Cgidev2
| Company type | Free and open source software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Mel Rothman |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Development toolkit for IBM i web applications |
CGIDEV2 is a free and open source development toolkit designed for IBM i (previously known as AS/400), enabling the creation of interactive web applications using the RPG ILE or, in the case of the earlier CGIDEV, Cobol. It integrates seamlessly with RPG ILE programs through a service program that offers procedures for processing browser inputs and generating appropriate outputs. Typically, CGIDEV2 produces static or dynamic HTML/DHTML content, along with CSV, XML, Excel-XML, and various other text-based formats.
Overview
Originally created by Mel Rothman at IBM Rochester and introduced in 1999, CGIDEV2 was supported and enhanced by Rothman alongside the late Dr. Giovanni B. Perotti from IBM Italy, who contributed improvements, documentation, and example code. Following Perotti’s departure from IBM, earlier limitations on his participation were eventually removed. Since CGIDEV2 is developed in RPG ILE with complete source code access, the user community has actively contributed modifications and tailored it for diverse requirements. Prominent contributors include Brian May, Jon Paris, Susan Gantner, and Brad Stone.
In contrast to many iSeries web solutions, CGIDEV2 is not based on terminal emulator technology or SQL; instead, it extends RPG by adding web-oriented procedures. This approach enables iSeries developers to utilize familiar programming methods while building interactive web applications.
A distinctive capability of CGIDEV2 is its support for external HTML template files containing special tokens that are dynamically replaced at runtime by the toolkit. This design promotes greater efficiency and consistency when developing and managing large-scale enterprise applications.
Criticism
Despite its continued popularity among RPG developers on IBM iSeries platforms, CGIDEV2 lacks certain features commonly found in other web programming environments, such as built-in session handling and object-oriented programming support. Furthermore, some users express concern over IBM’s ambiguous stance regarding ongoing support for CGIDEV2 and the broader iSeries ecosystem.