Re: Beyond RPG CGI

Wow!  What a great thread...with lots of expert opinions!

Nathan, you said:

>
> "...I suspect your real interest in Java is what it might add to your
resume."
>

Truth is having Java on a resume would be a big plus for just about every
programmer these days but my interest has nothing to do with my resume but
rather with what my management wants.  No matter how hard I try to prove
that the iSeries (and RPG for that matter as long as the iSeries is around)
they are convinced that we must move off the box to a more "open" platform.
Now you may argue that the iSeries is "open" these days and it can be if you
use it that way, but our legacy applications, written primarily using DDS
and RPG III & IV simply aren't "open" in the manner that you could pick them
up and drop them on a Sun box without any major changes.

You also said:
>
> But one of the reasons that green-screen applications have been so
successful is
> because they are structured around the READ opcode.  Green-screen programs
> spend most of their time waiting for user input.  They implement an
> initialization process, followed by one or more loops in which the user
I/O
> is handled, then eventually a clean-up subroutine is triggered by user
> input.  Structuring an application around a READ opcode provides a better
> basis for highly efficient, robust, interactive use.
>

I agree and I believe that's what makes our "legacy" application so
successful.  Without going into details our application is 18+ years strong
and is admired by our competition.  Our "system" does so much more than any
commerically available product and we pride ourselves on it's functionality
and integration.  If there's one downside to our application, it's the
"green screen" interface.  In reality, the "green screen" interface is well
suited for most business applications but at the same time when users and
management work in Windows, Word, and Excel all day, it seems like they are
taking a step back in time when they fire up the 5250 emulator to get to
some "legacy" data.  And we all know what this means....80x25 or 132x27, 7
colors, and for the most part, no, or little mouse support.

In my shop, there's been pressure to stop developing "green screen"
applications and start developing "Windows" apps.  The problem is, it's
difficult to just stop developing "green screen" around a "green screen"
application overnight.  This is mainly for 2 reasons, first, we don't have
the skill set instantly available....all my developers are seasoned RPG
developers and most of them have never used any other language, and second,
most changes today are enhancements to existing screens or requests to have
a new screen developed that appears on the "menu" next to an existing
screen.

About a year ago we began developing RPG CGI applications.  We started with
a menu processor that would dynamically build a users "menu" after s/he's
authenticated and all the options became additional "web" links to other CGI
programs.  Then we developed some "killer" applications for this menu.  I
say "killer" because compared to the "green screen" apps we use today, these
apps were full of color, they included graphs and charts, drop-downs, radio
buttons, etc, etc.

Today we sit, still with a green screen "legacy" application but have begun
to replace some of our green screen applications with new browser based
applications.  But getting back to my original point, as good as these apps
look, and as much as they do, management remains convinced that RPG is
"dead" and that we should be moving away from the iSeries.  So my original
question of what others are doing was geared at finding out what shops are
doing that could be perceived as more "main stream".  Several responders in
this thread made comments like if it's working for "you" then stick with it
and although it is working for us and there probably isn't a real need to
change, managment dictates what we ultimately must do.