Deep Thoughts with Richard Schoen

OK, I know learning new languages has been beat to death because RPG is the swiss army knife language we’ve been using for the past 20 years. In today’s world there’s not much RPG can’t do. RPG can be used to create reports, interactive screen programs, operating system utilities, web based CGI applications and can also interact with Java classes. In fact I use RPG on a daily basis. While I don’t typically code in RPG 24 hours a day, I do use RPG regularly to write and maintain code for several of our iSeries products. With all this functionality in RPG why would you want to learn a new language ?

The answer is diversity and keeping your skills up to date. For those who are near retirement maybe my words don’t ring true, but for the rest of us software developers we need to be keeping somewhat abreast of new languages so we can see how they benefit the iSeries, especially in the new world of the Internet where the iSeries can be more than a bit player. Secondarily we do need to make sure we are aware of new technologies to make ourselves more marketable in the case of a job change or when the PC guy simply comes up and says have you heard of Web Services ? I am amazed that after all these years I still hear of useful new technologies almost on a daily basis.

OK smarty, since there are several new languages such as VB, Java, C#, etc. available, what would you recommend learning first? HTML. Yes, I said HTML. The reason that HTML is the most relevent language to learn right now is that HTML is the screen definition language of the future. HTML is also applicable to iSeries and non-iSeries applications. Think of HTML as your DDS for web applications. Once you know HTML you can design screens for iSeries, Windows and any other platform under the sun. HTML can also be learned for FREE because of all the resources available on the web today. One such site is HTML Goodies. You can also go to Yahoo and search on the word HTML to find several other good web sites to help you learn. If you don’t like learning on the web, most community colleges and tech schools offer inexpensive HTML intro classes to get you started.

Bottom line is don’t think that RPG is all you need to know in today’s fast paced world. Step out of your box and start working with some new technologies and start simple with HTML. HTML has been around forever and will remain relevent for a long time to come. Tell me about your HTML and other new language experiences.

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