RE: Legacy code. Was:Dates

["Kahn, David" <KAHN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 Buck Calabro (mcalabro@commsoft.net) wrote:

>Today seems like a good day to open a can of worms...

My heart soars like a hawk. :-)  It's quite a big can, Buck, so I think
I'll just dip in on a few of the juicier morsels.

>   Education.  Few on our staff have the luxury of taking the time
>    (and billable hours) to learn about new developments like ILE
>    and "L" data types.

That's sad. The value of your staff is steadily decreasing and that
includes their billable value. The best staff will get pissed off and
move to more enlightened employers, compounding the problem. The clients
will then get fed up with the quality of the remaining staff and start
to look elsewhere. This is a high-tech industry. Whether you're a
software house, an MIS department, or an independent contractor you must
have sufficient in the budget for staff development.

>   Who pays you to learn new stuff (as opposed to writing
>    deliverable product?)
>   Who pays for your learning curve as you come up to speed
>    with new techniques?

The client pays for everything, of course. That's what clients are for.

>I'd love to use RPG IV in my new code, but the folks
>    who may have to maintain it after I'm gone will have a tough
>    time with it.  Should I say "to heck with them... they'll catch on
>    sooner or later?"

No, of course not; you must stick to your shop standards. However, the
standards get revised from time to time, don't they? Why not plead and
beg to be the chosen one who develops the new shop standards for using
ILE? The shop is going to need them sooner or later. That way you'll be
given the time and training you need to get to grips with it. Not only
will you be the blue eyed boy for actually volunteering to do
"documentation" but you'll also be well placed as the shop's ILE guru
when the first project gets underway, as it must eventually do.

Dave Kahn - TCO, Tengiz, Kazakstan
=========

e-mail:  kahn@tengizchevroil.com    (until September 30th)
         dkahn@cix.compulink.co.uk  (from  October 1st)
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