Re: native PHP in V5R4???

On 2/23/06, Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> The truth is that most anything you can do in SQL outside of a few
> vendor-specific extensions you can do on the iSeries.  And then, when you
> need extra performance, you can go to native I/O.  In fact, RPG is the only
> language I know of that allows you to access your database both ways, which
> in my mind makes it leading edge!

If we're worried about perception, why are we talking about back-end
technologies?  The folks who are managing by in-flight magazine and
making IT decisions are doing so because they believe that 5250 is
dated technology (and I'm not going to debate the validity of this
belief as I believe there are situations for both 5250 and GUI [and I
am my company's webmaster]).

We are rewriting and enhancing a 5250 application (very little data
entry, mostly inquiry, a great candidate for a GUI) using JSP/Java
(running on WebSphere on iSeries) dealing with the iSeries back end. 
We have a mix of record level access and SQL, RPG program calls, and
some MQT's mixed in for good measure.  Our users are going NUTS over
this.  They are all telling us that they "did not know that the AS/400
could do this."  It's been able to do this for years; it's the IT
staff that hasn't been able to do this (not enough web guys to put on
an internal project until now).  The users ASSUME the platform is old
and incapable because we are not producing the kinds of apps they
want.

We have all the tools we need to provide world-class GUI applications.
 If we can provide applications that meet or exceed user expectations
(both presentation and performance), we don't need to worry about some
knucklehead saying that we need to migrate to UNIX/Oracle or
Windows/SQL Server or whatever.

Mike E.