did anyone ever program in RPG?

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

In the early 80s during my short stint as a programmer at IBM (not RPG), flow charts where passe and Nassi-Schniderman charts where all the rage. We even had a tool that would generate the diagrams from pseudo-code.

By the early 1970s, in fact in 1964 IBM had an Audio Response Unit that used digitized audio stored on a drum. I remember a service rep telling me about working on the system that controlled a ARU at an automobile plant. It was set up so dealers could call in and enter a part number from their phone and the system would give them an audio response telling them if the part was available or not and where they could get it. Because the system was down the phone was ringing and ringing like the person calling was not giving up so after a while he went over and picked up the phone and said "I'm not feeling well, please call back later"

People that have written RPG tell me that the modern RPG that is used on the IBM/i operating system is nothing like the original RPG, so it might have things like floating point and trig functions. I am told that the original RPG was designed to be an electronic replacement for the plug boards used on the old grey iron unit record equipment.

Paul.