RE: RPG Free Format question

Steve,

Unfortunately the problem is that there are programmers out there that
just don't like programming.

Maybe im just different to those guys, but I still get excited
(relatively) when I hear about new features coming up, and cant wait to
try them to see if they are useful/practical.

How do you know if you don't try. That's why the dinosaurs died out,
they didn't adapt fast enough.

Its in the nature of IT for things to change rapidly. These guys are
trying to stop the tide. For some reason we seem to suffer more from
this on our platform than others.

Eg SQL has been on as400 ever since I started using it, back in '89. I
cant believe that there are programmers out there that still don't know
SQL, even today when SQL is everywhere. RPGIV has been out for at least
10 years. This is not new technology. Etc etc. Even java is at least 10
years old.

Cheers
Colin.W

http://as400blog.blogspot.com


-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Raby, Steve (GE
Advanced Materials, consultant)
Sent: 23 June 2005 10:33
To: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: RE: RPG Free Format question


Yeah at my last place there were a couple of blokes, and the biggest
pity was that one was a young guy with only a couple of years experience
but was totally in the control of this older bloke, who steadfastly
refused to go to RPGIV let alone ILE, they used a mix of RPGII/III/400
styles. No matter what me and a couple of contractors said they saw no
reason to change their ways. They also thought that the STRDBG on RPGIV
was the old version and did not want to lose the functionality of
STRISDB, no matter how we tried, short of tying them to a chair and
showing them they refused to be convinced. Trouble was they had the
manager questioning what we did! So yes Bob with programmers like that
it is little wonder that people are looking to what they consider an
up-to-date solution for their IT solutions and moving away from the
"dinosaur" AS400/iSeries.

Saying that I am still only just moving into free format programming,
API's and BIF's but at least I am moving that way.

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Bob Cozzi
Sent: 22 June 2005 22:09
To: 'RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries'
Subject: RE: RPG Free Format question


No wonder our programming jobs are vanishing. Oh well.

-Bob Cozzi
www.RPGxTools.com
If everything is under control, you are going too slow.
- Mario Andretti


-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Joel Fritz
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 3:03 PM
To: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: RE: RPG Free Format question


Since the file operation bifs and %error it's pretty much down to the
few places in display files.  

In the past two years we had a lot of people in and out on short term
contracts.  It was interesting to see the variety of coding styles.  A
few hadn't made it much past RPGII and a few had a very modern approach.
I think the average was RPGIII compiled with CRTBNDRPG.  Mostly no left
hand indicators, but indicators for file ops and lookup.  Very little
use of bifs and date stuff.  We had a guy on staff(left last year) who
persisted in using six character variable names.  To make it more fun he
used his own version of Hungarian notation where the last two or three
characters showed how the variable was used. He also refused to use
prefixes. 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bob Cozzi
> Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 11:59 AM
> To: 'RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries'
> Subject: RE: RPG Free Format question
>
> Why would he still be using indicators in your code in the first 
> place? I mean, this sort of bugs me... "How do I set off indicators
> in free format?" Talk about perplexing programming.
>
>
> -Bob Cozzi
> www.RPGxTools.com
> If everything is under control, you are going too slow.
> - Mario Andretti
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
> On Behalf Of Joel Fritz
> Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 12:17 PM
> To: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries
> Subject: RE: RPG Free Format question
>
>
> It's just my opinion, based on personal taste (and my superior 
> intelligence and moral character <g>,) but I never liked setting a 
> bunch of indicators using movea.  My criterion is "How easy is it to 
> read this code at 2AM?"  For setting a bunch of indicators if it's a 
> task that needs to be done more than once, I'll write a procedure with

> a name that tries to describe what's going on.  E. g. I have a 
> standard procedure for subfiles that sets the indicators that prepare
> it for loading.
>


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