Interesting! Sounds like if it happened to any of us, it only happened
once. Mine was a program where I copied the basics (CSECT, etc.) and
then wrote about 30 new lines and was blown away when it not only
assembled but ran as planned. It was something ad-hoc probably for a
one-time run, but hey... I did it.
And the only time I ever tried to land a plane I shut down the engine
downleg and somehow chose the turns so we were at the right speed and
altitude to hit the end of the runway with no additional power needed.
Couldn't have been any better, except we were about 50 feet to the right
of the runway because of a small cross wind. What are those pedals near
my feet for? :)
On 8/22/2021 4:55 AM, Tony Thigpen wrote:
Once only since 1980.
And this was back about 1985 when we wrote out our programs on paper
sheets and the key-punch group put them on diskette. (Once in the
system, we did have a basic editor to fix things.) It was not a 'small'
program, but also not a 'large' program. It was in Cobol. Of course,
'size' was based on my then current thought processes. What is 'small'
now would have been considered bigger then.
It compiled and ran correctly the very first time.
I have always wondered if any variable names or other typos were
'corrected' by the person in the key-punch group.
Now days, my development methods are much different. More 'code and test
base program flow' then 'code and test additions'. And, if the test run
takes some time, I actually code more lines while each test is running.
I also write mostly 98% assembler where a L vs LA will get me every
time. So, I don't expect it to ever happen again.
It's kind of like that perfect 25k gusty cross-wind landing, but nobody
else was in the plane with you to see it. If nobody else sees it, did it
really happen? :-)
Tony Thigpen
Bob Bridges wrote on 8/21/21 9:30 PM:
This part of the thread got me thinking. How often do you write a
program that works right the first time, with no compile or execution
errors? I'm not talking about two-liners, of course, or even
ten-liners; let's say 30 or thereabouts. Please specify the language,
too, since it seems to me they vary in error-prone-ness.
I've done it occasionally, but by "occasionally" I mean "less than one
time in twenty"; maybe much less, I'm not sure, and only once in my
life when anyone was watching. That was in PL/C; mostly nowadays I
write in REXX and VBA.
In fact my REXXes typically start out with at least ten or fifteen
lines of boilerplate, and any VBA/Excel program likely relies on a
raft of common functions and/or objects that are part of my regular
library, so when I say "30 lines", some of those lines don't really
count.
---
Bob Bridges, [email protected], cell 336 382-7313
/* The schools of ancient morality had four cardinal virtues: justice
in human relations, prudence in the directions of affairs, fortitude
in bearing trouble or sorrow, temperance or self-restraint. But they
knew nothing of mercy or forgiveness, which is not natural to the
human heart. Forgiveness is an exotic, which Christ brought with Him
from Heaven. -F.B.Meyer */
-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> On
Behalf Of Tom Brennan
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2021 13:41
....one of my other supervisors/teachers would tell me about her
application experience. She said no matter how complex her COBOL
programs were, they would not only compile first time but would run
perfectly. This of course was due to her rigorous desk-checking which
I assume took days.
I remember thinking "that's crazy" but I just kept quiet. I'll give
her a break because that could have been at the time of card punching
where such desk-checking made far more sense.
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