Re: AS/400 vs. IBM i

On Thu, Oct 31, 2019 at 6:39 PM Peter Dow <petercdow@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I find this discussion of Java backward compatibility odd. I remember
several discussions on midrange.com about having to change the classpath
to point to an old version of Java because some software or another
wouldn't work it the newer version.

What you are saying tickles my memory. It does feel like we've had
discussions like that.

I strongly suspect that any software which doesn't work with a newer
Java (with the possible exception of Java 9, as I mentioned in my
previous post) is just artificially limiting itself to the version(s)
of Java that the vendor has actually tested with. In all likelihood,
it *would* work with a newer Java, but the vendor is unwilling to make
that claim since they have not verified it themselves.

And instead of just saying "hey, we haven't tested it on that version
of Java, so use at your own risk" they have opted to hard-code tests
for specific Java versions to prevent you from even trying. Presumably
they have based this decision either on legal advice or on their own
calculation of the relative support headache versus potential negative
customer reaction, etc.

But, similar to what Buck might say, those are just my thoughts, and
they may not be worth a penny more than what you paid for them.

John Y.