RE: New Technology was--> Beyond RPG CGI -- WEB400

Hey all,

I'd like to throw in my 2 cents on this issue, as my background is generally
different than most others on this list.

I think we need to define an overriding principle for the IT industry, and
it won't take hold until we convince ourselves that it's right.  That
principle is - USE WHAT WORKS BEST.

The desire to shift over to "new" technologies is strong - everyone wants to
be "on the cutting edge" and current.  The problems, as many have stated,
come when people want to be current simply for the sake of being current.
Until there is a distinct need to shift over to a different technology, for
whatever reason, as long as everything works, stick with what you know.
Most of the stories I've seen that end with "... so we just went back to
using our old systems..." spawned from exactly this kind of situation, and I
think we all agree it's best avoided.

However, if you're working in a primarily RPG shop, and you'd like to ADD
some functionality into your existing structure, you should definately be
more open to the option of trying something different.  I don't know the
specific pros and cons when it comes to RPG vs. Java vs. TheNextBigThing,
but the point is that there are things that each language can do better than
the others.  You want a new app that works closely with DB2 on the 400, go
ahead and use RPG.  You need something platform-independant with a small
footprint, go use Java.  Heck, you need a Windows (ick) application, give C#
or Visual Basic a try.  Plug away with C++ on your *nix box.

The point is, we shouldn't be talking about what works best or what's the
hottest thing on the market (if we were, we'd be trying to stuff .NET into
Linux - that's a joke, people).  We should be talking about how we can get
all this stuff to work together to make our software, systems, and
enterprises run as gracefully and efficiently as possible.  Some systems
make this easier than others, and that was one of my big draws to the
400/iSeries - talk about a machine that adjusts to your desired development
environment! - while other systems are making it difficult at best.

So, Mike, if your company has a pressing need to shift to Java and Oracle,
go for it.  It won't be easy, but if it pays the bills in the end, great.
But if your company is thinking of doing it just for the sake of saying "We
use Java and Oracle," you're going to find yourself questioning everything
you do every step of the way - and that doesn't make for good business or
happy programmers.

OK, so that turned out to be closer to about $1.50 than $0.02, but it's an
issue I definately feel strongly about.  Hope this helps in some way.

- Erik
http://www.baron-inc.net