Re: FW: IBM's RPG Strategy (was: Long Procedure Names)

Scott,

Something is wrong if Java crashes frequently on your system. Is there
a pattern? My experience with RPGIV and Java shows that performance and
stability are not a deciding factor. Java can be stable just like RPGIV
can be unstable. The first major Java application I wrote was a shop
floor program for a mill that runs 24x7x363 days/year. It doesn't crash
and has about 50 users relying on it at any given time.

We have a couple of hundred iSeries users users that run applications
written in Java all day long that used to be written in RPGIV. The last
time we installed some Java code that caused a crash was about two years
ago. The last time we had some RPGIV code crash was about two months ago
when a vendor supplied RPGIV program looped on an authority failure and
loaded up our audit journal and took our system to a restricted state. I
just fixed a problem with an RPGIV program one of our developers wrote
that opened an IFS file but never closed it, which led to a job
crashing. Testing should have identified these problems.

One advantage I see to Java is that it is easier to test and if you are
getting Java to crash on a regular basis I would you need to spend some
time getting familiar a tool like JUnit. If I were to point to an area
where RPG programmers could add significant value to RPGIV it would be
to develop a tool like JUnit for RPGIV. I also believe that some form of
mock object support would be very useful for testing cgi-bin/sockets
type code.

David Morris

>>> rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 03/24/05 2:46 PM >>>
Java code DEFINITELY DEFINITELY DEFINITELY runs better on my $500 PC
than 
it does on my iSeries!  By leaps and bounds!  By HUGE leaps and
bounds!

And it still doesn't run well.

You're out of your mind. I'm so tired of Java crashing on my '400 that

it's ridiculous....

b) It would run 10 times the speed.

c) It would require less memory.

d) It would be much more stable.

...If portability is your primary objective, then Java is a good
language. 
That's really what it does well -- and frankly, it's all it does well.