Re: Programming by the mathematically challenged

Oh this takes me back.

Since this all pre-dates email etc. I'll recode an extract from the
first program I worked on when I took over as deputy DPM at a not-to-
be-named municipal government office.

total = a + b
temp = total - a
if temp<> b
terminate with error
endif

This series of calculations including multiplication etc. continued on
for over 1,500 lines (OK - it was actually punch cards). The "proud
programmer" handing it to me told me that he didn't think I'd ever get
the program to fit in memory. He just about died of shock when he saw
the end result (about 800 lines including all the stuff he had never
coded) and insisted that the user must have changed the specs.

In case it has not occurred to you - it may explain it all if I tell
you that this guy was an accountant who had been trained in
programming - but couldn't break away from double-entry book keeping!

Jon Paris

www.Partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com