On April 2, 2014, an article about OA invited all IBM i users to participate in a survey about enabling RPG to use XML rather than DDS for buffer compilation. It happens that this feature would also serve non-OA programs.
So far, 200 people from IBM i shops in 15 industry categories have participated. Participants include some notable industry names that are easily recognized.
On a scale of 1 to 5 (representing poor to excellent) the current average vote is 4.53.
The survey will end on June 15, so this is your last chance to participate!
All comments are welcome and will provide IBM some good material to think about. Below are some comments extracted from the survey so far. All comments will be available to read when the survey results are published.
"What are you waiting for? Go for it! :)"
"But not only RPG but COBOL too!!!!"
"I would be more inclined toward XML as a standard for this."
"This would decrease the need for additional staff just to maintain a common application and would have a more acceptable learning curve for rpg programmers than to learn java."
"XML is not a solution to everything."
"We use system AS400 as a development platform. We have some projects for which we need to use XML files to communicate with external parts. If we can have this tool being implemented, it'll help us a lot!!!"
"If you mean for Database Definitions, SQL DDL already does a good enough job of that. I see little value in having database definitions in XML, but I am not against it. If you mean for DSPF and PRTF Definition, yes, XML should be available to define those objects rather than DDS. I've mentioned this for years."
"Keep compliance with DDS or create a migrating tool. There is a huge amount of installed sw to keep."
"Anything that opens up and extends the life of the System i should be seriously considered. Adopting the use of XML would open the system to many more younger programmers and provide an easier path to the Modern UI."
"I use RPG to generate JSON as a means of sending data to the browser interface. JSON is more natural to JavaScript and therefore easier to handle than XML. If IBM were to use JSON, that would be a lot more valuable."
"It could be the 20 years second life of rpg. It's a brillant (magic :-)) idea. It's like an Ethernet card for an AS400 !"
"This would be a decisive element in order to avoid inevitable migration from AS400 to a new platform."
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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