IBM, I'm not so sure
> that they're committed to me.
> 
> </clarification>
> 
> You're right. Next time I think I'll just write to IBM.
> 
> Thanks for your time.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Larry
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