[Info-vax] And another one bites the dust....

[Dave Froble]

On 2/17/2022 2:17 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> On 2/17/2022 1:59 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
>> On 2/17/2022 11:01 AM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>> On 2/17/2022 9:42 AM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>>>> On 2/17/22 09:21, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>>>> On 2/16/2022 9:41 PM, dthi... at gmail.com wrote:
>>>>>>> On Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 8:05:01 AM UTC-5, Bill Gunshannon
>>>>>>> wrote: National Computing Group West Mifflin, PA
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Document, plan and execute the modernization of Fortran
>>>>>>> applications running on OpenVMS systems to a virtualized Windows
>>>>>>> Server environment.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'd like to point out to everyone that this posting specifically
>>>>>> calls out modernizing FORTRAN, which CANNOT be done on OpenVMS, as
>>>>>> the OpenVMS FORTRAN compiler is over 25 years old. The commercial and
>>>>>> scientific FORTRAN code base out there is massive, as is the
>>>>>> commercial COBOL code base. I am aware of many companies modernizing
>>>>>> their FORTRAN code bases to use the new object oriented methods of
>>>>>> the later FORTRAN standards, which can be compiled with the Intel
>>>>>> Fortran compiler and the later gfortran compilers.
>>>>>
>>>>> It talks about "modernization of Fortran applications", which can really
>>>>> be move Fortran code as it to newer platform, upgrade from old Fortran
>>>>> to newer Fortran or rewrite from Fortran to newer language.
>>>>
>>>> This is one of the problems with the term "modernization".
>>>> To some it means use modern capabilities of the original
>>>> language that increase the efficiency and readability of
>>>> a program while to others it means scrap the old program
>>>> and re-write it in the language du jour.  The second option
>>>> seldom being necessary or of any added value,
>>>
>>> The industry seems to think otherwise since it is happening
>>> a lot.
>>>
>>>>>> I've complained to both HPE and VSI for years that you can't attract
>>>>>> new developers to the platform, and thus grow your customer base, if
>>>>>> you don't provide modern software development tools and tool chains.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yes.
>>>>>
>>>>> Existing customers need compatibility.
>>>>>
>>>>> New customers needs modern languages, tools, libraries, frameworks
>>>>> etc. that tyhe industry expect today.
>>>>
>>>> Even if the so called "modern languages" actually bring no added
>>>> value to the table?
>>>
>>> The industry thinks they do.
>
>> What I rarely see is practical considerations.
>>
>> Joe wiz kid comes along and tells his employer how they must "upgrade" to
>> modern standards.  But, Joe wiz kid isn't going to pay for the effort.  That
>> is left to the employer, who just might be rather happy with the fully
>> functional and working current solutions.
>
> If the CTO/CIO is worth his/her salary then the pro's and con's
> of a migration will be analyzed before a decision is made.

1) Is the CIO worth his/her salary?
2) Does the CIO feel he/she must appear to be doing something to justify that 
salary?
3) Does the CIO listen to "the industry" because he/she really isn't worth that 
salary?
4) Does the CIO place the employers interests above personal (the resume) interests?

> Sometimes the decision is to migrate. Sometimes the decision is
> not to migrate.
>
> Not to migrate is probably the most common.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

How many times do things get "fixed" anyway?

> But the question comes up again and again. If the question comes
> up every 3 years and it is 20% migrate 80% keep, then after 24
> years 87% has migrated.

Statistics doesn't work that way.  It is not cumulative.  If the ratio is 20/80, 
then every time it's 20/80.

>> I'd like to know just who and what the "industry" Arne refers to is?  It's
>> always easy to use some nebulous term.  But just what is it?  Perhaps it is a
>> "transfer", as in "transfer your money to us"?
>
> It is all those companies using IT. And the decisions they make.

With many times no bearing on the worth of the decision.


-- 
David Froble                       Tel: 724-529-0450
Dave Froble Enterprises, Inc.      E-Mail: davef at tsoft-inc.com
DFE Ultralights, Inc.
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