13
Wed, Nov
5 New Articles

Time for More RPG IV Enhancements?

RPG
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

What's the best process for IBM to use to select enhancements to add to RPG IV? In the past, they've had high-profile RPG programmers like me and others give them feedback, they've held public voting on features to get the most popular features added to the language, and they've made decisions in a Kremlin-esque fashion behind closed doors.

Lately, IBM has used a number of other methods, including a points or currency system that allocates 100 points to each voter. For example, if you feel strongly about features A, F, and J, and you also like feature Q, you can split your voting by spending 30 points each on items A, F, and J and spending 10 points on item Q. Someone else might feel just as strongly about items F and J but also like items H, K, and L. So while he votes for two of the same items as you did, he could allocate fewer points to those items and more to others. This is probably the worst way to take a public opinion survey.

Other ways to allow multiple items to be selected are to allow X votes (say 5 to 10 percent of the total items). Then, if there are 50 new features IBM is considering, everyone gets to vote for their top five items. If you don't have five, then you don't have to vote for five; this last point needs to be made very clear to the voters.

But there is one other method that has yet to be tried in our marketplace: the Request for Comment, or RFC, process. RFC has been around for nearly 40 years. It was started back in 1969 and continues to be a powerful process for soliciting feedback on proposed features and enhancements to technology.

The RFC process allows IBM to propose a feature to RPG IV and have the public comment on that feature. So rather than IBM implementing feature X as IBM sees fit, IBM proposes feature X as IBM sees fit and solicits feedback. The feedback period lasts for a given number of months and then is closed.

There are other benefits to using an RFC process, but I'm advocating it as an alternative to voting. After all, if you vote for someone for public office who turns out to be not very good, you can (in theory anyway) replace that individual in the next election cycle. Once you vote for and then IBM implements a feature in RPG IV, it is there forever—good, bad, or otherwise.

I think there are at least five categories of enhancements to RPG that IBM can make:

  1. Features that would be cool to have
  2. Features that need to be changed or added to make the language more intuitive and consistent
  3. Features that would make the language more popular
  4. Features that are needed because 90+ percent of the RPG community would benefit from them
  5. Features that take the language into new areas of application development

For each of these classes of features, voters react differently and rarely think about what's best for the RPG community or what's best for RPG. Typically, they think about what's best for them as a programmer. Here's how I see it.

Class 1 features (features that would be cool to have) probably receive the most votes and the most attention, but they provide the least amount of value once delivered—for example, adding a second parameter to %TRIM to allow the programmer to specify the characters to be trimmed. This feature is in RPG IV today and was the top vote-getter in the last survey IBM took on RPG IV features. Guess what: People either don't know about it or just don't use it.

Future enhancements that would garner just as many votes and probably result in as little use include increasing the size limit on subfiles to more than 9999 records. (I know; subfiles are not part of RPG, but 75 percent of the programmers I talk to don't separate subfiles from RPG.) Another one would be the pervasive "How can I get the data out of a field when the field name is stored inside another field?"

Class 2 features (features to make the language more intuitive and consistent) are arguably the most important as they help new programmers learn the language; bringing new coders into the RPG world is an important issue today. These features can also reduce the frustration for experienced and novice programmers alike. Examples include allowing comments and slash (/) directives to start in the first non-blank position on the line, instead of in column 7 (for directives) or in column 8 or greater (for comments). New RPG programmers end up hating the language after two hours of trying to get a source member compiled with the /IF or /COPY statement starting in column 6.

Class 3 features (features to make the language more popular) are subjective at best. Certainly some good comes from these types of features. But honestly, wouldn't third-party add-ons or even the ever-popular "steal this code" open-source crowd fulfill this category? There are problems with open source; the people who advocate it most are often those who simply want free code.

Class 4 features (features most of the RPG community would benefit from) are certainly nearly as important as or as important as class 2 features. However, an average "Joe Blow" programmer often thinks his/her most-desired feature is also the rest of the world's most-desired feature. Many programmers talk about writing great code, but in a lot of situations, they write code with at least some "I'll just make it work" rather than "I need to make this maintainable by the programmer who comes after me." Face it, most programmers (but not you, of course) think only about making their code work in the moment; they often code as if they were Scottie trying to get the hyper drive back online so the ship doesn't explode.

Class 5 features (features that take the language into new areas of application development) are similar to class 3 features in their importance. Sure, it would be cool to have integrated CGI/Web built-in functions in RPG IV, but that would have been important in 1998, or 2002, or 2004, or 2006. In 2008 and beyond, it is sort of like adding pointer support to CL in 2006. Why do I care? I've already coded all the CL I'm ever going to write. By 2008 or 2009, I've already written tons of CGI/Web stuff using xTools, CGI DEV2, or the CGI APIs, so why would I care? Having said that, I do think CGI/Web built-ins would be a great addition to RPG IV if they were available today!

So RFC may be a solution. IBM puts out a set of enhancements requests called Design Change Requests, or DCRs. The community comments on them, offering suggestions for improvement. IBM then absorbs those comments and does what it thinks is best.

Bob Cozzi is author of the best-selling The Modern RPG IV Language, Fourth Edition as well as RPG TNT: 101 Dynamite Tips 'n Techniques with RPG IV and is host of the i5 Podcast Network, which provides free video and audio podcasts to the i5 community. You can also see him in person at RPG World in May 2007.

BOB COZZI

Bob Cozzi is a programmer/consultant, writer/author, and software developer. His popular RPG xTools add-on subprocedure library for RPG IV is fast becoming a standard with RPG developers. His book The Modern RPG Language has been the most widely used RPG programming book for more than a decade. He, along with others, speaks at and produces the highly popular RPG World conference for RPG programmers.


MC Press books written by Robert Cozzi available now on the MC Press Bookstore.

RPG TnT RPG TnT
Get this jam-packed resource of quick, easy-to-implement RPG tips!
List Price $65.00

Now On Sale

The Modern RPG IV Language The Modern RPG IV Language
Cozzi on everything RPG! What more could you want?
List Price $99.95

Now On Sale

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA 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.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra 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: