RE: Where are all of the /400's going. Part 1 of 2 -- MIDRANGE-L

Al,

You splattered the nail.. with this comment...!

"I think what really cripples us is not the diversity of
techniques that are
available in RPG, since a good programmer can always go dig into
manuals to
figure out
what is this subfile thing
why use triggers
is there a less messy way to keep track of what line of page we are on
etc."

"Rather there is the multitude of languages needed."


But what is obvious to you and me is (obviously) not obvious to those who
follow the CW.


The baby that got thrown out with the bath water, IMV, is the fact that you
can do just about everything that needs done on a computer with a
fundamental knowledge of CL, DDS, and another HLL.  Any other HLL...

(But obviously, I favor RPG, because it's owned by IBM and (more-or-less)
the Community of RPG programmers.  It isn't owned by some standards
committee.. not by MicroHard, Sun or not even the demi-gods RMS, ESR and
Linus...)


IMV, what causes an order of magnitude of difference in programmer
performance is that the best know almost EVERY facet of EVERY command a
language offers.  This makes simplicity of language design a primary asset.

They don't just know almost EVERY command and it's syntax, like the back of
there hand..  They know when it fits a business problem and when it doesn't.
They don't just implement the first solution they think of..  they don't
chose a piece of code because it works...  They chose from amongst the
several different ways of coding a thing (because there's always more than
one way to skin a cat)...  and they chose different techniques, based on
what the particular problem calls for.

This is what, as they say, separates the men from they boyz...  In my
experience, anyway...

Now, there's a theory that the more languages you have in your toolbelt, the
better the solution is gonna be...  This is the opposite of my experience...
(I'm NOT saying it's bad to know more than one language, because I've gained
a lot from juxtaposing CBL-like coding to RPG-like coding.)  I've enjoyed
learning some SQL, Java, and *nix, just by reading the posts here.

But what I *am* saying is that the better solution is gonna come from the
depth of your knowledge of programming, in general, and the particular
languages you are using to solve a business problem, in particular.  The
depth of knowledge of a particular languange, in my experience, is usually
inversely proportional to the number of languages you use, daily.

I don't find that any great insight as, to me anyway, that just seems to
make common sense.  You might be able to become proficient, in the sense I'm
talking here, in several different languages (over a career, or at least a
decade or two).  However, since languages grow over time..  Well, I think
that theory, too, flies in the face of common sense.


So that's why I see one of the PRIMARY ASSETS of the 400..  the fact that
you can do just about everything with CL, DDS and a HLL.. as being the the
goose that layed the golden egg.

And why I, and evidently a few other folks on this list, go a little
ballistic over the idea that the OS developers are gonna kill the goose that
layed the golden egg.  It's not so much that we pay through the nose, at
least to me, but the idea that we are looked on (evidently) as idiots...
because we don't buy into the CW.  The CW is that you need to re-invent the
wheel, invent a new programming paradigm every other year...

Maybe so.. maybe not...  By all appearances, the 400 can incorporate the
best features of *nix, Java, and even Linux.  Maybe FreeBSD, as well...  It
doesn't require throwing out DDS and CL to achieve that, AFAIK.  They just
need enhanced...


Like I said:  what is obvious to you and me is (obviously) not obvious to
those who follow the CW.


JMHO (and ICBW).

jt



| -----Original Message-----
| From: midrange-l-admin@midrange.com
| [mailto:midrange-l-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of MacWheel99@aol.com
| Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2001 3:14 PM
| To: midrange-l@midrange.com
| Subject: Re: Where are all of the /400's going. Part 1 of 2
| Importance: High
|
|
| I used to use the Primary Cycle exclusively, because it was all I
| had learned.
| I learned other techniques & today use them more heavily, but on
| occasion I
| use Primary Cycle in a new program because I really need what
| control breaks
| & matching records can do for me & I do not know how to get the same power
| using the newer techniques.
| I think what really cripples us is not the diversity of
| techniques that are
| available in RPG, since a good programmer can always go dig into
| manuals to
| figure out
| what is this subfile thing
| why use triggers
| is there a less messy way to keep track of what line of page we are on
| etc.
|
| Rather there is the multitude of languages needed.
| Someone who takes over my job managing BPCS 405 CD modifications
| will need to
| know the right version of RPG, understand embedded SQL, be pretty
| swift with
| *OUTFILEs & Query/400, wouldn't hurt if they knew UIM, absolutely
| must know
| CL & DDS ... the list is much longer than it was on platforms
| prior to OS/400.
|
| > I think it's rather humorous, as I think
| >  it reflects on them more than me.
|
| Oxymoron is like that.
|
| When someone says "Military Intelligence is an Oxymoron"
| that tells us a whole lot about their political viewpoint & biases
| without them knowing that they are communicating that deeply.
|
| A lot of people these days are saying "Computer Security is an Oxymoron"
| which tells us a whole lot about their blatant ignorance
| without them knowing that they are communicating at that level.
|
| MacWheel99@aol.com (Alister Wm Macintyre) (Al Mac)
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