Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!ists!yunexus!davecb From: davecb@yunexus.YorkU.CA (David Collier-Brown) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mips Subject: Re: Looking for RPG compiler on RISC/os Keywords: RPG Message-ID: <21626@yunexus.YorkU.CA> Date: 6 Feb 91 01:54:20 GMT References: <1841@p4tustin.UUCP> Organization: York U. Computing Services Lines: 39 steve@p4tustin.UUCP (Steve C. Moritsugu) writes: | I would like to move about 2000 programs from an IBM 36/38 | to a RISC/os system. Does anyone out there know any RPG compilers | running under MIPS? Well, no. Not that you can't port one, but the cost and effort might be prohibitive... Many many years ago I had to write some RPG II, and if faced with doing the same today, I'd do one of three things: 1) find a translation house (they'll put it into COBOL) 2) write a mini-compiler into a language Mips already has, or 3) semi-manually translate the programs. The latter doesn't take a lot of skill, just good judgment, lots of planning and a willingness to make many misteaques. I'd discuss that approach for a bit: Given that RPG is a Report Program Generator, I'd recommend analyzing the RPG data file layouts carefully and writing some simple scripts to produce the critical information your company needs from them. For a language, use (new) awk, the unix scanning-and-reporting language (ie, **our** RPG). Then analyze the whole system and ask the customers what they need first. Finally, write the required functions. If you also lack a database and a 4gl, you're still probably best off with awk. If you have a database, speak nicely to your vendor. --dave refs: Aho, Kernighan and Weinberger, ``The AWK Programming Language'', Reading, Mass (Addison-Wesley) 1988. Spencer, Henry, ``Awk as a Programming Language'', last month's usenix proceedings. -- David Collier-Brown, | davecb@Nexus.YorkU.CA | lethe!dave 72 Abitibi Ave., | Willowdale, Ontario, | Even cannibals don't usually eat their CANADA. 416-223-8968 | friends.