There isn't a thing one can do in RPG II than one cannot do in RPG/400, but
there are quite a few things that one can do in RPG/400 that cannot be done
(at least not easily) in RPG II. There isn't a thing one can do in RPG/400
that one cannot do in ILE RPG, but there are a heck of a lot that can be
done in ILE RPG that cannot be done (period) in RPG/400.
Most of the stuff that I have to do here could be done in RPG II (including
subfiles), but writing in ILE RPG (a) keeps me in gear, and (b) is a whole
lot more fun.
As for /free, it is easier to write than /fixed. And it is more readable.
My ex-boss, a Math major and VB guru, couldn't follow the fixed format code
for any version of RPG. After I switched to /free, though, he helped me
many times debug programs, especially the complex formulas that we had to
use (misplace one stinking parenthesis and all sorts of nasty things
happen).
Even for the basic stuff that I do, I cannot come up with a valid reason for
*not* using /free ILE RPG. I've even written Cycle programs (once with
matching records) using it.
Jerry C. Adams
IBM i Programmer/Analyst
To hell with the public! I'm here to represent the people! - unnamed New
Jersey state senator
--
A&K Wholesale
Murfreesboro, TN
615-867-5070
-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of John Yeung
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 9:30 AM
To: RPG programming on the IBM i / System i
Subject: Re: Impossible to even think about rewriting in RPG
On Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 7:45 AM, <Tommy.Holden@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Until like 3 months ago I used SEU/PDM for doing ILE programming complete
with service programs, modules & APIs. Blaming the IDE is a red herring.
It's a desire to make the effort that is to blame.
Thanks,
Tommy Holden
I'm not *blaming* the IDE. I'm saying that for me, in my workplace,
in my opinion, it's not the best use of my time. Of course you can do
ILE programming with SEU and PDM. And if you do, great. I am all for
it. But it *does* have a cost, and is not only related to
willingness.
Look at Java for a much more stark illustration of the cost of an
inferior development environment. How many Java programmers who use
Notepad or EDTF or some such are anywhere near as productive as Java
programmers using Eclipse? There is a very real cost to having to
type boatloads and boatloads of boilerplate yourself. While you are
doing that, you're not really contributing value, you're not really
working on the business problem. You are typing (or copying and
pasting) lots and lots and lots of stuff that either the compiler or
the IDE should be able to do for you. It's a bloody waste of time.
For me, personally, I have not seen ILE code that is *so much better*
than OPM code that there is a compelling argument to switch. At least
at my workplace, the benefit is very close to zero. And the cost is
much greater than zero. If there were some demonstration that there
would be significant benefit (modularity, maintainability,
performance, functionality), or some way to mitigate the cost (less
clunky development process), then of course it would be worth
revisiting.
And this is why I have asked very plainly: What do folks use other
than SEU and PDM for their ILE development? Three months ago, you
switched yourself, so clearly there must be something better.
Note: I know ILE provides greater functionality. The benefits that
are obvious to me are embedded SQL and recursion. So of course when
those things make the programming much easier, it is worth the
overhead of the extra coding required for ILE. But honestly, the
stuff we do at my workplace very rarely calls for these features.
John
midrange.com
