While looksoftware and Profound Logic move forward with plans to utilize RPG Open Access features announced in conjunction with IBM i 7.1, BCD and LANSA say it's old technology.

"I think it's important to recognize that the world has moved on," says Steve Gapp, LANSA president. "Ten years ago, it (RPG Open Access) would have been more relevant," says Gapp. "The definition of a Web application 10 years ago is totally different from today...we've gone to Web 2.0, AJAX, JSON.... vendors like BCD and LANSA...are working on...rich-Internet applications...we have a whole new level of richness at the client. We have Silverlight--we have all this stuff coming down the pipe. That's the gold standard now. We need to have tools that RPG developers can use without learning any other of these complex skills to build the next generation of Web applications. So this (RPG Open Access) is just so far short of the mark as to be potentially insulting."

"Other solutions today are so much better," says Eric Figura, director of Marketing at BCD. "RPG Open Access is not like closing the barn door after the horse leaves." It's so outdated, he says, "it's like the horse forgot he was ever in the barn," quips Figura.

Undoubtedly the value of RPG Open Access and the concept of handlers, and what developers can do with them, will be one of the hot topics discussed at COMMON next week.