Xref: utzoo news.groups:14885 alt.flame:12701
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!sco!davidbe
From: davidbe@sco.COM (The Cat in the Hat)
Newsgroups: news.groups,alt.flame
Subject: Re: CALL FOR DISCUSSION: comp.lang.cobol
Keywords: COBOL, Dead Language
Message-ID: <430@scorn.sco.COM>
Date: 21 Nov 89 22:37:59 GMT
References: <480@enea.se> <1989Nov21.013021.4170@eng.umd.edu>
Sender: news@sco.COM
Reply-To: davidbe@sco.COM (The Cat in the Hat)
Organization: The Sewing Circle Optics
Lines: 39


< warning...mild flames *and* content mixed in...no naughty words... >

news.groups's own smaug@eng.umd.edu (Kurt Lidl) said:
-In article <480@enea.se> sommar@enea.se (Erland Sommarskog) writes:
Erland>		[ asking for a COBOL group ]
Kurt>		[ insulting comments on COBOL ]

You're right Kurt.  Since you don't like COBOL, and because you have no
use for it, it shouldn't be used.

Never mind all those companies that have thousands to millions of dollars
invested in COBOL programs *that work*(1).  Never mind that Erland had said
that his new job required he use COBOL(2).  And never mind that some people
might actually *like* COBOL. 

Never mind all that.  Just because you don't like the language, that's good
enough for me.

Footnotes follow:
(1) - I define programs that work as doing what they are designed to do.
      Emacs is a great text editor (among other things) but a lousy 
      accounting package, and probably not such a hot word processor.

(2) - Talk to me about fighting your boss about "re-coding sections of code"
      when your boss understands the COBOL program (s)he's asking you to
      modify, but doesn't understand C.  Or when you're working on a system
      that doesn't have a decent C compiler (Usenet is not all Unix...).
     
(2a) - Talk to me about fighting your boss about "re-coding sections of code"
       when you get a real job.

-- 
     David Bedno, Systems Administrator, The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
   Email: davidbe@sco.COM / ..!{uunet,sun,ucbvax!ucscc,gorn}!sco!davidbe 
  Phone: 408-425-7222 x5123 Disclaimer: Speaking from SCO but not for SCO.  

" -- they're normal.  terrifyingly, appallingly normal -- like they've gone
 through normal and come out the other side." - neil gaiman in _Sandman_ #11