I love RPG--particularly, I love RPG IV. No question. RPG IV is the language of the AS/400 and iSeries. I use it almost exclusively for application development on iSeries and for Web development on iSeries.
Recently, however, I discovered that two very popular CGI programming languages have been ported to the AS/400 and iSeries. These languages are Perl and Python.
Perl is the traditional Web CGI application language. Most books written on CGI programming use Perl as the base language for examples of CGI scripts.
Python is an object-oriented programming language is that not only free, it is also widely available on many platforms, including OS/400. It is both a standard programming language and a valid choice for CGI programming.
Perl and Python are both interpreted languages and therefore do not require a compiler. Consequently, they do not require IBM's help in porting them to the AS/400. So it might not surprise you that not only are these languages provided by independent developers, they are provided free. Just download them and start using them.
Perl for the AS/400 is available from CPAN at http://www.cpan.org/ports/as400/.
Python for the AS/400 is available at http://home.no.net/pgummeda/.
Have fun!
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Robert Cozzi, Jr.
Editor
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
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