Re: HTML and PDF Reports

[Nathan Andelin <nandelin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dave,

RPG generated stream files have a role in many contexts in addition to 
OLTP and production applications.  It's more efficient for a Web browser 
to download a static, or semi-static HTML file from a Web site than to 
dynamically generate HTML from CGI, PHP, or J2EE procedures. 
Midrange.com archives are a good example of static HTML files that are 
periodically refreshed by batch procedures.  BLOGS and store product 
catalogs are often handled similarly.

You make a good point about "knowledge workers/power users".  These 
people are generally the owners/stewards of data, the most vested in it, 
and will not wait for an IT programmer to write reports for them. 
They'll teach themselves "how to fish" with reporting tools if the IT 
department is a bottleneck.  Perhaps ironically, I began my professional 
career in that kind of position and gradually extended my skills to 
database maintenance and OLTP applications.  While you may have a 
callous distain for RPG, using RPG for report generation is NOT much of 
a stretch for many "knowledge workers".