Re:The code that controls our money
by hackcasual on Wednesday September 08, 2021 @10:08PM
(#28465415)
If COBOL were that effective, you'd see derivatives of it in modern day usage. The COBOL misunderstanding is that the hard part of computer programming is the grammar we use.
COBOL must be effective, since it is used to great effect in these mission critical systems.
Re:The code that controls our money
by perl4ever on Thursday September 09, 2021 @12:10AM
(#28466111)
I never had much interest in COBOL, but I really liked Hypertalk's pseudo-english code and sometimes wish it had more influence.
I learned to program in hypertalk as a kid, and I am so glad that it never took off.
Why are you glad that it never took off? That's the opposite of what we usually hear from former Hypercard users...
Re:The code that controls our money
by perl4ever on Thursday September 09, 2021 @08:12PM
(#28476271)
I mean, it did take off, it just petered out after Jobs returned to Apple.
"HyperCard was created by Bill Atkinson following an LSD trip."
"HyperCard had a significant impact on the web as it inspired the creation of both HTTP (through its influence on Tim Berners-Lee's colleague Robert Cailliau), and JavaScript (whose creator, Brendan Eich, was inspired by HyperTalk)"
Re:The code that controls our money
by civilized on Wednesday September 08, 2021 @10:16PM
(#28465480)
> And they'd be so grateful.
Or they'd be a bunch of entitled a-holes and constantly try to manipulate you to extract as much value as possible. As finance execs do.
Re:The code that controls our money
by Waterluvian on Wednesday September 08, 2021 @10:23PM
(#28465512)
“Hey cost centre, get back to work.”
Re:The code that controls our money
by jrochkind1 on Thursday September 09, 2021 @11:28AM
(#28470753)
i said it was a fantasy!
But yeah, to have any chance at all, you have to wait until it's really a crisis for them (that can't be blamed on you becuase you aren't there yet), like what might happen in 10 years or so from now, and then show up as a knight in shining armor to rescue them.
but yeah, just a fantasy ha.
> “You could pick people up out of the street,” says Jon Pyke, a British coder who learned COBOL back in the 1960s, “and basically and teach them how to do it.”
Well then. This does seem to suggest a solution...
Honestly, this article kind of makes me want to learn COBOL. In my fantasy, the employers desperation somehow makes it a low-stress job, like they know they don't have time for BS, they have to prioritize the most important things and just let you do your job. And they'd be so grateful.