It's fun bouncing between different mainframe environments, too. I've played some on IBM boxes, Unisys A-series boxes, and Unisys 2200 boxes over the years, and all three are as dissimilar from each other as any one of them is from UNIX or VMS.
QNX is a good example, but it doesn't have much of a presence in the desktop or mainstream server spaces. It's hard to compare its performance when it's busy powering elevators or whatever it does well.:-)
OpenVMS might be a better example. Who runs it, and where? I thought it was mainly a hobbyist operating system?
Some types of applications lend themselves very well to a text-based UI. That's why UNIX sysadmins still use a command line, for example.:-)
Besides, mainframe screens can get quite sophisticated. A UTS terminal can handle a lot of the field alignment, field protection, and alpha/numeric data enforcement locally without any interaction from the host, leaving the network bandwidth and server resources for more important things (like processing the actual data that you end up transmitting after you've done all your local editing on the terminal).
...I'm seeing that even Unisys is providing a native JVM for its Unisys Clearpath IX/Dorado line (2200-series), which means if one is willing to spend the money on licensing fees then one can run Java code natively on their big iron.
I'd love to be able to do that. Sadly, I suspect the licensing costs are far too expensive for my employer to seriously consider.
Crystal Light makes little one-serving tubes that work well with a 16oz bottle of water, and I have a variety of those sitting in my cube at all times. After I drink my bottle of Mountain Dew in the morning, I hit the water cooler in the break room, fill the bottle with water, and optionally add Crystal Light to the mix. It isn't bad, really.:-)
And I'm not talking a MINIX-style example which is only good for classroom study -- I'm talking about a production-level operating system which can handle real-world task loads.
Until such a thing exists for mainstream use, his comments are intellectually interesting but not really of much practical use.
That's one of the more satisfying parts of being a support programmer.
Yeah, the actual process of reproducing a problem and finding the root cause can be a real bugger, but if that process is more difficult the end result (finding and fixing it) is usually that much more satisfying.
I also love designing and writing new stuff, but the support function can be a lot of fun if you have the right mindset.:-)
(I've been doing it professionally since 1988, and I still love it).
I've been quite happy with the spam-blocking service that my ISP contracts with (POSTINI), as their filtering service is quite customizable. Whitelisting the few false positives I've seen is very easy to do, even mailing lists.
Software development is an iterative process that involves unit, subsystem, and system testing, optimally by BOTH the programmer(s) and by at least one dedicated third party.
We always had business analysts test our stuff. They knew how it was supposed to work, but more importantly: they usually didn't understand the technical underpinnings, so they didn't know what they *weren't* supposed to test. That sometimes produced interesting results.:-)
I've always wondered why such harmful code is allowed to survive. We certainly don't allow it in our own local utility libraries.
Rewrite the standard gets() function, and have the compiler force programs which utlize the old one to handle the new one (either by making the change transparent to existing code or by forcing the programmer to address the problem by making some minor changes).
Problematic standard library functions are traps just waiting to happen.
UNIX is too "steeped in tradition" for its own good sometimes...
My wife doesn't get her FIRST week of vacation until she's been at her job for a year, and that's all she'll get in her current position. Two weeks is a fairly standard starting point for salaried workers, but she isn't one of those.
I get (effectively) four weeks a year plus a week that I push from the previous year (which I haven't used yet so I continue to push), but I'm in a very different position than she is, different company, etc.
The contract programming job I found in the middle of my recent unemployment provided no paid holidays and no paid vacation. None. I could take unpaid time off, and I was forced to not work during holidays because the client closed their facility, but that was it.
The UK is apparently quite different from the US in terms of vacation time.
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Is a "well-dressed" coder supposed to be a good thing? :-)
ALGOL? A-Series?
It's fun bouncing between different mainframe environments, too. I've played some on IBM boxes, Unisys A-series boxes, and Unisys 2200 boxes over the years, and all three are as dissimilar from each other as any one of them is from UNIX or VMS.
QNX is a good example, but it doesn't have much of a presence in the desktop or mainstream server spaces. It's hard to compare its performance when it's busy powering elevators or whatever it does well. :-)
OpenVMS might be a better example. Who runs it, and where? I thought it was mainly a hobbyist operating system?
Some types of applications lend themselves very well to a text-based UI. That's why UNIX sysadmins still use a command line, for example. :-)
:-)
Besides, mainframe screens can get quite sophisticated. A UTS terminal can handle a lot of the field alignment, field protection, and alpha/numeric data enforcement locally without any interaction from the host, leaving the network bandwidth and server resources for more important things (like processing the actual data that you end up transmitting after you've done all your local editing on the terminal).
Aren't synchronous terminals neat?
...I'm seeing that even Unisys is providing a native JVM for its Unisys Clearpath IX/Dorado line (2200-series), which means if one is willing to spend the money on licensing fees then one can run Java code natively on their big iron.
I'd love to be able to do that. Sadly, I suspect the licensing costs are far too expensive for my employer to seriously consider.
Crystal Light makes little one-serving tubes that work well with a 16oz bottle of water, and I have a variety of those sitting in my cube at all times. After I drink my bottle of Mountain Dew in the morning, I hit the water cooler in the break room, fill the bottle with water, and optionally add Crystal Light to the mix. It isn't bad, really. :-)
And I'm not talking a MINIX-style example which is only good for classroom study -- I'm talking about a production-level operating system which can handle real-world task loads.
Until such a thing exists for mainstream use, his comments are intellectually interesting but not really of much practical use.
That's one of the more satisfying parts of being a support programmer.
:-)
Yeah, the actual process of reproducing a problem and finding the root cause can be a real bugger, but if that process is more difficult the end result (finding and fixing it) is usually that much more satisfying.
I also love designing and writing new stuff, but the support function can be a lot of fun if you have the right mindset.
(I've been doing it professionally since 1988, and I still love it).
I've been quite happy with the spam-blocking service that my ISP contracts with (POSTINI), as their filtering service is quite customizable. Whitelisting the few false positives I've seen is very easy to do, even mailing lists.
Or "data" (as in DDR RAM). :-)
Hmmm. I was falsely associating the term "republic" with some form of representative democracy, but that apparently isn't a requirement.
The "R" in PRC is about as meaningful as the second "D" in the old DDR ("Deutsche Demokratische Republik").
...can be real buggers to reproduce, and it can be even harder to track the root cause down once the thing can actually be tested.
:-)
I don't have much experience with the former, but I've had to track down a few of the latter, and it *is* satisfying once you find it and fix it.
What's wrong with adding a required size argument to getc() and forcing code using the old problematic function to alter their function calls?
Isn't that preferable to leaving a potential timebomb out there?
There is never "no way" in software. There might be "not acceptable" for various reasons, but that isn't the same.
Hopefully most compilers treat getc() as a deprecated function, anyway.
That's just 'cuz the hen was more experienced. ;-)
True. I'd rather walk up and down real stairs than use a stairmaster, myself. However, that wouldn't give me access to the sauna afterwards. :-)
Software development is an iterative process that involves unit, subsystem, and system testing, optimally by BOTH the programmer(s) and by at least one dedicated third party.
:-)
We always had business analysts test our stuff. They knew how it was supposed to work, but more importantly: they usually didn't understand the technical underpinnings, so they didn't know what they *weren't* supposed to test. That sometimes produced interesting results.
I've always wondered why such harmful code is allowed to survive. We certainly don't allow it in our own local utility libraries.
Rewrite the standard gets() function, and have the compiler force programs which utlize the old one to handle the new one (either by making the change transparent to existing code or by forcing the programmer to address the problem by making some minor changes).
Problematic standard library functions are traps just waiting to happen.
UNIX is too "steeped in tradition" for its own good sometimes...
Since the BBC is on the net, its physical location really isn't that important. :-)
Ah... MacOS X with the WorkPlace Shell would be cool...
Most American cities are not structured like European cities. Welcome to reality.
This is really fucking bizarre behavior.
In a typical Americal suburb, that mall is probably 10 miles away. That's quite a distance to walk unless you want to make an evening of it.
My wife doesn't get her FIRST week of vacation until she's been at her job for a year, and that's all she'll get in her current position. Two weeks is a fairly standard starting point for salaried workers, but she isn't one of those.
I get (effectively) four weeks a year plus a week that I push from the previous year (which I haven't used yet so I continue to push), but I'm in a very different position than she is, different company, etc.
The contract programming job I found in the middle of my recent unemployment provided no paid holidays and no paid vacation. None. I could take unpaid time off, and I was forced to not work during holidays because the client closed their facility, but that was it.
The UK is apparently quite different from the US in terms of vacation time.
But TiVos use an analog tuner, right? My replayTV certainly does -- it doesn't know what to do with a digital signal.