RE: X-Spec--old habits become the only habits

So either the language evolves (improves?), or it doesn't.  I suspect there
are still C programmers who declare the main() function as integer.
Nonetheless I had an experience recently that kind of confirms John's point.

Last year I did some subcontracting for a friend of mine and wrote a simple
file maintenance program.  One of the fields was a numeric date.  I wrote
subprocedures that used the date data type to convert the 6 position screen
field to the 9 position file field (I know, it was lazy to accept IBM's
windowing logic.)  A couple of months later my friend told me that the Y2K
consultants this client had hired came to him for an explanation of my
program.  They didn't understand subprocedures or the date data type. 

        

-----Original Message-----
From: John Carr [mailto:74711.77@compuserve.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 1999 6:39 PM
To: Midrange-L
Subject: X-Spec



***************big snip****************************
--------
Look at a couple of the following facts and then decide your
shop standards.

1.  They are NOT producing any new RPG programmers. PERIOD.
2.  A large percentage of the current talent cannot read 
        any of the already in place new stuff(pointers, sub-Procs, etc)
3.  Your company has a hard time finding a budget today for training
        and education to bring you up to today's language ability.

4. There already is a serious have/have not knowledge gap.

Now look out 5-10 years and see what you see.  
Will the CF-Spec bring over C or VB or Java programmers to RPG ?
Ya, Right! Good Luck.

Will it make "Better" programmers out of existing "Bad" ones ??
Ya, Right ! Good Luck.

You better make certain decisions as to what things are/are not 
done in your shop(ie standards).

Think it over.

John Carr
EdgeTech

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