| William M. Klein 2004-11-17, 8:55 pm |
| "Robert Wagner" <spamblocker-robert@wagner.net> wrote in message
news:5h7lp01uhchj3ceai5knesfa7oj7j6nrl0@
4ax.com...
> On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 15:16:36 GMT, "Howard Brazee" <howard@brazee.net>
> wrote:
>
<snip>
>
> Most mainframe shop standards stifle progress by mandating Lowest
> Common Denominator. They should elevate inexperienced programmers
> rather than lowering everyone else to their level.
>
The "coding standards" that I am aware of at (IBM) mainframe shops that see the
mainframe as a good place to develop and maintain COBOL code do *not* stifle
proress and/or mandate the lowest common denominator.
They encourage (rarely require) a common coding style that makes it (relatively)
easy for an experienced COBOL programmer to "take over" an existing program and
to quickly understand its function - as well as to avoid some common errors.
Although I am not aware of such shops, I can easily imagine that an IBM
mainframe shop that is trying to move its COBOL *off* the mainframe might not
have kept its compiler or its programmers "current" and therefore, may have had
a stifling style.
--
Bill Klein
wmklein <at> ix.netcom.com
|