Re: Free-Form vs Fixed Form.

With a couple of exceptions, /FREE is pretty good.  The exceptions are
the non-/FREE-ness of GOTO and TAG: apparently IBM's Programming
Police haven't figured out a way to handle them (must be that
complicated syntax).

I can hear the shouts that GOTO's are "bad"...of course, those
screamers seldom read the original white papers that set this topic on
fire; the idea that GOTO's are evil is not a view shared by all.  
Okay, your college professor flunked you because you used GOTO.  Your
point would be...?

It's possible to write a highly-functional multi-screen entry/update
program without the use of GOTO's.  IMHO the additional code necessary
to control branching instead of using a occasional GOTO (the only
legitimate use of GOTO) greatly complicates the program structure and
user navigation.

I write code using the "7th programmer" principle: I want to make sure
the 7th programmer looking at the code can easily figure out what the
program's doing even if the purpose isn't clear ("coders" with no
business process knowledge are often the next to touch my code).

The challenge with /FREE is that isn't not finished.  Taking a program
into WDSCi and converting it to /FREE often results in a dog's
breakfast of /FREE and /END-FREE staements.  How can a unfamiliar user
gain confidence in WDSCi and /FREE when it appears IBM can't reach the
finish line?  It's good to hear the /FREE + SQL issue is scheduled to
be resolved in V5R4; can anybody remind me how long IBM's been hawking
iSeries SQL?

This is an important time for IBM: things appear to be on the rebound
for the iSeries.  The big question is how much good stuff IBM has
available to deliver in V5R4.  The problem is the IBM development
pipeline is long and seems to be controlled by people without
real-world development and support experience.

I have been devoted to IBM midrange systems for 30 years but I'm now
looking in other directions.  I'm scheduled for a Solutions Assessment
in the next couple of weeks and I expect that exercise to be a
watershed.

-reeve