Very odd. It's like somebody's been hiding in a cave since 1995 and just discovered python, object-oriented programming and HTTP.

He's previously been writing RPG for the AS/400. That's pretty much exactly like living in a cave since 1975.

People write for the AS/400 in 2015?

What?

Yes. Check your local job listings.

Why? Never underestimate the inertia of a working legacy system.

I did just that, check it out: "Position is in a well-lighted office environment"

http://jobview.local-jobs.monster.com/Programmer-Analyst-Job...

Zwicker & Associates - a debt. collection agency.

Yep, and good RPG programmers can charge very high rates!

I spent a few weeks talking to recruiters while looking for a new job in South-eastern PA and at least half of the jobs that were pitched to me involved at least some amount of AS/400 development.

The other weekend, I grabbed a bit of the Washington Post classifieds to set a paint can on. The first or second ad that I spotted specified JCL, COBOL, and CICS.

> It's as if somebody was writing about python circa 1997.

Sorry about the lack of warning. I found the perspective really interesting as it's pretty much the impressions of a traveler that came from distant exotic lands about a tool I use daily.

I was coming to comment the exact same thing. I actually stopped reading halfway through the article to check the published date because I thought it must be at least 10-15 years old!

It's like culture shock: "Speaking of the function library, massive is not really an adequate word to describe it. The range of capabilities available is simply staggering."