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"I don't know enough about these systems to suggest a language", so how can you say "Surely you're not telling me that mainframes running COBOL is the best tool

"I don't know enough about these systems to suggest a language", so how can you say "Surely you're not telling me that mainframes running COBOL is the best tool for the job."?

scrollaway 10y ago
Are you telling me I'm not allowed to ask questions?
- protomyth 10y ago
  You weren't asking a question, you were making a statement about how foolish it was that banks are running COBOL. Question would be about the why and what value do people see in the situation that stays their hands at going to a new technology. Why did banks spend the money and time (which was not insignificant) to modify code for year 2000 instead of making the switch then at a natural change point? It would be the most logical point, yet they didn't do it. What does the mainframe and even the mini-mainframes bring that Docker does not? What made COBOL so hard to replace given later things like PL/1 which were directly supposed to replace it? Where do all the RPG programs fit into this? Maybe someone should be thinking about a COBOL replacement language instead of the plethora of C / C++ replacement languages. I imagine within the "a few years of development" is budgeted some time to figure out what tool to use It will be a lot more than a few. Things absolutely cannot go wrong or even change in production. One slip-up can result in real money being lost. This whole "go fast and break things" doesn't apply to bank accounts.
  - scrollaway 10y ago
    > You weren't asking a question, you were making a statement about how foolish it was that banks are running COBOL. I've only asked questions and in return, you're being rude to me. I've made no statement about "foolishness"; in fact, I've made no statement of fact at all, outside of what I already know: A COBOL stack isn't cheap. I'd like you to get off your high horse now.

"I don't know enough about these systems to suggest a language", so how can you say "Surely you're not telling me that mainframes running COBOL is the best tool for the job."?

scrollaway 10y ago

Are you telling me I'm not allowed to ask questions?

protomyth 10y ago
You weren't asking a question, you were making a statement about how foolish it was that banks are running COBOL. Question would be about the why and what value do people see in the situation that stays their hands at going to a new technology. Why did banks spend the money and time (which was not insignificant) to modify code for year 2000 instead of making the switch then at a natural change point? It would be the most logical point, yet they didn't do it. What does the mainframe and even the mini-mainframes bring that Docker does not? What made COBOL so hard to replace given later things like PL/1 which were directly supposed to replace it? Where do all the RPG programs fit into this? Maybe someone should be thinking about a COBOL replacement language instead of the plethora of C / C++ replacement languages. I imagine within the "a few years of development" is budgeted some time to figure out what tool to use It will be a lot more than a few. Things absolutely cannot go wrong or even change in production. One slip-up can result in real money being lost. This whole "go fast and break things" doesn't apply to bank accounts.
- scrollaway 10y ago
  > You weren't asking a question, you were making a statement about how foolish it was that banks are running COBOL. I've only asked questions and in return, you're being rude to me. I've made no statement about "foolishness"; in fact, I've made no statement of fact at all, outside of what I already know: A COBOL stack isn't cheap. I'd like you to get off your high horse now.