> Charles knows C++ so I don't understand why he would pick REXX One factor is that my deployment machine does not have a C++ compiler and does not share DASD with my development machine. So for C++ the cycle is
- Edit in IDE on Windows - Build in IDE on Windows; get to clean compile - Upload to development machine - Build on z/OS (hopefully no z-specific errors; if so, iterate) - Copy load module from development to deployment (complex load module FTP) - Test - Repeat as necessary For Rexx OTOH the cycle is - Edit in text editor in Windows - Upload to deployment machine (simple ASCII text upload) - Test - Repeat as necessary A much faster development cycle. I built, tested and deployed the new HLASM module and the Rexx code in about 13 hours billable (including all the discussion here). I doubt that I could have done that with C++. There is more to "best language for the job" than elegance, conciseness, "modernness" and efficiency of execution. For Python there is no way of knowing, but I think I might have spent that much time trying to get Python downloaded and installed. IBM manages to make the most simple tasks difficult. For one of the two machines I would have had a "business" or "legal" issue that might have taken 13 hours; certainly would have taken weeks elapsed. And that is before any "learning Python" issues. I am sure it is a wonderful language, but I think it is wishful thinking to say "see, you had some API issues with Rexx; therefore you would have been better off with Python." I suspect I might have had some API issues with my first Python program. <g> Also, I get great Rexx community support right here on this forum. Where would I go for mainframe-specific Python community support? I'm sure there is some relevant forum, but how active is it? OT, but I have gotten pretty unhappy with Stack Overflow. Too many questions there now seem to draw a "not a perfect question" rebuke from some self-important moderator. BTW, I do think I might want to learn Python. I bought an O'Reilly textbook. I have a six-hour flight coming up, and I think that it might be just perfect for learning Python. Charles -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Crayford Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2022 3:27 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Some questions on SYSCALL On 30/06/2022 5:52 am, Bernd Oppolzer wrote: > The only reason why your Python code is shorter is because you use > the builtin os.walk method to walk through the directory recursively. Isn't that the point? Python has an enormous standard library to do useful things. Also note the use of iterators (or generators). In most languages I use you can turn a subroutine inside out that returns a value using "yield". The advantages of this model should be obvious. If you wanted to grab the first 10 items from a list of 100,000 you don't need to build the entire list as you would with REXX. Going back to Charles original requirement and why I piped up. Charles knows C++ so I don't understand why he would pick REXX for a z/OS UNIX ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
