Re: Anyone not using WDSC for RPG development

   When I started my current job (about 2 years ago and V4R4), one of my
   first questions was: Do you have Code/400?  My boss asked, in return, Does
   it cost anything?  At the time it did.  The answer was, No. 

   And I'm a one-man shop, but a small company. 

   When we upgraded to V5R1, I got this "funny" looking set of CDs labeled
   WDSc.  After "talking" with a friend in Toronto ("Jerry, don't worry; it's
   free.  You just really need a big PC to run it."), I was lucky enough to
   get the PC upgrade.  But the timing was right. 

   Point being that I agree with Bob (unusual) because he's right (not
   unusual).  The size of the shop doesn't really matter, though.  Small shop
   = small company, usually.  The expenditure is relative. 

   Usually I'll use the tool (WDSc, SEU, etc.) that seems best for the job. 
   WDSc for most stuff, but SEU for the quick and dirty little patches.  I
   still use SDA for panels, but Code Designer for reports (never could get
   the hang of RLU).  Like most people, at first I had to force myself to
   continuing to use WDSc because it would have been easier (and quicker -
   short term) to use SEU. 

   But another thing, there's always a project that "has to be completed
   today."  In that kind of environment (happens a lot here, what about where
   you're sitting?) taking time to investigate, much less learn, new tools
   and methods often takes a back seat.  Which is why I still use DDS to
   create database files, instead of SQL.  Even though I can see tons of uses
   for SQL, in general, and SQLRPGLE, in particular.

   Don't mean to ramble, but one final example from real life.  The software
   at our company is primarily RPG II ported, of course, from a /36.  In most
   cases decent stuff.  And they would have been happy  with it forever -
   except that I wrote lists using subfiles ("You can page backwards?!"). 
   Sometimes the people for whom you work aren't screaming for a change
   because they don't know that there's something better (more productive). 
   Sometimes even we don't know there's something better because we don't
   take the time to experiment.

 Jerry C. Adams

   Bob Cozzi wrote:

 Sometimes it takes an act of congress to upgrade PC "at work". I know when I
 go into a shop and they're still using Windows 98 desktop environments, I
 get depressed. But the cost isn't $25 (or 20 Euros) to go to 1GB of RAM, it
 is the cost of doing that times the number of machines they have, plus the
 overhead of having the "PC person" install it, upgrade the OS to Windows
 2000 or XP and then upgrade all the software as necessary. So a seemingly
 $25 upgrade is suddenly costing $10,000 to $20,000 to implement.
 So I always suggest that during lunch, go over to Circuit City and buy the
 extra memory using your own money and stealthily put it into your PC when no
 one is looking. Then just play dumb.
 If you need to move from Win98 to W2k or XP then that's slightly more
 complicated.

 There are four basic problems (barriers to market) with regards to WDSc.
  1) IBM is used to building poorly performing code because they want to sell
 you more hardware--regardless of whether this thinking applies to the
 software product or not.
  2) They decided Java was the right platform.
  3) The thing doesn't run on the current in-place inventory of PC assets in
 most iSeries shops.
  4) It is overwhelming to an SEU user when they start it up. It doesn't need
 to be, but it is, and that's IBM's fault.

 So yes, the 2% of users who don't have the barriers or overcome them find
 WDSc compelling and useful and can't figure out why everyone else can have a
 3Ghz PC with 1GB+ of RAM. I suppose I could ask, why doesn't' every college
 kid who depends on Mom and Dad's money, have a 60 inch Plasma HDTV in their
 dorm room?  Economics.


 -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 Colin Williams
 Sent: Thursday, June 09, 2005 7:24 AM
 To: 'RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries'
 Subject: RE: Anyone not using WDSC for RPG development

 Mark,

 It amazes me that companies wont stump up -L-25 to upgrade a few PCs to 1GB of
 memory. That's less than most computer reference books out there

 cheers
 Colin.W
 
 http://as400blog.blogspot.com


 -----Original Message-----
 From: MWalter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:MWalter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
 Sent: 09 June 2005 13:18
 To: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries
 Subject: Re: Anyone not using WDSC for RPG development


 This does seem to be the biggest roadblock. You need a pretty powerful
 workstation to run this tool. Allot of companies cannot afford to supply
 their development staff with new PCs every time the IDE gets more and more
 bloated. Especially with the bloat of Windows OS, MS Office, Lotus Notes and
 any other programs that developers may run in an iSeries shop.

 It does seem a bit funny that IBM keeps pushing Java and Linux down peoples
 throat, but won't port their main development tool to Linux.

 Thanks,

 Mark

 Mark D. Walter
 Senior Programmer/Analyst
 CCX, Inc.
 mwalter@xxxxxxxxxx
 http://www.ccxinc.com


                                                                           
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              AM                        Re: Anyone not using WDSC for RPG  
                                        development                        
                                                                           
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 We are still using green screen here.
 we are 6 iseries programmers
 only me tried WDSC, but with an old release, and not enogh memory (256Mo)

 The reasons are :
     no time (now) to learn a new tool because we have a lot of work now.
     another new tool to deal with now (not a seu like)
     and waiting for the lastest release of WDSC ordered at IBM.

 we are planning to use it in the next months.


 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "Colin Williams" <colin.williams@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
 To: "'RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries'" <rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
 Sent: Thursday, June 09, 2005 11:54 AM
 Subject: Anyone not using WDSC for RPG development


  

 Guys,

 Theres been articles online suggesting that as400 shops have not
 really accepted eclipse/WDSC as useful development tools, and are
 sticking with
    

 SEU
  

 on green screen.

 Here, most of us are using WDSC as our main development tool, although
    

 even
  

 I still use green screen for some things.

 I just want to know if many people are still using green screen
    

 exclusively
  

 for their RPG development.

 Yes its not perfect, but I find WDSC to be a great tool that allows me
 to
    

 do
  

 RPG, Java, Netdata, debugging and SQL all in one IDE.

 Cheers
 Colin.W

 http://as400blog.blogspot.com
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