I guess that I don't like .NET for two main reasons. The first is that, as an FSF member, I really don't care for proprietary software 5hat the vendor owns and can change at their whim. A personal thing. Another was some bad experiences at work with some early versions which were used to interface with z/OS. There were problems but I had to PROVE that they were not on z/OS before they would even consider looking at their code because ".NET code is never a problem!" That left a very bad taste in my mouth because management believed everything they said, implying that I was ignorant or a liar. A management problem, not a technical one. On Jan 30, 2013 6:31 PM, "Andrew Rowley" <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 30/01/2013 3:42, John McKown wrote: > > We don't have the money to convert from CICS or batch COBOL to something >> else (likely Microsoft .NET based <shudder/>). >> > > I am curious why you single out .NET specifically here? I develop in .NET, > and I think it is quite good, with some very powerful features. > > On the wider topic, the move away from desktop to web is a major plus for > z/OS - it removes one of the big drivers for migration. The end user > (ideally) can't tell the difference between a web interface deliverd by > z/OS or Windows or Linux. > > z/OS is arguably in a more secure long term position than Windows because > of the move away from desktop. Windows growth has been based on a copy on > every desktop, which is looking shaky now. I'm more confident that z/OS > will be recognizable in 20 years than Windows. > > The languages and development environments are one of the critical > factors. RDz seems to be a solution for the IDE (although I wonder what > percentage of sites use it) but the features available in the languages are > probably more important. Things like generics and powerful collections > (hashtables, dynamic lists/vectors, sets etc.) make development far more > productive, and the programs more efficient. It's a long time since I did > any real z/OS application development, so perhaps these facilities are > available in the common z/OS languages now. If not, asking someone who has > used them to program without them is like asking a builder to build a house > without using power tools. > > The best approach for z/OS shops is probably to steer new development > towards Java. This gives programmers a relatively familiar and productive > environment to work in, and should drive down development costs. > Unfortunately, I think many z/OS sites are resistant to Java. > > In reality, selling points are not important, until you remove the factors > that result in z/OS being crossed off the list. If you can't do that, no > amount of selling points will help. > > Andrew Rowley > > -- > [email protected] > +61 413 302 386 > > ------------------------------**------------------------------**---------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
