Re: Rewriting SSA. Is This A Chance For GNU/Linux?

On 02/04/2025 04:32, c186282 wrote:

On 4/1/25 11:08 AM, -hh wrote:

On 4/1/25 10:40, Robert Heller wrote:

It should be noted that GnuCOBOL actually translates COBOL to C, and then
compiles the C code with GnuC.  In *theory* one could just run the whole code
base through GnuCOBOL and create a C code base, but good luck making much
sense of the generated C code...

>
I had to listen to a PMP rant all weekend about how profoundly stupid of a plan this is from DOGE,

    Musk's "plan" isn't bad ... per-se. As noted in a
   variety of news, some of those important federal
   agencies are STILL using 60s hardware & programming.
    The TRICK is getting any newer stuff RIGHT before it
   goes mainline. That old COBOL code was GREAT, never
   diss those narrow-tie Dilberts from the day.
 

I think that people here mostly haven't been exposed to business coding as much as technical coding.
There is nothing clever about business *coding*. The clever bit is the business *analysis*, for which a very tight specification is written,
The problem today is that many people can code, but almost no one designs the functionality any more. It's just 'thrown together'.

   BUT ... as those COBOLs were kinda tweaked for the
   particular old boxes, no modern translation tool is
   gonna work worth a damn. It'll have to be HAND DONE,
   line by line, and done RIGHT. Forget Gen-Z/A2 and AI.
 

I am not sure how tweaked the stuff actually was.
There are native COBOL compilers out there - Micro focus etc.

   As I said to be hated - PYTHON !  :-)
    Anyway, eventually it'll be all AI code. We
   won't understand it - all magic thereafter.
 

It will all fuck up.

   Wave yer wand Harry !
 

Wave yer willy, Elon.
--
Any fool can believe in principles -  and most of them do!