Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: The joy of FORTRAN
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:17:51 -0700
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 31
Message-ID: <1214951717.762291306.657281.peter_flass-yahoo.com@news.eternal-september.org>
References: <5mqdnZuGq4lgwm_7nZ2dnZfqnPSdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
 <vcub5c$36h63$1@dont-email.me>
 <36KdnVlGJu9VLW77nZ2dnZfqn_qdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
 <971448126.749088380.092448.peter_flass-yahoo.com@news.eternal-september.org>
 <vd5195$edas$1@dont-email.me>
 <59CJO.19674$MoU3.15170@fx36.iad>
 <vd6vto$r0so$1@dont-email.me>
 <iJEJO.198176$kxD8.81657@fx11.iad>
 <3hOdnWpQ649QMGr7nZ2dnZfqnPidnZ2d@earthlink.com>
 <vd8doi$15q07$1@dont-email.me>
 <vd8eg7$15v1j$2@dont-email.me>
 <cxicnVzg_cn_eGX7nZ2dnZfqnPadnZ2d@earthlink.com>
 <vdapbn$1kp35$5@dont-email.me>
 <lltpunF4fseU2@mid.individual.net>
 <1smdnSjX3YoxgWf7nZ2dnZfqn_idnZ2d@earthlink.com>
 <llv30aFa6uvU3@mid.individual.net>
 <vde4b8$268qv$22@dont-email.me>
 <1396870532.749421730.052473.peter_flass-yahoo.com@news.eternal-september.org>
 <wrapper-20241001111737@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>
 <vpl5uk$hhk$3@reader1.panix.com>
 <c4acndn4jJXKwCP6nZ2dnZfqnPSdnZ2d@giganews.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2025 23:17:52 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="059b39e04702bab0a2277bab8ae06a0b";
	logging-data="2904757"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18iESrXG/j7P0HoHSJeZRQ0"
User-Agent: NewsTap/5.3.1 (iPad)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:fqdLogPiSxu7t510I0YtPW+Y9Oo=
	sha1:IIWuX1a0oLj6PDWSBSvpVCIW3RA=
Bytes: 2926

c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
> On 2/25/25 2:33 PM, vjp2.at@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com wrote:
>> I went from DEC20 FORTRAN to pdp11 Basic (it had matrix math) to DEC SAIL
>> (Algol) to Pascal to C to Python
> 
>   Sounds familiar ... though 'C' became available on
>   the PDP-11s (was writ on them). Still pref Pascal
>   over Python where possible.
> 
>> Assembler and COBOL were needed but avoided
> 
>   Better ASM than COBOL  :-)

Depends on what you want to do. Assembler is a lot more fun, but I wouldn’t
want to write a payroll system in it.

> 
>   ASM can give you kind of a buzz, makes you one
>   with the machine.
> 
>   Alas if I'd learned more COBOL then I could have
>   had a lucrative retirement income supp maintaining
>   all those old biz/ops code. Still LOTS of it in
>   use and it's too expensive now to replace. If it
>   works you hang on to it with a death grip.
> 

It’s not just COBOL any more, it’s all COBOL/CICS/DB2. Same with PL/I.

-- 
Pete