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IBM Open Sources Object Rexx

Posted by michael on from the verbification dept.

dryeo writes "IBM has Open Sourced Object Rexx. IBM Announcement. Source code has been turned over to The Rexx Language Association under the Common Public Licence. Rexx is an interpreted language which has been included in platforms such as the Amiga, OS/2 and AIX, and most IBM mainframes. For a quick overview check out Rexx for everyone."

9 of 216 comments (clear)

  1. Both Amiga and OS/2? by NoMoreNicksLeft · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's like 2 flamefests in one!

  2. Tyrannosaurus Rexx ?. by Gopal.V · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's a dinosaur of a language .... Sadly NetRexx is just not the same thing.

    Sad that it's still not GPL'd ..:(

    After all it's only used on Mainframes these days ..

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
  3. Re:Does anyone use it? by ElGuapoGolf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is there, for instance, any reason I'd want to use it on Linux?

    Yes. You've used Rexx and have a lot of Rexx applications/megascripts written for your OS/2 or Amiga based systems and you want to migrate.

    Come on, that wasn't so hard to figure out.

  4. Ah, Rexx by tkrotchko · · Score: 4, Funny

    Back in my mainframe days, Rexx was the replacement for EXEC and EXEC2 on IBM's VM system leading us to say:

    "REXX is king of the EXEC's"

    Thank you thank you. I'll be here all week.

    --
    You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
  5. Cool, now open source OS/2 by theurge14 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Rexxcelent.

  6. Re:Does anyone use it? by jcarter · · Score: 2, Funny
    Aye, I once used yon relic of which you speak..

    I went to work several years ago for a job mainly involving mangling files in various ways and into various things. REXX was used almost exclusively for this. I enjoyed coding in it, I guess.. right until the moment I disovered Perl, when I dropped that turgid monstrosity like a hot rock.

    REXX is sort of like Perl's retarded younger brother.

    REXX would need brass knuckles in order to even beat the crap out of QBASIC.

    If languages were pets, REXX would be a pet rock.

    REXX is my favorite language to hate.

    Seriously, though -- in my opinion, REXX is of primarily historical interest. Come to think of it.. it might make a good first language for a young person. It just seemed so limited in what it could do. Why use REXX when there's Perl?

    I must in fairness point out that these are the words of someone who used REXX some ten years ago, wasn't a terribly proficient programmer then, and hasn't touched the language since.

    I do have a fondness for it, however, and I'm glad it's finally open-sourced.

  7. Re:IBM's analysis to open software by MikeDX · · Score: 2, Funny

    If only more companies would do this in similar situations...

    Do what? open source some software so that their servers can get a good slashdotting? :)

  8. Re:Power... by Pedrito · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thanks for using ARexx. My knowledge of Rexx allowed me to escape.

  9. Re:IBM's analysis to open software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Sometimes I wonder if even Lotus knows how to read and write them...