RE: RPG, 10 years from now

 <snip>
My favorite bit of info he shared was their thought process of
determining
how the next versions of RPG will interact with the user. Specifically
speaking they were mentioning new OPCODE's like EXUI (vs. EXFMT) which
would
give us the ability to "execute" a ui that was a web page, or maybe a
WML
app for a blackberry.
</snip>

I wasn't there but THIS is something RPG needs a "native" way to
communicate with multiple UI's built into the language....also one of
the items on my personal wishlist ;-)


Thanks,
Tommy Holden


-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of albartell
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 9:01 AM
To: 'RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries'
Subject: RE: RPG, 10 years from now

 >I doubt if it will be enhanced any further in 10 years, but it will
still
be around. A compiler written today will still work in 10 years.

To the contrary, it will be changed more in the next 5 years than it has
in
the past 15!  I am working on a blog entry for imho.midrange.com on this
exact topic.  I attended the rpgworld.com conference this past month and
had
the chance to hear George Farr discuss "potentially" where the RPG
language
could be going. Of course he has to be vague because they haven't
completely
and publicly committed to the feature list, but what he was brining up
got
me excited!

My favorite bit of info he shared was their thought process of
determining
how the next versions of RPG will interact with the user. Specifically
speaking they were mentioning new OPCODE's like EXUI (vs. EXFMT) which
would
give us the ability to "execute" a ui that was a web page, or maybe a
WML
app for a blackberry.

The second bit of information that caught my attention was the
possibility
of a name change.  I have mixed feelings about this because of IBM's
name
changing history.  Maybe if I saw a list of new names for RPG I would be
more comfortable.  But regardless, for a name change to mean anything it
would have to be coupled with the release of new language features that
would make non-iSeries shops want to hop onto the iSeries horse for
application development.

The third bit of info that peaked my interest was the mention of making
RPG
completely /free format including all specifications (H, F, D, etc).  I
have
mixed feelings on this one too because right now it is fast to code H,
D,
and F specs because everything just lines up and it is easy to read.
But on
the other hand this is our chance to get RPG into the limelight as the
next
great language with a great framework (look at what rubyonrails.org has
accomplished in the last 1.5 years). Why can't RPG be the next
RubyOnRails?
Why can't RPG be the reason NEW sales come to the iSeries vs. just being
the
reason existing customers stay on the iSeries.  For that to happen we
will
have to lose some of the specific feel we have for the language (i.e.
H,F,
and D specs) so new programmers can easily learn it.

What if IBM went after RPG full force as much as they do Java?  What if
they
made it incredibly easy to build web applications with it?  That coupled
with a solid hardware and OS platform would be priceless to people
wanting a
solid web presence.

Aaron Bartell

-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Michael Ryan
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 8:14 AM
To: RPG programming on the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: Re: RPG, 10 years from now

I doubt if it will be enhanced any further in 10 years, but it will
still be
around. A compiler written today will still work in 10 years.

On 5/26/06, steema@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <steema@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> HI - This is a Friday topic. But, I was having a conversation w/ the 
> company Controller. He indicated that he was concerned regarding the 
> long term support for the RPG language. He is not an IT guy, but is 
> very industry savvy.
>
> I immediatly laughed and said no way, the support will always be
there.
>
> Then he got me to thinking, what if he is right?
>
> Does anyone else share this concern?
>
> Steve
> --
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