>Java's not perfect, but it is powerful and it is pretty much universally >available on z/OS.
People don't understand the ingenuity behind REXX and don't understand the real problems it solves. From a language standpoint, REXX is just another language but it's real strength is it's environment integration. Instead of the caller maintaining libraries, the environment automatically integrates with REXX. For instance, REXX in the TSO environment, gives you access to TSO commands (address TSO) and z/OS programs (address linkmvs). Start ISPF and address ISPEXEC is available. ISPF option 2 gives you address ISREDIT. SYSCALLS ON gives you address syscalls. For product developers, REXX is simple to integrate environments as witnessed by the plethora of integrated environments on z/VM, z/OS and probably z/VSE (e.g. some addressable environments: automation, CICS, CMS, CP, TSO, UNIX, SYSCALLS and more) OOREXX is not REXX because it does not have the automatic environment integration and as you say, using JAVA instead of OOREXX would be preferable. REXX on the other hand is preferable over JAVA in many IBM environments. For instance, why would you use JAVA as your system automation environment language? The complication of using OOP REXX is rarely beneficial for most environments. Generally, you are not building complicated applications. For instance, system automation will be the most complex but managing events under objects would be complicated and unmanageable given the current automation environment design. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
