Re: RPG

On 7/19/2016 1:24 PM, John Yeung wrote:

On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 12:24 PM, Bradley Stone <bvstone@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

If by out of date you mean "it's not free format RPG" then I'd probably
agree. Most of the topics are "timeless".

I don't have to see the tutorial to know that I agree with this 100%.

Unless I am really, really weird (and I know that is a possibility),
the difference between fixed format and free format is simply not an
issue. The advice to "learn free, because it's more like other
languages you already know"[1] is... well, certainly not actively
harmful, but I honestly think it's not very useful either.

I'm happy to read this comment because it reminds me that the context,
the framework where my 'learn free' makes the most sense is because I
link columnar format to RPG II. And honestly, RPG III wasn't a whole
lot better although the addition of the structured opcodes meant that
the gaggle of left hand indicators started to disappear (and all the
people said Amen!) What makes free / RPG IV different, game-changing
different is sub-procedures and local scope.

Now, with RPG IV, I don't simply type with a(nother) different format of
RPG, I think in functions. I prototype with stubs, I test each
sub-procedure because I write each one /to be/ independently testable.
All of that is made possible by sub-procedures. None of this was
possible before sub-procedures.

So for me, free isn't a syntax, it's a way of thinking.