I haven't seen the inside of Waterloo Script macros for al LONG time. It
will take me a while to get back into reading/debugging this just like
working with COBOL.
Tom
On 3/28/2023 10:50 AM, Pommier, Rex wrote:
Are you sure this is a program and not the result of a cat dancing a jig on
your keyboard? LOL
-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of
Schmitt, Michael
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 9:41 AM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Stop the ragging on COBOL please [was: RE: ASM call by
value]
Yeah, but you can come back to a program years later and understand what it is
doing.
Unlike this:
.if &*i = 0 .th .se *i = 1
.el .se *i = 2
.se *tp = ''
.se *pos = &*tp
..@tbloop
.se *l = &L'&*&*i
.se *l = &*l + 2 + &$IN
.se *pos = &*pos + &*l
.se *tp = '&*tp &*pos'
.se *i = &*i + 1
.if &*i <= &*0 .th .go @tbloop
.tp &*tp
.br
.dm off
.dm inwidth on
.if &U'&*1 = OFF .th .se *direct = '-'
.el .se *direct = '+'
.se *str = '&*&*0'
.se *width = '&DH'&W'&*str
.in &*direct.&*width.DH
.dm off
.dm setup on
.if &E'@SEsetup = 1 .th .me
.se @SEsetup = yes
.im &*
-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of
billogden
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 9:26 AM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Stop the ragging on COBOL please [was: RE: ASM call by value]
I myself dislike COBOL for the very simple and personal reason that
it's so WORDY.
*******
I am not a COBOL programmer, except for some very minor attempts a long time ago. However, I very
much respect the proper use of the WORDY aspect. It seems to help with maintenance and updating of
large, complex commercial programs that were originally written (in good, well-thought out words)
long ago. The language itself has been carefully updated and seems to lack the constantly changing,
sometimes not-so-well-thought-out aspect of many of the PC languages today. (And, since so much of
COBOL programming seems to be in significant financial areas, it seems to avoid the frequent
"little problem details" that apparently afflict the "more modern" languages.)
Very short story: Long ago, my manager and I were sent to a smaller, rather
"northern" country to evaluate (to sell to customers) a potential application
program written there. I cannot remember the application, but I do remember seeing a
listing that fit on a single page, being an extreme opposite of WORDY. It was APL, of
course, and even the authors needed considerable practice to be able to explain how it
worked. (We rejected the potential SW product and managed to escape without being
murdered.)
Bill Ogden
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