22 Oct
1998
22 Oct
'98
12:34 a.m.
This reminds me of a claim I hear in Y2K discussions,
but can hardly
believe: that businesses are running the same *executables* since
the 1950s/60s/70s, and that they don't have the source code to fix it.
In fact, this is widely true - Ok, the most cases are not
about the source of the whole programm or the main programm
its more about subroutines that have been used over the years
to solve common things like conversation, key transformations
field fixings etc. Especialy in the /360.../390 world some
of these routiens are older than the OSes where they are used
today. Some are dated back to a thime when source was equal to
punch cards - at this time only the object code was stored in
libraries - source was stored as card boxes - and some of these
little helper work just fine when used in complete new projects,
30 years later.
Sure, they might not have the source to the OS, but
their own apps?
Remember 30 years - have you ever archived all your work for
30 years ? _EVERY_ Programm you did within these 30 years ?
And that there's been no other reason to change or
replace the
programs in all these years, and Y2K is the only reason they need to do it?
Jep it is - for example lets take a common old application,
for example a salery programm for a big company - the programm
still uses the same algorythms since 30 years - the same way of
I/O and the same basic data - just some modules for tax calculation
have been changed over the years.
After all I bet some of these programms will even survive
the Y2K hype without change :)
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK