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Upgrading Skills May 13, 2006

Posted by Rei Victor dela Cruz in : iSeries , comments closed

Many of my colleagues have asked me what they should learn in addition to their RPG/400 skills. I always tell them that they should take time to learn and practice ILE RPG particularly the new language features like /free.

But if they are looking for a challenge, I always say that they should look to Java. It’s difficult to ignore that Java is everywhere today. The Web, desktops, and even mobile devices. Not learning it is a disadvantage. I know that Microsoft .NET people will react to this but the thing is, Java is a cross-platform language. It works on Linux, Windows, iSeries, Solaris, etc. You just can’t say the same for .NET.

Of course, learning and getting to use it in a project are two different things. For my part I know a little of Java but haven’t had the chance to use it in a full-blown project just yet. I have talked to my bosses about this and hopefully we can work something out in the coming months.

Focusing on the midrange platform is great. No doubt about that. Developers belonging to the midrange community are the most sought after IT professionals in the world today. But adding Java to one’s arsenal can only mean greater things. Don’t you think?

Modernization Resistance May 1, 2006

Posted by Rei Victor dela Cruz in : iSeries , comments closed

I have been in the IT industry here in the Philippines for nearly 10 years now. Most, if not all, of my career was centered on the AS/400 (a.k.a. iSeries and now System i5). During those 10 years, I have seen the development of the iSeries particularly the ILE RPG language. Ever since I learned ILE RPG, I fell in love with it.

Having worked for a Filipino-owned IT service provider for almost 9 years and a now an American-owned subsidiary for almost a year, I still cannot understand why there are companies that have standarized their codes to RPG III and refuse to move to ILE RPG. You show them the advantages but somehow what you’re telling them goes into one ear and out the other just like that. I have to admit that there are companies that are doing it. But they’re doing it very slowly.

My wife is quite lucky as the clients that she’s usually assigned to are quite open to her using modern coding techniques. She has managed to use the /free in ILE RPG while I have not. At least I managed to use ILE RPG in a few projects in my career. I even managed to embed SQL in the programs.

Right now, I’m not even sure if just made a step back. With my current assignment, I’m using Synon (Cool/2E actually) for coding. Sure, the development is fast, but the code it generates is RPG III or RPG/400. I have looked at the generated RPG code and it’s not something that I myself will even think of coding as it contains GOTO’s, CABxx, etc., all of which are big no-no’s in modern ILE RPGÂ or even RPG/400 coding.

But there are cases of course, that programmers themselves refuse to use the modern coding styles even if they are allowed to do so. Either they are lazy or just want to make things difficult for the rest of us. I have conducted training sessions on ILE RPG and have always made suggestions on what opcodes to avoid and the concept of limiting the use of indicators to control program logic. In almost all of those lectures, you’ll find one or two training participants who refuse to listen to my inputs and instead use RPG/400 style code in an ILE RPG program. When asked why, they’ll smile and say that they’re already used to it. I wonder to myself what the point was in attending such a training if you don’t make use of what you’re learning. Oh, well…

So which do you think is worse? A client or company refusing change or the programmers refusing change?