Not a lousy idea in many cases. They want to be able to use the Main Frame content in some other areas but there are no interfaces. In order to have some interface they would need to use newer technology with older technology and they would rather hire people to manually cut & paste which causes more work than necessary.
UPS is big on training people and expecting people to go to classes every year. The skill set and training is there if they wish to use it. I completely re-wrote a number of systems with newer technology & algorithms. It was much more efficient than what was there (both speed and memory) but they chose to not use it because it was not consistent with other code there and in one case used the "too edgy".NET.
Just one of many reasons companies like FedEX and DHL have much more momentum.
As a previous employee of UPS, I know that they have old mainframes and old code. Most of it dating back to the late 80s early 90s. It would not be anything like oldest.
A lot of reason why it is so old is that "it works". They do not claim nor are they in the businesss of tech. Some of it is so old and antiquated that there are some systems that are difficult to connect to.
Take for example their web service for getting shipping costs from their RAVE system. Look at the documentation for connection. Written using VB code from the late 90s.
They are using some new technology but most of the mid-managers are not willing to (or allowed to) move toward the leading edge.
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Not a lousy idea in many cases. They want to be able to use the Main Frame content in some other areas but there are no interfaces. In order to have some interface they would need to use newer technology with older technology and they would rather hire people to manually cut & paste which causes more work than necessary. .NET.
UPS is big on training people and expecting people to go to classes every year. The skill set and training is there if they wish to use it. I completely re-wrote a number of systems with newer technology & algorithms. It was much more efficient than what was there (both speed and memory) but they chose to not use it because it was not consistent with other code there and in one case used the "too edgy"
Just one of many reasons companies like FedEX and DHL have much more momentum.
Maybe it has already been mentioned but How about peripherial control code, like keyboards?
As a previous employee of UPS, I know that they have old mainframes and old code. Most of it dating back to the late 80s early 90s. It would not be anything like oldest. A lot of reason why it is so old is that "it works". They do not claim nor are they in the businesss of tech. Some of it is so old and antiquated that there are some systems that are difficult to connect to. Take for example their web service for getting shipping costs from their RAVE system. Look at the documentation for connection. Written using VB code from the late 90s. They are using some new technology but most of the mid-managers are not willing to (or allowed to) move toward the leading edge.