Me too. The consultant I was sent when we converted from gentran MVS to gentran NT who supposedly "knew mainframes" didn't know mainframe software or data at all, he used to work on mainframe hardware. The signed packed field made him curl up in a ball too. Every snag we hit with data his solution was that we have the mainframe programers rewrite it so the data worked in ascii. Well hell, I don't need a consultant if that's the only tune they know. Turns out the sales line of how it would work with our current system output really meant "as long as you convert all output to something that ends up, after conversion, in a limited subset of ASCII". Every single program got changed to initialize values to spaces rather than low values and convert from signed, packed data to integers and reals. After 15 years of the same differences between the sales pitch and the reality its no wonder why I look at salespeople like they are all damn liars. They sell some rosy future to some VP and I'm the one that looks like the problem child when it doesn't do all they expected magically and we have to go back and add time + resources to do the job..
I guess you could call that a peeve On Feb 4, 2013, at 2:27 PM, Matt Brown wrote: > > > The first time I came across a Packed data type (in OS/400), I vaguely recall > curling up in fetal position in my cubicle. I had no way (or more likely no > knowledge of how) to parse that in Premenos. All my experience theretofore > had been on PCs and with software that had reasonable/rational number > formats. > > > > > > Matt > ________________________________ > Matthew Brown > Senior eBusiness Analyst | eBusiness Standards & Practices > > Phone: 917-524-0594 > Fax: 212-999-7375 > [email protected] > [email protected] ⇐ Please add this address to your address book > www.easylink.com > > > EasyLink is now OpenText. > > This email message is confidential, may be privileged, and is intended for > the exclusive use of the addressee. Any other person is strictly prohibited > from disclosing or reproducing it. If the addressee cannot be reached or is > unknown to you, please inform the sender by return email and delete this > email message and all copies immediately. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Pete > Austin > Sent: Monday, February 04, 2013 12:40 PM > To: Michael Mattias/LS > Cc: EDI-L > Subject: Re: [EDI-L] Your EDI Pet Peeves (a survey) > > >>Does anyone remember Packed data? Now *that* was overkill. > > Pete > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ ... Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix.Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
