Wow, so ADTS is being updated to handle v6.1, but WDSCi isn't. Ouch. I suppose I can see the point, using 6.1 IDE enablement as a selling point to pay for RDi, but that's not enough for us to bite (yet). And now it's even worse, my boss who uses SEU will say, "Well if you want to use 6.1 enhancements, go back to green screen."
-Kurt
-----Original Message-----
From: wdsci-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wdsci-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kelly Cookson
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 4:46 PM
To: Websphere Development Studio Client for iSeries
Subject: Re: [WDSCI-L] justifying RDi when WDSCi 'still works'
We had an IBM team give us an online demonstration of RDi. They told us
about the stabilization of the ADTS tools. They also mentioned the ADTS
tools had been updated to work with V6R1. They didn't go into detail,
but that's what they said. So the ADTS tools should work fine for V6R1.
And I doubt V6R2 will be a big change from V6R1. But how many versions
of OS updates before the ADTS tools start to lose functionality?
I wasn't really listening to rumors. I was looking at the developer
roadmap put out by IBM.
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/iadthelp/v6r0/index.jsp?topic=/
com.ibm.etools.iseries.getstart.doc/ovr06.htm
I know IBM has abandoned the linear roadmap for the new "road atlas,"
but the consistent push has been for modernization. Everything I see
about modernization on the iSeries points to browser pages instead of
5250 screens:
http://www.iseriesdevcon2009.com/tracks/4.cfm?usergroup=
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/uk/itsolutions/developer/rsdc/keynot
es/em08-system-i-and-em.pdf
http://www.bphx.com/sites/asna/NewsEvents/Newsletters/Quarter12009/Pages
/ModernizationOverview.aspx
http://www.embarcadero.com/making-as/400-and-system-i-application-modern
ization-easier
http://www.bcdsoftware.com/iseries400solutions/clearpath/
http://www.codegear.com/solutions/modernizing-AS400-applications
I think IBM is trying to push shops off the ADTS tools. Once they have
us on RDi, why would they stop pushing for modernization? And wouldn't
the next logical step of modernization be browser interfaces?
Thanks,
Kelly
-----Original Message-----
From: wdsci-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wdsci-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of MichaelQuigley@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:37 PM
To: wdsci-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [WDSCI-L] justifying RDi when WDSCi 'still works'
Kelly,
I don't recall ever seeing an end-of-support date for ADTS. It's been
unbundled from the big WDS all-in-one development licensing, but I don't
think they've stated that these tools will not continue to function far
into the future. What IBM has stated is that they are not adding new
functionality to the ADTS tools. (And I agree with anyone who questions
why they should end up paying $159 per year per developer to use tools
that aren't being updated. What's the Software Maintenance charge for?)
That said, what additional functionality do you want in green-screen
editing tools? How do you plan to enhance a green screen text editor.
It
supports new (6.1) language features. (that;'s got to mean syntax
checking--what else could it do?)
As far as entirely getting rid of the 5250 interfaces, there are simply
too many systems developed on these. The manpower to replace them would
be just as easy to replace with a competitor's product. I don't foresee
IBM ever removing the 5250 interface. On the more recent systems, there
is no interactive tax. The interactive tax was IBM's way of trying to
push people off of the 5250-interface. It failed. They've since
dropped
that.
Don't succumb to rumor-mill FUD. (IBM has made major marketing mistakes
and I think they've possibly shot themselves down with the packaging and
support structure for the development tools.) I always try to keep
things
in perspective. I read an column in a magazine many years ago praising
HP
for how they were giving developers on their HP-3000 MPe system five
years
notice before they would need to rewrite their programs. In our shop
(running i5/OS V5R4 on a POWER 6 processor system), we still have
running
functional programs which were last compiled about 20 years ago.
It's not a bad principle to develop anything new in an interface other
than 5250 green-screen. But I still smile every time I walk into a
hospital or other organization and see them bring up a 5250-based green
screen to handle their work. The clerk, secretary, administrative
person
or whatever doesn't seem overly taxed to handle their interaction with
me
while they use a text-based interface. I've yet to see any customer's
walk out because they are receiving service from someone using a
green-screen application. There's a lot of systems with too much code
to
simply replace it for the sake of replacing it.
Michael
wdsci-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote on 08/25/2009 12:59:34 PM:
----- Message from "Kelly Cookson" <KCookson@xxxxxxxxxxxx> on Tue,
25 Aug 2009 11:54:13 -0500 -----
To:
"Websphere Development Studio Client for iSeries"
<wdsci-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject:
Re: [WDSCI-L] justifying RDi when WDSCi 'still works'
The first step of the roadmap is getting rid of ADTS tools. IBM has
guaranteed that will happen by stabilizing the ADTS tools. Eventually
OS
upgrades will break ADTS functionality, and we will have to turn to
RDi.
The second step of the roadmap is getting rid of the 5250 green screen
interfaces in favor of browser based interfaces. I wonder if, once IBM
has System i shops moved onto RDi, they will push us off 5250
interfaces? Browser interfaces can be run without the 5250 interactive
tax. Maybe that tax could be used as an incentive to make all our
interfaces browser based. Or maybe the bright folks at IBM could find
a
way to limit the number of 5250 sessions running at any one time.
Kelly
midrange.com
