Re: Programming by the mathematically challenged

[Peter Dow <petercdow@xxxxxxxxx>]

This one could actually "terminate with error" depending on the 
definitions. If a and b are 11.2 and total is 13.0, it would terminate 
whenever there were non-zero pennies, e.g. 5.30 + 7.25 = 12, 12-5.30 = 
6.7, but 5.0 + 7.0 = 12 and 12-5=7.

On 3/12/2010 5:00 PM, Jon Paris wrote:
> 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
>
>
>