From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,30df5a909ff1af4 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Richard D Riehle Subject: Re: Answering an Ada/COBOL Question Date: 1999/11/16 Message-ID: <80sfrb$1o0$1@nntp3.atl.mindspring.net>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 549415509 References: <80hr16$5q2$1@nntp5.atl.mindspring.net> <80leu1$k3l$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <80mc1j$6fo$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <80piek$rd3$1@nntp1.atl.mindspring.net> <80qk9s$6h5$1@nnrp1.deja.com> Organization: MindSpring Enterprises X-Server-Date: 16 Nov 1999 20:46:35 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1999-11-16T20:46:35+00:00 List-Id: In article <80qk9s$6h5$1@nnrp1.deja.com>, Robert Dewar wrote: >Actually I think this [ C++ and C instead of COBOL ] >is a rather small section of the market, >I don't often run into C or C++ in COBOL type environments >(smalltalk is for example more popular in this environment). I suppose Silicon Valley is a little different from the rest of the world. C and C++ are lingua franca of computing in this neighborhood. Java is making a lot of headway and some even claim to have completed projects in it. Now and then someone will bravely attempt some other language. For example, a bunch of engineers at HP used Eiffel for the embedded software on one of the printers. >The notion that COBOL is dead is another remarkable myth that >you fine. About a year ago, I talked to a very high up official >in the DoD who was in a position of considerable influence >regarding DoD fiscal applications. Software management and decision-making within the DoD has become a national disgrace. I guess I am into hyperbole again. :-) So much energy is being devoted to ideas that simply cloak the deeper problems that one can only wonder how we will survive any future conflict. Granted, there are a few intelligent people still making good decisions. The downturn started with Bill Perry's notion of COTS for everything, extended itself into the folly of adopting, "industry best practices," and culminated in a decision to abandon Ada. Yes, I know. That is not how the decision was worded. But that is how it is being interpreted. >He presented as received knowledge the idea that only the DoD >was still using COBOL, and that all commercial companies had >abandoned COBOL long ago. I was too taken aback to have any >idea how to react to this absolutely amazing point of view. This idiotic notion of "industry best practices" illustrates that DoD officials have no clue of just how bad industry software is. The DoD has, for a long time, been building much better software than that in the commercial sector. Next thing you know, someone will be using NT for an embedded weapon system. Heaven help us! >When we developed Realia COBOL in the 1980's for the PC, we >expected the market to be offloaded maintenance of existing >COBOL applications on mainframes. We were surprised to find >that the major market was (and still is by the way) development >of new COBOL applications to be deployed on PC's (it is possible >these days to run JCL, BAL, CICS, etc on PC's, so the entire >mainframe environment can be replicated). Ada has certainly evolved as a beter option for most applications than COBOL. But COBOL is far from dead. The rash of advertising for C++ and Java programmers simply indicates the immaturity of those markets. The COBOL programmers are just going to work each day and doing their job. Those who judge the success of a language on the basis of the number of ads for jobs, is like someone who judges the success of the automobile by counting the road kill. Richard Riehle http://www.adaworks.com