Another problem with Peter Farley's formulation of this issue is his use of the phrase "normally skilled professional application programmer". The question just what skills such a person should have is controversial. The question what skills they do in fact usually have is less so.
A great figure in computing once observed that in his experience COBOL applications programmers could be divided into two disjoint subsets. There were those, he said, who did not know what binary search was; and then there were those who did and were proud of it. This of course is caricature. I know applications programmers who are good technicians. But like all good caricature it exaggerates without really misrepresenting. John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
