7 Aug
2008
7 Aug
'08
11:14 a.m.
From
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/1132588.html concerning the
California budget
crisis:
The state payroll system is based on the COBOL, or Common Business
Oriented Language, programming language - a code first introduced in
1959 and popularized in the 1960s and 1970s.
"COBOL programmers are hard to come by these days," said Fred Forrer,
the Sacramento-based CEO of MGT of America, a public-sector
consulting firm. "It's certainly not a language that is taught.
Oftentimes, you have to rely on retired annuitants to come back and
help maintain the system until you're able to find a replacement."