OpenEuphoria

Re: We're All Doomed (Programmers, That Is)

• Posted by Jonas Temple <jtemple at yhti.net> Mar 02, 2006
• 435 views

Okay, how about this...

When I say I write code in RPG most non-RPG programmers get a goofy smile on
their face as if to say "Do you have any drive-thru experience?".  The fact is
that RPG is still alive and kicking...AND still getting updated!  AAMOF, there's
a movement that just started where people in the iSeries/i5 community want IBM to
change the name of the language.  RPG stood for Report Program Generator.  That
is FAR from true any more.  I'm currently working on a project to generate
spreadsheets on the host to be emailed to salesman.  The "outdated" RPG code
looks like:

// Create a row                                               
rowcount += 2;                                                
row = HSSFSheet_createRow(sheet:rowcount);                    
                                                              
// Output the customer information                            
hssf_text(row:secbtx_c:                                       
          %trim(%editc(secanb:'Z')) + '-' +                   
          %trim(seb9cd) + ' ' + %trim(secltx) + ' ' +         
          %trim(secptx):                                      
          ColHeadingL);                                       
hssf_merge(sheet:rowcount:secbtx_c:rowcount:seitdsc_c);       
                                                              
And NO, this is not a C program.

The platform this is written on is and has been 64 bit since ~1994.  It used to
be known as AS/400.  Now it's called i5.  Oh and by the way, you might recognize
the above hssf_ calls as being the Java package from Apache.org that lets you
create Excel spreadsheets.  That's right, calling Java procedures.

Who uses this "old" IBM equipment, you ask?  Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam's, Walgreens,
Enterprise Rent-a-Car, just to name a few.

Sorry, I just realized I was in rant mode.

Jonas Temple
http://www.yhti.net/~jktemple