The Completely Different World of Python with IBM i | Hacker News Reader

The Completely Different World of Python with IBM i

ibmsystemsmag.com

53 pointsrbanffy22 comments

This is a great move. AS/400, now IBM i, is a workhorse known for going practically years without any serious problems and good overall architecture (for its time lol). You set them up, code your apps, launch the stuff, and they just keep going and going and going.

Now, they've added to their all-in-one, largely-self-managing system the Python language with its easy maintenance, reliability, and productivity. Fits right in. Adding Python is always a smart move. The combo of IBM i and Python will be great for that community that's been stuck with IBM's crap software so far. Might get more of them on the other side, too, as they explore fun programming. :)

From the job ad earlier:

> Some P/A's will take a rotating weekly shift to monitor the nightly job process to ensure no program errors interfere with the completion of any jobs running off hours.

Meaning that deployment totally sucks lol. The companies I've worked at pretty much forget they're there minus one person or so that looks into periodic maintenance, etc. Usually the people who use specific, legacy apps on it know it's there because it greets them with an AS/400 banner. Otherwise, most people don't know it's there because it handles backend stuff, it doesn't crash necessitating tech support, and nobody shows up to work on it. It's just... there.

Basically, what cloud and SOA's are trying to achieve these days. Not there yet, but at least they're innovating. And some use interfaces and languages that aren't horrible. :)

"You’ll find not only the usual date and time type operations but also functions for zipping files, processing XML, handling CSVs, and sending and receiving emails."

Oh dear god. This level of isolation is probably the worst outcome of being locked into a completely proprietary ecosystem.

There's a better informed article on this topic on the same site here:

http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/developer/general/python-i...

Wow that was an adventure, on the negative side I've now stared at RPG source code.

So many winding passages in enterprise computing, so many people wandering around them.

Aren't they very late to the game? Why even port PHP in the first place? PHP is even more brain damaged than C/C++ and it should not be supported at all if you want to sell your platform on security. In contrast, Python has real documentation, has proper module organization, and is popular for scientific computing. IBM has seriously been living in a cave. No wonder they are failing.

Since the commenting to individual posts is not available then anyone who is interested can read some of my responses here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10200586.

Please feel free to comment further.

Hello IBM, welcome to Python!

"Using OPO (Other People’s Objects)"

Oh boy! Who is Jon Paris, and what is this article? It's as if somebody was writing about python circa 1997.

Very odd. It's like somebody's been hiding in a cave since 1995 and just discovered python, object-oriented programming and HTTP.

He's previously been writing RPG for the AS/400. That's pretty much exactly like living in a cave since 1975.

People write for the AS/400 in 2015?

What?

Yes. Check your local job listings.

Why? Never underestimate the inertia of a working legacy system.

I did just that, check it out: "Position is in a well-lighted office environment"

http://jobview.local-jobs.monster.com/Programmer-Analyst-Job...

Zwicker & Associates - a debt. collection agency.

Yep, and good RPG programmers can charge very high rates!

The other weekend, I grabbed a bit of the Washington Post classifieds to set a paint can on. The first or second ad that I spotted specified JCL, COBOL, and CICS.

I spent a few weeks talking to recruiters while looking for a new job in South-eastern PA and at least half of the jobs that were pitched to me involved at least some amount of AS/400 development.

http://www.partner400.com/AllAboutUs.htm

> It's as if somebody was writing about python circa 1997.

Sorry about the lack of warning. I found the perspective really interesting as it's pretty much the impressions of a traveler that came from distant exotic lands about a tool I use daily.

I was coming to comment the exact same thing. I actually stopped reading halfway through the article to check the published date because I thought it must be at least 10-15 years old!

It's like culture shock: "Speaking of the function library, massive is not really an adequate word to describe it. The range of capabilities available is simply staggering."

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