Re: Apache and .Net

I signed up for a couple of online IBM classes on EGL (They haven't started yet). The instructor put out a few questions so he could see where the students were, knowledge-wise, on a few subjects. One of the questions asked and the resulting exchange:


[Jon] Do you have any questions for us - on the class or EGL/RBD in general?

[Jeff] EGL is IBM proprietary, correct?
[Jon] Yes and No. For now yes. But we're opening up the language, and the OMG (who traffics in such things) is looking at a submission we have to make EGL open-source

[Jeff] What if IBM abandons it someday?
[Jon] EGL is a strategic product for IBM. It's based on 25 years of antecedent products (CSP --> VAGEN --> EGL). At no time has IBM abandoned its customers. When new products in the same vein have been offered? We have provided electronic code migration. And if you used any other language - you'd be up the same well-known creek. Example - if you used Java for web? You'd have started off using Servlets. Then? (oops) JSPs - throw out the servlets. Then (oops) STRUTS framework (throw out the JSPs) - then (oops) JSF ... (ditto) ... now it's Spring/Hibernate (throw out all of the above). This is in a 5 year span. If you'd been using EGL you would have thrown out Zero.

[Jeff] Does EGL generate HTML/Cobol/Java such that the output could still be used if EGL goes away?
[Jon] Theoretically yes. For all intents and purposes not really.


Interesting, huh? Take it for what it's worth.