Re: Impressions of EGL - Part Duex

Joe Pluta wrote:

Don't get me wrong: using RPG to respond to AJAX requests is a fine design technique, and if I wanted to use your proprietary JavaScript and your proprietary CGI and I wanted to learn JavaScript, it would be fine. It's definitely a well-crafted low-level API.

Let me be clear about this... what Nathan has done is a really well-designed framework. It's fast and easy to program especially from the RPG side. If you're willing to do the work that he's done, or use his APIs, you will be able to build powerful, well performing applications. Of that I have no doubt.

However, there is no tooling that exists between the WYSIWYG tools and the server. I can't add a field in my server code and then use it in my JSF page, or vice versa. There are no built-in capabilities to update things like the picture source or the checked button of a radio group; those things require specific knowledge of JavaScript. It's not particularly difficult, but it is something you have to learn.

So, if you need to get a lot of pages done quickly, staying in the same IDE for the entire development process, then EGL/JSF is the ticket. If you don't want to learn EGL, but are instead comfortable learning JavaScript and HTML and prefer a third-party editor such as Dreamweaver, then Nathan's solution is a better bet.

Joe