Re: RPG from IBM's Perspective

Nathan Andelin wrote:

From: Jon Paris
I was part of the team that pushed for IBM to produce VisualAge
for RPG.

It seems that nearly everybody got caught up in the rush to write Windows software. But now, we can take another look with the benefit of hindsight, and in light of newer Web technologies. IBM seems to be requesting feedback.

VARPG was not then and is not now targeted at moving people
away from IBM i. The exact opposite in fact.

No matter how one spins the marketing message, VARPG is a tool for creating, deploying, and running Windows applications. One may argue that it provides an interface with the IBM i database, but essentially the same is true for Microsoft's developer tools too. It appears to me that IBM introduced a generation of RPG programmers to a product that later became a stepping stone to Visual Studio - that's how most developers ended up using the product, as an introduction to Windows based development - leading to Visual Studio. It's obvious how that would benefit Microsoft. But how would that benefit IBM?

I'm aware that ASNA RPG is not the same as VARPG, but does that really matter? They both create applications that run under Windows.

A former member of the RPG compiler team recently suggested on your blog that IBM could make a lot of money by offering tools & services to migrate applications off the IBM i platform. That kind of reminded me of the cannibal who began eating his own flesh, only to discover too late that the injuries sustained far outweighed any temporary satisfaction he may have gained.

Nathan: As far as I know, I'm the only former RPG compiler developer
commenting on Jon's blog. If you were referring to me, I think you've
taken my comments seriously out of context.

What I said was that IF an iSeries customer made the decision to move
off the iSeries (rightly or wrongly), it only makes sense for the IBM
company to try to help that customer move to another IBM platform,
rather than lose the customer completely to a competitor.

I realize that the company has a bit of a tricky balancing act there,
but the overall bottom line to the company is what's important.

Anyway, now that IBM is taking a new look at VARPG, do you have any suggestions for the product?

-Nathan

Frankly, I'm not sure if a Windows-specific VA-RPG product has any
relevance anymore these days. I strongly recommend looking at what can
be achieved today using SMART-GWT, and thinking about how that can
simplify web-based UI programming. Then, think about how one could
combine that with an RPG back end.

SMART-GWT supports a variety of browsers running on different client
operating systems. If IBM were really serious about competing with
Microsoft, they should do everything they can to help customers run
their client apps on non-MS operating systems.

Cheers! Hans
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