RE: New RPG programmers

[qsrvbas@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Tom Liotta)]

rpg400-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

>   5. Re: New RPG programmers (Mike Eovino)
>
>And that means *I* have access to it because I have a license for
>WDSc.  What about someone who doesn't have access to an iSeries, and
>therefore no access to VARPG?  VARPG is about the only way to learn
>RPG without access to an iSeries, but you need the WDSc license.  I
>can't just download it like I can download Eclipse or Sun's IDE.

This is the heart of Mike's issue and there is no useful response to it from 
IBM.

How many of us have installed or used Visual Basic at home for testing, for 
learning, for creating simple functions? And then how many of us have installed 
VARPG at home?

So, here's an avenue that IBM _could_ use to assist in developer ummm..., 
development. Learn RPG IV at home, no hardware requirement except a fairly 
common PC. And it only costs... what? I have no idea nowadays, though it used 
to be a pretty hefty investment per-seat.

I have no illusions that this would be a hugely successful product. I don't 
foresee existing .NET developers seeing the light and switching to VARPG. But I 
also don't see IBM making billions off of VARPG in its current state of market 
penetration.

Sheesh. _I'd_ buy a rationally priced copy for home PC messing around and I've 
already got a model 170 there. It's not like IBM's gonna lose a lot from me 
because I don't currently foresee myself buying WDSC compilers and tools anyway 
-- I'm plenty happy just figuring ways to use CL, REXX, UIM, APIs, etc., to 
give me pretty much everything I get by paying for the compilers and tools.

Anybody know how much VARPG would cost just to buy a copy? Is it even possible? 
I wouldn't be surprised if it's possible; it's just that I expect it to be (1) 
expensive and (2) obscurely hidden (somewhere in the basement, down an unlit 
stairway, in a locked file cabinet in an unused washroom with a sign on the 
door 'Beware of tiger' or something like that.)

Tom Liotta

-- 
Tom Liotta
The PowerTech Group, Inc.
19426 68th Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
Phone  253-872-7788 x313
Fax    253-872-7904
http://www.powertech.com


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