RE: free-format move *USA date value to 6-digit numeric in YMDformat

Rob,
Those Microsoft-bashers often say "MS doesn't provide backwards or forwards
compatibility" but in reality, when they come out with compilers, those
compilers often have to run on the current VERSION of the OS, but not the
current RELEASE. In addition, the code that those compilers generate is
often backwards compatible to the base VERSION and very often back to prior
VERSIONS. 
I can, today, build for pure Windows 32 using MS Visual Studio 2006. On the
prior release of that compiler that I used (which was Version 6.0) I could
also build programs for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP,
Windows 2000. Nearly all the new features only required a DLL runtime to be
installed with the app, to make it work. And if you already had that DLL
installed, you didn't need to install the DLL gain.
I don't understand why something as simple as this date expression in the
original thread, does not work on V5R1. 
This isn't the market of the 1980s where everybody upgraded the day after
the release was shipped. Most customer don't upgrade for years (2 or 3 at
the very least is what I'm seeing). So how does one depend on a V5R3 feature
for use in their commercial code, to be useful when in fact it will not be
available in their customer shops for 2 or 3 years?

Version 5, release 4 is coming out next month, and how long as V5R3 been out
and we're still talking about people not using it.
A release should be a non-news item. "Oh yes, and IBM announced it was
shipping a new release of Version 5 of OS/400." Release mean nothing but
bringing some new function to the OS that may have evolved in the
marketplace during the lifecycle, or batching up fixes. 
For a long time now, IBM has lost its way with versions and releases. They
included huge new functionality and features in releases, but had virtually
nothing but PTFs in new versions. For example, why did IBM not just jump to
Version 4 when the RISC machines came out instead of confusing the entire
planet with V3R7? Bad advice.
For parsing XML, I hope the new XML support in RPG IV will avoid the
JavaScript model and actually make a parser that is usable by an RPG IV
programmer. For output, any XML functions are helpful but not strictly
necessary. I mean, how difficult is it to write a routine that generates
"<COMPNAME>IBM Corporation</COMPNAME>"? I've had it in xTools for two years
now and it runs on V4R5 or later.
Unless IBM has moved XML integration down into the MI layer, like they did
with TCP/IP a while back, or the compiler now takes advantage of a new OS
component that isn't on V5R1,R2,R3, then there is no technical reason that
should require a shop to be on V5R4 to run programs that use native RPG IV
XML support. 
Heck, my RPG xTools provides most of the new RPG IV functionality from V5R1
through V5R4 and runs on OS/400 V4R4. Are you telling me a guy in the
Chicago Suburbs can write code that IBM with its million dollar budgets
cannot? 
I'm okay with requiring me to be on V5R4 to compile programs that use
function introduced in RPG IV with the release. But I see no reason to
require the programs I compile to also be on v5r4 in order to run them.

At the end of the day, nothing great ever comes out of IBM unless it is done
without management knowledge. The System/38 itself, the 5250 emulation card,
RPG /free, and VisualAge RPG are three examples of this viewpoint. Since
management already has knowledge of this requirement of mine, I'm sure it'll
never happen. So further debate by me or people who have the same point of
view as me, is pointless.


-Bob Cozzi
www.RPGxTools.com
RPG xTools - Enjoy programming again.


-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of rob@xxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 11:06 AM
To: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: RE: free-format move *USA date value to 6-digit numeric in
YMDformat

Right!  Change is bad!  Must keep all old techniques!  Stop enhancing 
anything!  I don't want to learn anything new!
Or, if you come out with something new I want it to work on my old machine 
without having to load any new hardware or software.  It should just pick 
up the capability by osmosis!

Or I suppose I could come off the chemicals and just upgrade my software 
to the latest version and have the new capabilities...

Rob Berendt