Re: RPG enhancements (was RE: free-format move *USA date value to 6-digit numeric in YMDformat)

James,
Did you read my post? I don't understand how anyone would be able to come up
with your conclusions from my comments.

-Bob


On 12/28/05 5:07 PM, "James Rich" <james@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On Wed, 28 Dec 2005, Bob Cozzi wrote:
> 
>> If all this java, java, java,  write-once run anywhere crap is true (which I
>> do not believe in by the way) then why not make the compiler an independent
>> thing that could be ported to say OS/400 V5R1 or Linux or FreeBSD or AIX?
>> 
>> The bottom line is we used RPG III for years and years ( a decade? ) before
>> any enhancements were introduced except for ANDxx and ORxx. Oh and I think
>> they stuck an ENDIF in there too. So why do we need enhancements on each and
>> every release? Is this a U.S. Government "use it or loose it" mentality?
>> In my view, IBM is making RPG IV harder and harder to learn use, and in
>> which to develop products. This can only add up to only one outcome...
> 
> It seems that you would rather return to "the good old days" of RPG III.
> Is this true?  In my opinion, RPG III is a *horrible* language.  It
> doesn't matter that many long lasting programs have been written with it,
> RPG III is still a horrible language.  The miniscule feature set and
> rotten syntax of RPG III limited what could be done with it and forced
> awful coding practices on developers.
> 
> I think the statement the RPG IV is harder to develop products with is
> absolutely ridiculous unless the application consists of nothing more than
> reading a primary file and writing a report.  In fact, many applications
> are *impossible* to create with RPG III.  I'm not talking about fancy
> graphics that are simply wasteful, I'm talking about real, useful
> applications that people need to get stuff done.  Applications that save
> money, time, and effort - not just in their development but also in their
> use.
> 
> I certainly hope there aren't any more decades where the only enhancements
> to the primary language used on the iSeries is "ANDxx ORxx ENDIF".  Good
> grief, those aren't enhancements, those are required syntax for sensible
> coding.
> 
> James Rich
> 
> It's not the software that's free; it's you.
> - billyskank on Groklaw