Re: Open Source RPG ?

[Scott Klement <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> 1) Would you be in favor of IBM Open Sourcing RPG ?
>    (give reasons why or why not if you want)

I keep hearing this about things, and I really don't understand it.  Have 
you _ever_ heard of a company releasing an old commercial application as 
open source?  Did it work out?

Frankly, this sort of thing just doesn't happen.

Even if by some miracle it did, who would maintain the compiler?  Who 
would make it work on each new release of the operating system?  Who would 
make enhancements to it?

How many RPG programmers do you know who are capable of writing a 
compiler?!

For open source to work, you need a community of people who are willing to 
devote their free time to writing and supporting the project.  In the 
iSeries community, this doesn't happen.  PEople don't have their own 
systems at home.  Most iSeries people aren't willing to devote unpaid time 
to doing things like this.  It just won't work.


> 2) If IBM were to Open Source RPG I think a rename of the language would 
> be inevitable (I can't see the Open Source community embracing "Report 
> Program Generator").  So what name would you give it?

I don't think the name of the language means anything whatsoever.  The 
fact that RPG once stood for "Report Program Generator" is basically a 
trivia question.