Re: EGL and RPG in the web world

Hi,

Thanks for the QS36F answer.

Steven Spencer wrote:
> Incidentally, Joe could indicate whether, when he develops a new app with EGL, he uses RPG at all, and if so, precisely where he moves back to RPG. Apologies if that has been asked a few times before, but it would help in evaluating the relationship. Maybe you end up using RPG as a .... "report program generator":) .

Joe Pluta

If an application is easily handled by SQL (meaning purely relational queries and simple or no updates) then I may use no RPG at all. If, however, I need to do anything requiring a little more database muscle I'll call an RPG program. This can involve complex database navigation or non-trivial updates. Also if I need stateful connections, I'll also use an RPG call.

Steven
Non-trivial, and complex, updates and editing and special stuff exists in RPG programs all the time (not the standard update and query programs, but the complex stuff as in invoicing and inventory). It seems to me that what you are saying is that EGL is not natively very strong there, you need RPG's programming detail to get from square A to Z. If you tried to do it in EGL, you would end up generating code, and then maybe tweaking the code, but that runs into the problem that EGL is generating, as I understand, Cobol and Java, neither of which is as friendly to us as RPG.

(And touching "generated" code is generally something you want to avoid. I remember some development environments, like Clarion, tried to make hooks into and out of generated code more practical, so you could regen without losing your work, but that is not the norm.)

Thus it sounds to me that, in some cases, you have EGL performing a rather limited function, of jazzing up all the easy programs but passing on the heavy ones, which you will design and implement in good old RPG ? In that case how do you work the net-PC interface ? Are you combining some non-EGL tools with RPG ? Or do you use EGL in a more limited function, not 4GL, but web output, called by RPG ?

I hope my question is clear, and maybe even sensible, I am simply trying to get a nice handle on the practical matters.

Thanks.

Steven Spencer
Queens, NY