Re: Required Skills (was EGL)

[Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Walden H. Leverich wrote:
> I have a big problem with that statement. It's not that EGL lets you
> avoid knowing HTML, it may, it may not, I don't really care. :) My
> problem is much bigger...
>
> If you (editorial use, not you Joe) are too damn lazy to learn something
> as fundamental to today's programming requirements as HTML, Javascript
> and CSS then you deserve to be unemployed! 
>
> Sorry, but these things aren't new, their use in business isn't new, and
> they're not difficult to learn. Drop by your local bookstore, or visit
> any of many sites, and learn a little to advance your career.
>   
Walden, that's a fine sentiment for someone who has the time to learn.  
Who doesn't have a backlog of three months of programs to fix, and a 
threat of outsourcing over their head.  Whose company won't spend a 
nickel to train them.

I developed a simple, thin framework back in 1998 that would have 
allowed everyone to web enable their applications, provided they learned 
a little Java, a little HTML and a little JavaScript.  That's all.  And 
yet it wasn't until the last couple of years that people have started to 
web enable.  I can't tell you how many times the pundits in our 
community said that Java was "too hard".

I mean, look at the questions on this list.  People want to see complete 
business applications pre-written before they'll even take the time to 
try a new tool.  Whether this is a sign of our times or what, I can't 
tell you, but fewer people seem interested in learning the underlying 
technologies.

So, the issue is this: how do you get to the web quickly without having 
to learn the skills but yet be able to use those skills when you get 
around to using them?  A 4GL is one great choice, because it generates code.

Anyway, this is beginning to devolve into an argument about what people 
should be learning, and I'm not willing to spend a lot of time telling 
people what they need to do, while congress is busy selling them out to 
the lowest bidder.  Instead, I want people to be as productive as 
possible, and if that RPG-CGI, then there are people who can teach them 
that, and if it's EGL, I'll be happy to point them in the right direction.

Joe