From: Aaron Bartell
[Net.Data] is going nowhere. When is the next release coming
out? What features are going to be in it?
I don't want to belabor the point, but don't think of Net.Data the same way you might think of say Visual Studio or Rational Business Developer, which are so broadly scoped that they require continuous updates.
Think of Net.Data as a "thin" interface between the HTTP server and various "language environments". It parses browser requests and makes their content (form variables, query string parameters, cookies, environment variables) available to the developer, maps dynamic data into response streams, and returns it to the HTTP server.
Use something like Dreamweaver for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Use one of the IBM i language environments for DB I/O and business rules. And use Net.Data to glue the two together. It doesn't need to be more than that.
If you think of Net.Data in this way, it becomes more like the HTTP server. How often do you find yourself asking about new HTTP server releases and features?
This reminds me of Joe Pluta's recommendation to use Java and J2EE as a "thin" presentation layer between the HTTP server and RPG servers. Use RPG and the "integrated language environment" for the complicated stuff, and use JSPs to generate the HTML stream.
If you use JSPs in this manner, you won't find yourself asking when the next specification will come out? What new features will it have?
PHP is getting a lot of press these days, but you'd be well served if you didn't use many of it's features. You'd be better served by using it as a thin presentation layer server, and using other IBM language environments for DB I/O and business logic.
You can use Net.Data that way too. The difference is that Net.Data has better integration with the other language environments.
Nathan.
midrange.com
