,,RPG
,,RPG  ,REPORT ,PROGRAM ,GENERATOR  IS
THE OLDEST PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE STILL
DOING ITS ORIGINAL JOB4 ,,IBM INTRODUCED
IT IN #AIEI FOR THE #ADJA TO GENERATE
BUSINESS REPORTS FROM DATA FILES1 AND
SIXTY-PLUS YEARS LATER ,,RPG ,,IV
REMAINS THE PRIMARY APPLICATION LANGUAGE
OF ,,IBM'S MIDRANGE LINE  NOW CALLED
,,IBM I  WHERE ,,RPG ,,II-ERA CODE AND
FRESHLY WRITTEN FREE-FORM CODE ROUTINELY
COEXIST IN THE SAME SHOP4.<CITE3 .<,,IBM
,,RPG  #AIEI_/#ADJA ORIGIN AND ITS
CONTINUING ROLE AS THE MIDRANGE
LANGUAGE.>.>
,THE LANGUAGE'S PREMISE WAS EXACTLY WHAT
ITS NAME SAYS3 BUSINESSES DIDN'T NEED
GENERAL COMPUTATION SO MUCH AS THE SAME
LOOP FOREVER  READ A RECORD1 CALCULATE1
PRINT1 REPEAT4 ,,RPG ENCODED THAT LOOP
DIRECTLY INTO THE PROGRAMMING MODEL AS
THE PROGRAM CYCLE3 A BUILT-IN
READ-PROCESS-WRITE PATTERN THE MACHINE
RAN AUTOMATICALLY1 WITH THE PROGRAMMER
SUPPLYING ONLY THE VARIATIONS4 ,AROUND
IT GREW THE LANGUAGE'S MOST RECOGNIZABLE
FEATURE  FIXED-FORM1 COLUMN-ORIENTED
SYNTAX1 WHERE A PROGRAM'S MEANING LIVES
PARTLY IN WHICH COLUMNS ITS CHARACTERS
OCCUPY4 ,SPECIFICATION TYPES "<,INPUT1
,CALCULATION1 ,OUTPUT  THE FAMOUS
,F_/,I_/,C_/,O SHEETS THAT MIRRORED
PUNCHED-CARD THINKING"> MADE AN ,,RPG
PROGRAM LOOK LESS LIKE PROSE AND MORE
LIKE AN ENGINEERING FORM  BECAUSE THAT'S
WHAT IT WAS3 THE TABULATING-MACHINE
WORKFLOW REINCARNATED AS A PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE4.<CITE3 .<,,IBM ,,RPG  THE
PROGRAM CYCLE AND COLUMN-ORIENTED
SYNTAX2 ,,RPG DESCENDED FROM ,,FARGO AND
#I,,PAC.>.>
,A DYNASTY OF MIDRANGE MACHINES
,,RPG'S HISTORY IS THE HISTORY OF
,,IBM'S SMALL-BUSINESS COMPUTERS3
- ,,RPG "<#AIEI">  THE #ADJA ORIGINAL1
REPORTS FROM FILES - ,,RPG ,,II  THE
WORKHORSE OF THE ,SYSTEM_/#C THROUGH
,SYSTEM_/#CF ERA2 STILL SUPPORTED UNDER
Z_/,,OS AND Z_/,,VSE - ,,RPG ,,III 
STRUCTURED OPERATIONS FOR THE
,SYSTEM_/#CH - ,,RPG_/#DJJ  THE
,,AS_/#DJJ'S VERSION - ,,RPG ,,IV _/
,,ILE ,,RPG  THE MODERN LANGUAGE ON
,,IBM I1 WITH  AT LAST  FREE-FORM
SYNTAX1 MODULES1 AND SERVICE PROGRAMS2
RELEASE #G4D SHIPPED IN ,OCTOBER #BJBJ
,THE LINEAGE ALSO ESCAPED ,,IBM3 ,,RPG
IMPLEMENTATIONS RAN ON ,,DEC ,,VAX1
,HONEYWELL1 ,BURROUGHS1 ,,HP #CJJJ1
,WANG ,,VS1 EVEN ,,MS-,,DOS  THE
COLUMNAR FORMAT PROVED AS PORTABLE AS
THE PUNCHED CARD IT REPLACED4.<CITE3
.<,,IBM ,,RPG DIALECTS  THE
,,II_/,,III_/#DJJ_/,,IV SUCCESSION AND
THE NON-,,IBM PORTS.>.>
,,RPG IS THE LIVING FOSSIL OF THE
PUNCH-CARD ERA3 FOR MOST OF ITS LIFE1
"9WHERE"9 YOU WROTE A CHARACTER
DETERMINED WHAT IT MEANT  COLUMN #F
MARKED THE SPECIFICATION TYPE1 AND
SEASONED ,,RPG PROGRAMMERS READ CODE THE
WAY ENGINEERS READ FORMS4 ,,RPG ,,IV'S
FREE-FORM SYNTAX "<#BJJA ONWARD">
RETIRED THE COLUMNS AFTER FORTY-TWO
YEARS4
,WHERE IT SITS
,,RPG IS THE PROOF THAT 8DEAD0 IS A
STATUS LANGUAGES EARN RATHER THAN
RECEIVE4 ,IT HAS NO THEORETICAL ELEGANCE
AND NO GLAMOUR  BUT IT MODELS ONE THING
"<PROCESS RECORDS1 PRODUCE REPORTS">
PERFECTLY ENOUGH THAT BILLIONS OF LINES
OF IT STILL RUN THE WORLD'S MIDRANGE
BACK OFFICES4 ,IT OUTLIVED THE #ADJA1
THE ,SYSTEM_/#C1 THE ,,AS_/#DJJ1 AND
EVERY OBITUARY WRITTEN FOR IT4
,CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
- .< .> ,WHAT DOES ,,RPG STAND FOR1 WHEN
DID IT APPEAR1 AND ON WHAT MACHINE8 - .<
.> ,WHAT IS THE 8PROGRAM CYCLE0  THE
IDEA ,,RPG HARD-WIRED INTO THE LANGUAGE8
- .< .> ,WHAT MADE CLASSIC ,,RPG SYNTAX
UNUSUAL AMONG PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES8 -
.< .> ,IS ,,RPG DEAD8
#A  "9"9,REPORT ,PROGRAM ,GENERATOR"9"91
"9"9#AIEI"9"91 ON THE "9"9,,IBM
#ADJA"9"94 #B  THE BUILT-IN "9"9READ 
CALCULATE  OUTPUT"9"9 LOOP2 THE
PROGRAMMER SPECIFIED ONLY THE PER-RECORD
LOGIC INSIDE IT4 #C  "9"9FIXED-FORM1
COLUMN-ORIENTED SYNTAX"9"9  MEANING
DEPENDED ON WHICH COLUMNS CHARACTERS
OCCUPIED "<,F_/,I_/,C_/,O SPECIFICATION
SHEETS">4 #D  "9"9,NO"9"9  ,,RPG
,,IV_/,,ILE ,,RPG STILL RUNS ON ,,IBM I1
WITH MODERN FREE-FORM RELEASES2 ,,RPG
,,II CODE STILL EXECUTES UNDER Z_/,,OS
AND Z_/,,VSE4