Re: Why use PHP? What are the disadvantages?

On Apr 19, 2010, at 5:12 PM, web400-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Jon, I am curious. Outside of PHP being more prominent in web than RPG (a
fact), what is the thing you would most want from RPG that PHP gives you,
but that RPG sorely lacks?

Well I've already mentioned the amount of help available but ... putting devil's advocate hat on ...

1) Large numbers of trained experienced programmers

2) Thousands of examples and tutorials on how to do things (web services, PDF generation, Excel integration, cloud, email, voip, ... name any modern technology and insert here. (IT takes too long to add stuff to RPG which is why Open Access is goodness and "Open BIFs" should probably follow it.

3) Object orientation if I want it (Will never happen with RPG)

4) Wide choice of powerful application frameworks

5) Wide choice of Open Source applications (Sugar CRM, Drupal, MediaWiki to name just three)

6) Bookshelves of "How to's"

7) Being actively taught in colleges and schools (sadly most of the schools who taught it have dropped it in part because we as a community didn't hire the grads!)

I could go on but the last thing I want to do is to denigrate RPG - it is and will remain my favorite langauge.

Those of us who (like yourself) have built web frameworks in RPG tend to be clueless when it comes to the difficulties Joe Average encounters when he tries to get stuff running using RPG - even if it is a free solution. They _have_ to have stuff installed on the IBM i - and for many that's just not an option. Not an issue with PHP - they can develop stuff and _then_ say "look what I've done".

Anyway, enough already - I'm in danger of foruming away the open week that the Icelandic volcano has given me!


Jon Paris

www.Partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com