What are Savvy CIOs doing? - Phil Bevins, Micro Focus

Comment

Comment by Jerry Sitner on May 5, 2009 at 8:50am

Hello Phil,
Sally Hanson suggested you needed additional information regarding the failure of our Computer Software Industry to solve the software productivity problem in the last 50 years. The following is a copy of an article I recently wrote.
Regards,
Jerry Sitner
Ludicrous

Ludicrous is the best description of our Software Industries handling of Programming Productivity since COBOL came on the scene 50 years ago. Cobol was the first computer language ever to recognize and solve the productivity problem, that machine oriented languages innately could not solve simply because they were not conducive to clearly readable, understandable coding. Everything about COBOL was designed to create Computer Software that would be easiest to read, test, debug and maintain. That was what the creators of COBOL intended and envisioned.
From day one, of COBOL in 1959, not one program in the millions of programs written followed the quotes of the COBOL creators emanating from their creative deliberation. `

The following are 5 examples of the those quotes:

1) "Majority of the group favored use of simple English Language."
2) "The need for a computer language that is easier to use even if less powerful."
3) "It certainly was intended (and expected) that the language could be used
by novice programmers and read by management. We felt readability could be
achieved because of the intended use of English...most of our concentration was
on making it, easier to read."
4) "The driving force behind consideration of all the statements was the concept of
readability."
5) "and there was a definite emphasis on ease of reading, not ease of witting"

I challenge any manager of computer software to find one COBOL program in their maintenance file that adheres to these quotes. When Software Management, not only allowed but encouraged use of the first abbreviation in COBOL coding they signed the death warrant for COBOL. From day one, by use of abbreviations, COBOL was emasculated. It was reduced to the same low level of productivity as the machine oriented languages.

Our Software Industry has for 50 years slowly dropped to the bottom of Industries Productivity Charts while the Computer Hardware Industry has risen to the top of that chart because of Micro Chips. Why?

The sorry part of all this is Software Productivity is still waiting for us. All that is needed is for us to, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". The 5 quotes are still there for us to follow. Of course, that may not be as easy as it sounds. After 50 years of flooding our COBOL coding with abbreviations, programmers can't easily change the habit nor can management easily stop encouraging abbreviations. Clarity Concept System's, Enforcer a software COBOL standard monitor, can assure not one abbreviation will be found in any newly developed programs. This will be a giant leap toward giving understandable COBOL coding the highest priority. That will at least stop our Industry from going further down hill in it's search for Software productivity. SQL, Structured Query Language will no longer thought to be needed for newly implemented COBOL programs. "Verbose" will no longer be used to describe easily, tested, debugged, maintained, understandable productive COBOL coding.

In spite of the atrocious mishandling of COBOL's productive potential it still has the most software in maintenance library use. Imagine the increased productivity, if all those programs had been written as intended and envisioned by COBOLs' creators.

Clarity Concept Systems has a COBOL Standards Monitor, called Enforcer, that will prevent a single additional poorly productive COBOL coded program to enter your COBOL Maintenace library.

It's never too late.

Jerry Sitner
Clarity Concept Systems
New York, NY
212 254-3358
nycnmi@aol.com