Subj : Re: Old Geek Thoughts...
To   : GeekWisdom
From : TALIADON
Date : Mon Jan 03 2022 14:55:12

 Ge>  The group I know with used MicroFocus COBOL

Now there's a blast from the past: I learned COBOL on this system way back in
the late 80s.

COBOL's use of packed/unpacked BCD was a godsend with regards to financial
entropy, but a period in the wrong place changed the entire logic of the
code and often sent the compiler into an error rage.

At one point we used to keep a tally of who managed to generate the most
errors in a single compilation - not sure if I won, but I'm sure I was in the
top three. It wasn't unusual for the compiler to throw out all of the source
after the erroneous period, so if you made an error early on it was almost a
guaranteed win.

As I recall, one of my more creative colleagues managed to write a fully
functional COBOL program whose source read like a cheap pornographic novel:
"Open Legs" ... "Insert Penis" ... you get the idea.

Ah, great days, when days were long and nights even longer.


TALIADON | 2:250/6 | 21:3/138 | TALIADON-BBS@MAIL.COM
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Error is a great teacher; humility is the hardest lesson.

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