Re: What would you do without RPG?

Hello Nathan,

I would definitely miss RPGLE, but I would stick with the platform
without it. I have programs in production that were written in 1988
and have moved forward through upgrades, with only a few
re-compiles, without change. That is hard to beat.

The as400/System i/i whatever is an amazing machine. I can almost
entirely disregard it as an issue of any kind - it just always
works. Not a trivial characteristic.

But more and more I use java/sql for new development so I could
certainly live without RPGLE. I am moving in that direction mostly
due to the superior editor that Java affords. Immediate feedback
that is not intrusive, unparalleled re-factoring support, immediate
function parameter checking - I can't list all the advantages. And
Java has proven to be very bullet-proof.

I still have vast respect for RPGLE and still use it for functions
sometimes but I dislike all of the available editors...

And everybody can save the typical flames - I don't care or have
enough spare time to argue.

Friday, July 18, 2014, 12:06:07 PM, you wrote:

The question about an RPGLE compiler for other platforms triggered some
thoughts. But I didn't want to hijack that other thread to raise them.

This question is only hypothetical, because I'm sure that IBM will continue
to support and enhance ILE RPG for as long as IBM supports IBM i.

This question is more about your dependence upon or perhaps even love for
the RPG language vs. your dependence upon or love for the IBM i platform.

If IBM were to abandon support for RPG, would you abandon IBM i? Does RPG
mean that much to you?

As much as I like RPG, my answer is that given NO ILE RPG, I would probably
convert my ILE RPG code to ILE C, in order to continue supporting and
deploying under IBM i.

In some ways, it feels like I'm already there. We are using procedures and
service programs to such a great extent that it feels like we could do
without op codes without much heartburn.

We rely so heavily on a framework of API's, that we might just continue the
interface specifications, except write them using ILE C.

What are your thoughts?

Nathan.

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Rick

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