Re: Help! Boss wants to know why ILE?

[Booth Martin <booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The most compelling argument, in my opinion, is the on-going learning 
curve.   A shop has to constantly make moves, even if they are small 
ones, to stay with IBM.  Otherwise we get swamped.

If one stays with the program, year in and and year out, IBM drags us 
along with the new stuff.  As soon as we completely skip a major piece 
we risk stagnating and never again being able to catch up.  


Ellsberry, Steve wrote:
> Here's a couple....
>
> 1.) The benefit that prototyping brings to the table. It's hard (no
> impossible) to pass incompatible data elements if the compiler is
> validating the variables being passed.  
>
> 2.) Program naming conventions (10 bytes max) as opposed to procedure
> naming. For example you can have a program called CustProcs that's used
> to process different things for a single customer or you have a service
> program with procedures like....
> CustomerHas3Dependents() or CustomerPaymentIslate,
> getCustomerHomeAddress() or SendCustomerIncentive().
>
> In your code instead of Call CustProcs you now have...
>
> If CustomerHas3Dependents() and not CustomerPaymentIsLate();
> CallP getCustomerHomeAddress();
> SendCustomerIncentive();
> EndIf;
>
> The latter is a lot easier to understand what's going on for the newbie
> that has to learn your system. It may be a little investment up front
> but down the road much easier to support. 
>
> Thanks,
>
> S. Ellsberry
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
> DennisRootes@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 5:09 PM
> To: rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Help! Boss wants to know why ILE?
>
> Please help me come up with some good examples as to what makes ILE
> better 
> than "business as usual".  Here's what I've used so far:
>
> 1.  It's faster - Rebuttal:  doesn't matter we have plenty of cpu and
> our 
> machine screams as it is.
> 2.  Service program equals reusability - Rebuttal: we can just use a 
> separate program for reusable code.
> 3.  Local variables - Rebuttal: if they are inside a separate program it
>
> doesn't matter.
> 4.  System maintenance - Rebuttal: instead of service programs or 
> subprocedures we have separate pgms so it's the same thing.
>
> It's not that the boss wants to stop us from using ILE, she just wants
> to 
> know what makes it so much better than plain 'ol RPG IV that she should 
> invest the man hours it's going to take to bring our whole dept up to 
> speed on ILE.  And I just am not coming up with anything that's very 
> convincing.
>
> So please, if you have any good arguments, let me know.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dennis
>