RE: [WEB400] Re: Resort back to RPG?

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Brad Stone
>
> It's ironic how they now are saying to use Java for the
> facing and RPG for the business logic.

And then there are those of us who have been saying this exact same thing
for years, and are continuing to implement it.  Bandwagon jumping always
occurs, but if you take the time to analyze the tools, it's easy to see what
makes sense and what doesn't.

For example, take SAA.  Great concept, but its implementation basically
chewed up 30-40 percent of a screen (or more).  Given the fact that our
screens were already cramped, it was obvious that SAA wasn't going to fly.
That didn't stop the bandwagon jumpers, but eventually reality took hold and
SAA died, leaving us a legacy of some nice stamdards but thankfully no rigid
requirements.

Java for business logic has the same problem.  The very nature of OO
programming (the fact that your hierarchies can really only be extended, not
changed) means that business rules don't map well to OO practices.  In
addition, data-driven decision making (which is the bulk of all business
logic) doesn't fit nicely into the idea of an object, since it requires a
hugely complex hierarchy.

Because of that, procedural programming is a better fit, and there is no
better procedural languuge than RPG.

If you don't agree with me on these points, feel free to comment, but please
take into account my test case for business logic: if you can program an OO
MRP generation, including coproducts and byproducts, dependent and
independent demand, batch balancing, and all the other features we require
in ERP systems, amd it runs as fast as it does in RPG, then you've reached a
point where perhaps OO can be used for business programming (BTW, SQL still
fails this particular benchmark).

If, however, you do agree with me, then the obvious conclusion is not only
that Java is the wrong choice for business logic, but then by extension that
J2EE is wrong for business application development.  The J2EE bandwagon is
one that I predict will fall by the wayside pretty quickly as people realize
that they may be able to program web services, but that nobody else will use
them, because nobody will agree on the definitions of the underlying
business objects.

But that's just me.

Joe