McKown, John wrote:
I agree that Enterprise COBOL has the potentiality for excellent code.
One thing lacking that exist for Java, Perl, Ruby, and other such
languages is a HUGE support library. CPAN has so much good stuff in it
that writing something like a browser in Perl is simple. Try it in COBOL.
What COBOL needs is something equivalent to CPAN or the other user and
vendor supplied support routines. I would shudder to try to write a
browser in COBOL. Because I would have to do it ALL myself. And for
"browser" substitute any advanced "Internet aware" functionality.
Wait a minute. Remember I said COBOL is good at what it's designed
for: automating business rules. It was never designed to be a
language for creating a browser or similar application.
That being said, I agree a good support library would be nice to
have. Something richer than the LE library of routines.
As far as "Internet aware" functionality, I've mentioned in the
past you can write COBOL CGIs, and we have a course on how to
do this, including accessing VSAM files and DB2 database data
to display on a website hosted on z/OS, without using WebSphere
or even CICS/TS.
Perhaps RDz (or whatever it's called) has advanced functionality for
COBOL in it. I don't know. But writing a TCP/IP program in Java is,
relatively, simple. It's even easier in other languages.
Again, I don't consider a TCP/IP program to be "business rules". Other
languages are better for that kind of code.
In terms of the "base" language itself, I can use most anything.
OK, on Linux, I use Perl a LOT. Because I know it and love regular
expressions and it's acceptably easy to use and fast (running and
writing).
>
I'm probably one of the few people who think that APL2 is interesting.
I remember the first (only) APL class I attended, when I was still
with IBM. The class challenge was always to solve a lab with a
single APL statement. Pretty bizarre stuff came out of that!
--
John McKown
Systems Engineer IV
IT
--
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-Steve Comstock
The Trainer's Friend, Inc.
303-393-8716
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