I used STRING / UNSTRING back in the early 1970s it’s not new nor difficult.
Unbelievable. Tom Harper Phoenix Software International Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 15, 2024, at 4:20 PM, Farley, Peter > <0000031df298a9da-dmarc-requ...@listserv.ua.edu> wrote: > > +1 from me on continuing to learn the tools of our profession. I use STRING > and UNSTRING where they make sense, and I am still learning new things about > their use every now and then. Life-long learning is the only path to > happiness and success. > > I got the same ridiculous pushback from a senior manager one time on the use > of “sophisticated” SORT verbs like JOIN because “. . . no one but you will > know how to fix it when it breaks . . . let someone do it in COBOL instead . > . .”. > > Peter > > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of > Bob Bridges > Sent: Friday, March 15, 2024 12:38 PM > To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU > Subject: Learning one's tools > > > To rant on a related subject, I once worked at a company that instituted code > reviews; a new program would be gone over by a half-dozen coworkers to be > sure it adhered to local standards. This sort of thing is always painful to > the coder, and nevertheless (I admit reluctantly) can have considerable value > if done right. One problem I had with it, though, is that the standards we > created for ourselves admitted that there are times when exceptions should be > made for special cases, and yet when those cases arose no exceptions were > ever allowed; the team invariably flinched, leaned back in their seats and > said "no, that's not according to our standards". > > > > One particular example always rankled: Whenever someone felt the need to use > a STRING or UNSTRING command (I should have said we were COBOL developers), > the team always struck it down on the grounds that STRING and UNSTRING are > unusual commands and some COBOL coders would be unfamiliar with it. My > contention here is that that's absolutely true, and it's the job of the COBOL > coder to ~learn~ the STRING and UNSTRING statements, as tools of his > profession. I never persuaded anyone to that view, though. > > > > --- > > > > This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the > addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If > the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized > representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any > dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have > received this communic -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail message, including any attachments, appended messages and the information contained therein, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient or have otherwise received this email message in error, any use, dissemination, distribution, review, storage or copying of this e-mail message and the information contained therein is strictly prohibited. If you are not an intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of this email message and do not otherwise utilize or retain this email message or any or all of the information contained therein. Although this email message and any attachments or appended messages are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that might affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by the sender for any loss or damage arising in any way from its opening or use. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
