Re: Less RPG in our shop

> On 18/03/2009, at 11:35 PM, David FOXWELL wrote:
>> I wrote a post recently where I mentioned that I was using XSL in
>> conjunction with XML documents created by RPG programs.
>>
>> I am worried when I see the amount of programming in the XSL files
>> that is effectively taken out of the RPG program.
>> I would like your opinions on this subject. Am I wrong to say that
>> the RPG program should do as much of the processing as possible?

Simon Coulter wrote:

Ask yourself this: If you were using RPG and display files would you do the editing of dates or numeric values in the RPG or in the DDS? It's the same here. Separation of duties is always a good thing--let the presentation manager handle presenting the data according to how the user wants to see it. This is really just another form of MVC. Who is responsible for editing data? The Model, the View, or the Controller?

I agree with Simon on this point, but I think it's worth noting that you could still have an all-RPG solution as well as keeping a nice modular design.

You could have an RPG program that reads the XML and produces HTML, as well as another RPG program that reads the XML and writes it to a display file.

Essentially it comes down to the question of using the right tool for the job. If XSL has advantages in such as speed of development, maintainability or flexibility, then you need to decide whether those advantages justify the added cost of learning the new language and/or having it as a hiring requirement.