[comp.lang.rexx] Any published articles on REXX?

ets@wrkgrp.COM (Edward T Spire) (03/28/91)

So I've got this guy that I want to convince that REXX is the "right"
way to add macro capabilities to his application, and I want to refer
him to articles in  magazines, etc., that will show him why.

I told him about the article in the March issue of Computer Language.
Anybody know of any others?

Or any other good ideas about how to convince a "manager type" (who
doesn't use REXX) that he should just use REXX, rather than write his
own macro language?

GD.SAR@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sandy Rockowitz) (03/28/91)

In article <1991Mar27.190458.1058@wrkgrp.COM>,
ets@wrkgrp.COM (Edward T Spire) writes:
>So I've got this guy that I want to convince that REXX is the "right"
>way to add macro capabilities to his application, and I want to refer
>him to articles in  magazines, etc., that will show him why.
>
>I told him about the article in the March issue of Computer Language.
>Anybody know of any others?
>
>Or any other good ideas about how to convince a "manager type" (who
>doesn't use REXX) that he should just use REXX, rather than write his
>own macro language?

There were a couple good articles on Rexx in an issue of Byte
last spring or summer.  Can't find the issue right now so I'm
unable to be more specific.  But if you can't find it let me
know and I'll check further.

As for writing one's own macro language or using Rexx, from a
management point of view there's no comparison.  For at most a
few days work to code the subcom entry point, one has available
one of the most powerful exec languages existant.  It would take
months (actually years) to cobble together a macro language
even remotely as powerful as Rexx.  Further, it is the best
candidate existing for a universal macro language.

A personal testimonial:  Rexx is the macro language used in a
database front-end that I'm developing under OS/2.  Even accounting
for the poverty of IBM's documentation of how to program the
interface, the entire process took less than a week.  The second
time around it would probably not even require a day.

Sanford Rockowitz
GD.SAR@FORSYTHE.STANFORD.EDU

CATHIE@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU (03/29/91)

Another current article is "REXX - A Universal Macro Language for OS/2"
by Charles Daney in Byte, August, 1990.  Much of the information is
applicable to other platforms.