I was amazed to see how many posters effectively said "don't use this
technique"!
QSAM update-in-place is a very simple, easy-to-use and effective
update technique that has been used in countless applications for
goodness knows how many years. Only the application programer will
be aware when the technique has been used, there's nothing to tell
sysprogs or operators that it's in use and absolutely no need for
them to know. One of it's strengths is the ability to have
concurrent batch updating of a file that is also being used read-only
by other programs, perhaps for online customer queries, the sort of
thing that today you'd be using a fully-blown database for.
But my real point is that we need to get a grip on the primitive
impulse to discard, deride and detour 'round the unfamiliar; that's
the path back to anarchy and the dark ages.
Graeme.
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