On 23 Feb 2013 19:02:04 -0800, in bit.listserv.ibm-main you wrote: >'Rewrite' is perhaps hyperbolic. Case insensitive is rather different >from case sensitivec The HLASM, DFSORT, C/C++ all have BIFs >functional;ly eq
The problem is more like Y2K. In both cases, the code must be examined and all instances of the code afflicted changed to give appropriate results. In COBOL this would mean all IF, EVALUATE, SORT and MERGE statements (I may have missed some). It is true that this could be done using a programmatic approach but the testing also is interesting. This could be the straw that causes a system to be replaced by a package that handles the functions and also properly handles mixed case (for whatever definition of properly is appropriate for the system and the organization using it). > >On 2/23/13, Anne & Lynn Wheeler <[email protected]> wrote: >> [email protected] (Clark Morris) writes: >>> Actually there is a more subtle and hard to deal with reason. Any >>> alphanumeric field comparison or sort on alphanumeric fields assumed >>> upper case only. If case insensitivity were to be required, all of >>> them would have to be rewritten. If not, other problems could arise. >>> This gets worse for non-English languages if possible. Name and >>> address matching algorithms must be interesting even in monocase. >> >> there is discussion of some of this with respect to upper/lower case >> representation and originally ibm 360 was going to be ascii ... but >> Learson made one of the biggest "mistakes" of 360 ("The Biggest Computer >> Goof Ever"): >> http://www.bobbemer.com/P-BIT.HTM >> >> from above: >> >> I mention this because it is a classic software mistake. IBM was going >> to announce the 360 in 1964 April as an ASCII machine, but their >> printers and punches were not ready to handle ASCII, and IBM just HAD to >> announce. So T.V. Learson (my boss's boss) decided to do both, as IBM >> had a store of spendable money. They put in the P-bit. Set one way, it >> ran in EBCDIC. Set the other way, it ran in ASCII. >> >> But nobody told the programmers, like a Chinese Army in numbers! They >> spent this huge amount of money to make software in which EBCDIC >> encodings were used in the logic. Reverse the P-bit, to work in ASCII, >> and it died. And they just could not spend that much money again to redo >> it. >> >> .... snip ... and (one of the Consequences): >> >> Although some IBM customers would stay with all upper case for a while, >> the introduction of lower case would destroy all collating precedent, >> and IBM knew that, too. Especially from the STRETCH design in 1958, >> where I made a big mistake in setting the collating sequence as >> "A-a-B-b-C ..." [2]. Ordering alphabetically in dual case must be a >> two-step process -- first on the letter itself, and then on the quality >> of the letter (its case). >> >> ... snip ... >> >> more ASCII >> http://www.bobbemer.com/ASCII.HTM >> >> for other trivia ... recent posts mentioning Learson corporate directive >> memorandum (on bureaucracy) >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013.html#11 >> and, I suggested declaring Jan18 "T. Vincent Learson fight bureaucracy & >> don't kill the individual" day ... also "Watson don't tame the wild >> duck" day >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013.html#11 >> >> other posts in this thread: >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#43 Article for the boss: COBOL will >> outlive us all >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#45 Article for the boss: COBOL will >> outlive us all >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#51 Article for the boss: COBOL will >> outlive us all >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#52 Article for the boss: COBOL will >> outlive us all >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#55 Dualcase vs monocase. Was: Article >> for the boss >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#56 Dualcase vs monocase. Was: Article >> for the boss >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#57 Dualcase vs monocase. Was: Article >> for the boss >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#58 Dualcase vs monocase. Was: Article >> for the boss >> http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2013b.html#59 Dualcase vs monocase. Was: Article >> for the boss >> >> -- >> virtualization experience starting Jan1968, online at home since Mar1970 >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, >> send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
