Coming from a 24 year mainframe and midrange background and being left hanging out to dry - slowly, why was REXX never made mainstream in Linux? To my knowledge, it is still heavily used In production in shops that still have the mainframe and midrange, as a crossover / cross interface tool with Windows and Linux. In my usages, I did some simple things, like, build a text based horizontal and vertical bar chart report writer converted from BASIC, to my most complicated was to read 370 object code and re-create to 370 Assembler Source -- Duaine Hechler Piano, Player Piano, Pump Organ Tuning, Servicing & Rebuilding Associate Member of the Piano Technicians Guild Reed Organ Society Member St. Louis, MO 63034 (314) 838-5587 dahechler@charter.net www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com -- Home & Business user of Linux - 9+ years -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Hechler Family wrote:
Coming from a 24 year mainframe and midrange background and being left hanging out to dry - slowly, why was REXX never made mainstream in Linux?
Because Linux has so many other choices. I'm from a mainframe background myself (I used to write software for STK), and I've also written a lot of REXX code (but many years ago). Linux however has a multitude of scripting languages, and without having really analysed it, REXX doesn't seem to fill any gap or niche. /Per Jessen, Zürich -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Hechler Family wrote:
Coming from a 24 year mainframe and midrange background and being left hanging out to dry - slowly, why was REXX never made mainstream in Linux?
I suspect because REXX was used most on IBM big iron and OS/2, whereas Unix/Linux have their own scripting languages. IBM had REXX available for Linux, a few years ago, but I don't know what's happening with it lately. -- Use OpenOffice.org <http://www.openoffice.org> -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
2008/5/28 James Knott <james.knott@rogers.com>:
Hechler Family wrote:
Coming from a 24 year mainframe and midrange background and being left hanging out to dry - slowly, why was REXX never made mainstream in Linux?
I suspect because REXX was used most on IBM big iron and OS/2, whereas Unix/Linux have their own scripting languages. IBM had REXX available for Linux, a few years ago, but I don't know what's happening with it lately.
There's and Open Object Rexx (ooRexx) project at http://www.oorexx.org/ Ciro -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
* Hechler Family (dahechler@charter.net) [20080528 06:54]:
Coming from a 24 year mainframe and midrange background and being left hanging out to dry - slowly, why was REXX never made mainstream in Linux?
Because Unix/Linux had other choices. I don't know about the mainframe stuff, but os/2's cmd only had very limited batch features making REXX the choice for serious scripting. Linux had powerfull shells plus a diverse bunch of scripting languages, most prominently perl and python, so there wasn't much interest in REXX. Philipp -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Philipp Thomas wrote:
* Hechler Family (dahechler@charter.net) [20080528 06:54]:
Coming from a 24 year mainframe and midrange background and being left hanging out to dry - slowly, why was REXX never made mainstream in Linux?
Because Unix/Linux had other choices. I don't know about the mainframe stuff, but os/2's cmd only had very limited batch features making REXX the choice for serious scripting. Linux had powerfull shells plus a diverse bunch of scripting languages, most prominently perl and python, so there wasn't much interest in REXX.
Philipp
I used to do some REXX scripts on OS/2 and found it had a lot of really nice stuff in it. It was also available on the Amiga IIRC. I still have a copy of "Teach yourself Rexx in 21 Days", by Bill & Ester Schindler. I also have a REXX "Redbook" here somewhere. -- Use OpenOffice.org <http://www.openoffice.org> -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
James Knott wrote:
I used to do some REXX scripts on OS/2 and found it had a lot of really nice stuff in it. It was also available on the Amiga IIRC.
Back in the late 80s, I wrote a lot of REXX code. Thousands of lines. It was the only useful scripting language for IBMs Netview product. /Per Jessen, Zürich -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Per Jessen wrote:
James Knott wrote:
I used to do some REXX scripts on OS/2 and found it had a lot of really nice stuff in it. It was also available on the Amiga IIRC.
Back in the late 80s, I wrote a lot of REXX code. Thousands of lines. It was the only useful scripting language for IBMs Netview product.
/Per Jessen, Zürich
ALSO, I used it from VM, VSE, VM with VSE guest and, later, I heard it was added to the AS/400 and MVS. Each platform had it's own system calls to do internal functions as well as scripting. Some places, we built extensive end-user programs to get data-entry type data, build control cards, and such, then built the JCL from the data, wrapped the other data in and then "submitted" it to the virtual machine VSE, I wrote many, many "short cut" utilities for managers, programmers and operators. At my last place, using REXX, we had the marketing guys build all the details to govern the output of direct mail programs that was submitted to print. Like, page payout (size, margins,etc), fonts, text, parms from databases, bins (cut sheet), etc. Text changes by the date and month I wrote so many, I decided to compile them on an archive CD. Several years ago, I used it in Windows and now using it in Linux for my backup scripting -- Duaine Hechler Piano, Player Piano, Pump Organ Tuning, Servicing & Rebuilding Associate Member of the Piano Technicians Guild Reed Organ Society Member St. Louis, MO 63034 (314) 838-5587 dahechler@charter.net www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com -- Home & Business user of Linux - 9+ years -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
participants (5)
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Ciro Iriarte -
Hechler Family -
James Knott -
Per Jessen -
Philipp Thomas