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NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2025 19:09:09 +0000
Subject: Re: Rewriting SSA. Is This A Chance For GNU/Linux?
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From: c186282 <c186282@nnada.net>
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2025 15:09:13 -0400
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On 3/31/25 8:11 AM, chrisv wrote:
> c186282 wrote:
> 
>>    Oh, I agree ... trying to "rapidly rebuild" the "Just Works"
>>    code-base is VERY risky. As said, most of those old COBOL
>>    apps on those old computers were basically PERFECT - and
>>    the fallout from being IMperfect is SEVERE - both politically
>>    and per-individual affected. Extreme caution is advised.
> 
> Sorry for my below naive/stupid questions...
> 
> How hard could SS be?  Are the rules so complex? 


   Oh gawd YES !!! Big old govt bureaucracy with
   a zillion little tweaks and cheats thrown in to
   please some or another pol or pressure group.


> I know it's hundreds
> of millions of people, but that doesn't seen a huge challenge for
> modern systems.  I don't know why it would be any harder than any
> "significant" piece of software, like spreadsheet or database
> software.
> 
> I'm also wondering how large the code base could be, if it was written
> fifty years ago when a megabyte was a huge amount of memory.

   There were tricks to swap stuff to and from mass
   storage, also creative use of batch jobs.

   So, I'll stick with the *carefully* warning - and
   don't take down What Works until it's very reliably
   duplicated by the newer code.