Howard Brazee writes: >What I don't get is why this is an issue for IBM....
I don't know how much I can say about this issue, but what the heck, I speak only for myself. I think a lot of people are over-analyzing this, thinking there's something political, religious, or whatever. Like a C/C++ fan club wielding some secret veto power? Uh, no. Bill Klein has some solid information here, though. There are multiple technical requirements that almost certainly apply to delivering a 64-bit COBOL that meets most or all customers' requirements. Not all of those technical requirements necessarily apply to the COBOL (and PL/I) compiler itself. Bill has provided a good core list. In addition, there are some core principles that almost certainly apply most strongly to COBOL and PL/I. Like not breaking stuff. Most of you would probably agree that's important, and that core principle influences certain decisions. And then there is always the question of how to prioritize each of those technical requirements in the development process. There are never unlimited development resources in any project (cf. Fred Brooks, Microsoft, etc.), so there are trade-offs. If "X" gets done, "Y" doesn't, basically. That's why it's important that customers keep IBM informed on this, to help guide these decisions and prioritize requirements. Again, as Bill suggests, and he's right. There are many different ways to deliver 64-bit COBOL and PL/I -- many different technical paths to get there. (Well, at least a few.) I have my own opinions, some of them even strong ones. But you (customers) get to drive these decisions, not me. So speak up, through the appropriate paths. SHARE is a very good one, for example. Sure, revenue (and profit) has to be a consideration. (It is in your businesses too, right?) However, it's not just about increasing COBOL and PL/I license revenue next quarter. It's also about maintaining revenue, long-term revenue time horizons, impacts to other products, and both direct and indirect effects, for example. In particular, customers who are more highly satisfied tend to remain customers (or even become bigger customers), so customer satisfaction is terribly important. - - - - - Timothy Sipples IBM Consulting Enterprise Software Architect Based in Tokyo, Serving IBM Japan / Asia-Pacific E-Mail: [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
