Is IBM RPG classic?

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 12/15/19 1:40 PM, Dave Wade wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> On Behalf Of Bill Gunshannon
>> via cctalk
>> Sent: 15 December 2019 17:31
>> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
>> Subject: Re: Is IBM RPG classic?
>>
>> On 12/15/19 11:40 AM, Guy N. via cctalk wrote:
>>> Is it classic enough to ask about on this list?
>>
>> Can't say about the list, but rather than classic the usual term for these systems
>> is legacy.
>>>
>>> A friend of mine finds himself in the awkward position of being asked
>>> to take on some RPG programming, but knows nothing about it.
>>
>> Like COBOL and Fortan most people  think these languages have completely
>> gone away.  Sadly, the only thing that is going away is the body of experience
>> writing and maintaining them.
> 
> I think another issue is that the employer's expectations of what they need to pay does not match what such programmers want to move.
> Many Fortran, Cobol and I guess RPG programmers have moved onto lucrative jobs 

Legacy jobs pay quite well.  Many pay 6 figures.  The real problem
is that schools not only stopped teaching these languages but in
some cases took to openly attacking them and doing everything in
their power to convince students to no even look at them. (Yes, I
saw that first hand during  my 25 years at a University where I
fought very hard to keep them in the curriculum!)  The result is
that these people are not moving but retiring and there are no
replacements coming up thru the ranks to fill the empty holes.

> or are established in a particular area.
> I am sure if employers were more realistic and prepared to acknowledge such skills are valuable there would be more programmers.

Employers aren't the problem, academia is the problem.

> I guess if they are looking for C , C++ or 	VB programmers you can get some you hopefuls cheap. That’s rather harder for COBOL, Fortran or RPG.
> (If any one wants Fortran and is prepared to condone remote working I am available)

I am available for pretty much any of the legacy languages.  But then
if you actually have experience with these languages you also have the 
age problem to get past.

> 
>>
>>>
>>> Can anyone here suggest some good resources for a crash course in RPG?
>>> Yes, any web search engine will throw up a lot of hits, but I'm hoping
>>> someone here can help select the most useful ones.
>>
> 
> One mans perfect course is another nightmare. I would have a look at the resources and see which ones you like....
> 
>> I still have a number of RPG books on the bookshelf behind me right now.
>> Haven't worked with it in a long time but always liked it when I had the
>> opportunity.
>>
>> Just out of curiosity, is this on iSeries?
>>
>> bill
>>
> Dave
> 

bill