Re: "COBOL - the New Age Programming Language"

Arik Baratz <[email protected]> Sun, 1 Aug 2010 18:45:26 +1000
Newsgroups	gmane.culture.hackers.israel
Message-ID	<[email protected]>
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On 1 August 2010 05:18, Shlomi Fish <shlomif-ik1l9ssToec+JF/[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I've finished setting up a new page in my site:
>
>
> http://www.shlomifish.org/humour/bits/COBOL-the-New-Age-Programming-Language/


Hi Shlomi

There's a 4th gen language called CSP that used COBOL as its back end (you'd
generate COBOL from CSP and then compile). Where I worked they wrote in PL/1
when they needed low level access, not actual COBOL.

I don't really understand the point of the page, it's not like you'd find
people disagreeing with you or people you need to convince. The call to
action at the end of the page is really redundant if all you want to do is
make a look-at-how-stupid-people-used-to-be page, which for the most part it
is.

My opinion is that the fact that many people used it gives it some merit.
Perhaps it was the best they had or perhaps aliens in a parallel dimension
used their brain rays to make everyone think that COBOL is a great idea (and
the aliens switched to C++ after). But considering today's alternatives, if
you haven't figured out that COBOL is not the right language for your new
project, no amount of words is going to convince you otherwise.

-- Arik

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      <p><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div class="gmail_quote">On 1 August 2010 05:18, Shlomi Fish <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:shlomif-ik1l9ssToec+JF/[email protected]">shlomif@iglu.<wbr>org.il</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left:1px #ccc solid;">

Hi all,<br>
<br>
I&#39;ve finished setting up a new page in my site:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.shlomifish.org/humour/bits/COBOL-the-New-Age-Programming-Language/" target="_blank">http://www.shlomifi<wbr>sh.org/humour/<wbr>bits/COBOL-<wbr>the-New-Age-<wbr>Programming-<wbr>Language/</a></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Hi Shlomi</div>

<div><br></div><div>There&#39;s a 4th gen language called CSP that used COBOL as its back end (you&#39;d generate COBOL from CSP and then compile). Where I worked they wrote in PL/1 when they needed low level access, not actual COBOL.</div>

<div><br></div><div>I don&#39;t really understand the point of the page, it&#39;s not like you&#39;d find people disagreeing with you or people you need to convince. The call to action at the end of the page is really redundant if all you want to do is make a look-at-how-<wbr>stupid-people-<wbr>used-to-be page, which for the most part it is.</div>

<div><br></div><div>My opinion is that the fact that many people used it gives it some merit. Perhaps it was the best they had or perhaps aliens in a parallel dimension used their brain rays to make everyone think that COBOL is a great idea (and the aliens switched to C&#43;+ after). But considering today&#39;s alternatives, if you haven&#39;t figured out that COBOL is not the right language for your new project, no amount of words is going to convince you otherwise.</div>

<div><br></div><div>-- Arik</div><div><br></div><div></div></div></div></div></div>
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