Re: Code donations for RPGUI initiative

[Kelly Cookson <KCookson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Isn't part of modernization moving to tools that can run on multiple platforms? I hope so. My company runs OS/400, Windows, and Unix. It would be nice to have tools that can develop applications for all our platforms. 

Surely modernization means moving to tools with a stable or growing labor pool expertise. This is where I'm least confident in EGL. 

Go to http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends
Enter the following language names in the search box: cobol, rpg, egl, php, .net, java

Click the "Find Trends" button. Here are the languages mentioned in the greatest number of job postings (highest to lowest):
   .NET
   Java 
   PHP
   Ruby
   COBOL
   RPG
   EGL

Now click the "Relative" link near the upper right corner of the graph. Here are the same languages by percent of job posting growth since 2005:
   Ruby (1500%)
   PHP (250%)
   .NET (25-30%)
   Java (15-20%)
   COBOL (-50%)
   RPG (-50%)
   EGL (-100%)

.NET and Java have a pretty stable labor pool. Ruby and PHP have rapidly growing labor pools. EGL already appears to have a shrinking labor pool.

Just some thoughts...

Kelly

-----Original Message-----
From: web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Joe Pluta
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 5:27 PM
To: Web Enabling the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: Re: [WEB400] Code donations for RPGUI initiative

Aaron Bartell wrote:
> In the end I want to create something that keeps people on the IBM i using a
> framework that is more simple to use than the others I have used in other
> environments (i.e. JSF, PHP).  This year I have heard of many shops leaving
> the IBM i because they don't have a reality based modernization path -
> everything out there leads them away from the IBMi: EGL, Java, PHP, .NET.  I
> am not looking to start a language war, but instead see what we can create
> as a community that is fully intentioned to keep RPG programmers in RPG -
> giving shops the most ROI.  But the key is that the framework needs to be
> open source and free (free as in beer and I need to see if GPL v3 works for
> free as in "usage liberty" concerning ISV needs).  I was hoping Niels from
> IceBreak would have an update on that framework becoming open sourced
> because that would negate my efforts, but I haven't been able to turn
> anything up in my searches that it was in fact open sourced (last
> collaborations on midrange lists is from late 2008).
>   
I don't want to get into language was, either, but what's wrong with EGL 
for the browser?  You can't create a decent Web 2.0 application without 
JavaScript, and EGL generates JavaScript.  The tool, including the 
debugger and all the good stuff, is free.  You use the JavaScript to 
call RPG programs served by Apache, and everybody is happy, no?

Joe