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Klondike Kat

(877 posts)

68. If everyone who knew COBOL was already dead

Fri Mar 28, 2025, 02:04 PM

Mar 28

then it would be next to impossible to port it over to a new language. In order to port it over you need someone who understands both the original language and the language to which you're translating.

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WIRED: DOGE Plans to Rebuild SSA Codebase In Months, Risking Benefits and System Collapse [View all] Dennis Donovan Mar 28 OP

Kick SheltieLover Mar 28 #1

Do you know who Grace M. Hopper, USN is? If you don't, you have no idea what Cobol is and what it will take to convert. usaf-vet Mar 28 #81

I do not know of her, but I am familiar somewhat with Cobol. SheltieLover Mar 28 #82

This message was self-deleted by its author usaf-vet Mar 28 #92

Ty for sharing! SheltieLover Mar 28 #93

I moved the entire post to The Way Forward forum. Hopefully, it gets the exposure there. usaf-vet Mar 28 #94

TY for sharing. SheltieLover Mar 28 #95

Nvidia chips will be used? flamingdem Mar 28 #84

Isn't she the one who just about invented the whole cobol software system the navy... brush Mar 28 #104

This is becoming worser and worser🫣 LaRaven Mar 28 #2

Post removed Post removed Mar 28 #34

No, because millions of dead 150-year-olds PatSeg Mar 28 #37

Post removed Post removed Mar 28 #39

What is your point? Walleye Mar 28 #47

Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 28 #53

I missed his/her answer PatSeg Mar 28 #79

I'm deeply concerned that your time may be wasted here. dchill Mar 28 #54

This message was self-deleted by its author dchill Mar 28 #55

OMG - I am a Software Developer on a similar project TBA Mar 28 #3

I worked at a huge university that employed a huge IT staff for years to upgrade a system Demovictory9 Mar 28 #9

I agree. Replacing a huge, complicated system takes years, not months. patphil Mar 28 #13

I Am a Data Architect - You gave me the biggest and longest laugh of the week!! hotellanai1986 Mar 28 #62

Java... ultralite001 Mar 28 #86

"...a more modern replacement like Java..." Cool kids don't use Java. /nt thought crime Mar 28 #87

Hacker's Delight... ultralite001 Mar 28 #91

Well it is 'more modern' and there's orders of magnitude more Java programmers and large systems currently in use AZJonnie Mar 29 #131

Same here... reACTIONary Mar 28 #51

COBOL spaghetti code FPGramma Mar 28 #67

I worked on a Y2K project for date conversions Skittles Mar 28 #76

Move fast and break things dalton99a Mar 28 #4

What even is the purpose of rewriting the codebase? AmericaUnderSiege Mar 28 #5

To get it off old computers hard to hack computers that have been working just fine and processing.. uponit7771 Mar 28 #8

Deliberate enshittification, in other words. nt AmericaUnderSiege Mar 28 #10

Actually there are good reasons to update the system Wiz Imp Mar 28 #24

Elon Musk probably thinks he can do it personally. AmericaUnderSiege Mar 28 #25

The people who can program in COBOL are old, very old dsc Mar 28 #46

We're not all dead yet Klondike Kat Mar 28 #64

My brother did COBOL Be The Light Mar 28 #96

Hey, wait a minute. I'm not that old (71) and I know people younger than I that can program and support COBOL. camartinwv Mar 29 #114

The SSA would have kept the old system up as Job 1 priority. Bengus81 Mar 28 #73

Unstable? The hardware the system is currently running on is the most stable there on the market. sinkingfeeling Mar 28 #101

From the transcript of a Congressional hearing in 2016: Wiz Imp Mar 28 #107

As a 30 year IBM mainframe specialist and 15 years as a mainframe system programmer, sinkingfeeling Mar 28 #108

This has nothing to do with hardware. Wiz Imp Mar 28 #109

Just sayin', in all my years (over 45) of working with COBOL programs and operating systens, I've never heard of a sinkingfeeling Mar 29 #110

Having worked in state Government for about 35 years on Federal programs Wiz Imp Mar 29 #120

I don't want to continue this discussion forever, but can you tell me which 'modern' systems don't sinkingfeeling Mar 29 #121

A bigger concern might be staffing Ruby the Liberal Mar 29 #111

I'm available for a very large fee! Used to be pretty good with DB2, COBOL, CICS, and sinkingfeeling Mar 29 #112

COBOL is easy to program. DiamondShark Mar 29 #119

True IF you have experts doing the update instead of hackers, and they give a SHIT Bengus81 Mar 30 #138

Trojan horses and viruses come to mind... live love laugh Mar 28 #58

To introduce them, maybe. AmericaUnderSiege Mar 28 #61

We're fucked orangecrush Mar 28 #6

And it's probably being "written" by Bettie Mar 28 #7

Always keeping us on edge! Hope22 Mar 28 #11

They should be able to do this in parallel Tickle Mar 28 #12

I think the word "correctly" is the keyword here. patphil Mar 28 #14

One of my first managers taught me the maxim: Buns_of_Fire Mar 28 #38

Hell the whole fucking Musk plan is to do it incorrectly. Bengus81 Mar 28 #72

Where are they going to get their test database of 73 million records? sinkingfeeling Mar 28 #102

"Test?" What is this "test" thing you speak of? nt Buns_of_Fire Mar 28 #105

Potentially a source at least for some tasks would be to use a copy of the existing one AZJonnie Mar 29 #130

Tread lightly Doge boyz. Evolve Dammit Mar 28 #15

JFC. Is this legal? MontanaMama Mar 28 #16

I don't think we have independent law enforcement anymore AZProgressive Mar 28 #20

How many more people must die because of shit Musk and co are doing?! sakabatou Mar 28 #17

A lot will die intrepidity Mar 29 #125

No doubt they'll include hard-to-detect back doors so it can be monitored and controlled from the outside SpankMe Mar 28 #18

The hacker kids can set up back door accounts to rip off SS? Irish_Dem Mar 28 #32

The hacker kids can set up back door accounts to rip off SS? Irish_Dem Mar 28 #33

Breaking what works. "Fixing" what isn't broken IronLionZion Mar 28 #19

+1. Elon wants to break it so he alone can fix it - for billions of dollars in fees and future contracts dalton99a Mar 28 #21

Destroy creon Mar 28 #22

They probably need to adapt it so Big Balls can funnel our information to criminals faster. Vinca Mar 28 #23

Under what contract? When did this go to bid? Bluetus Mar 28 #26

Contract? We don't need no... reACTIONary Mar 28 #57

This is guaranteed to be a disaster. Wiz Imp Mar 28 #27

This project is clearly intended to fail. Girard442 Mar 28 #28

Winging it is not a strategy. C_U_L8R Mar 28 #29

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Ocelot II Mar 28 #30

If everyone who knew COBOL was already dead Klondike Kat Mar 28 #68

True. But I'm guessing that a lot of COBOL experts are pretty old. Ocelot II Mar 28 #69

That's what Musk wants to use his AI for. sinkingfeeling Mar 28 #103

But there are still books on COBOL programming Retrograde Mar 29 #137

I know COBOL and I ain't dead. camartinwv Mar 29 #115

How can this take place unilaterally without any input from our elected Representatives? jalan48 Mar 28 #31

It's easy to rewrite it after you eliminate the 100M dead people and all those over 62! Wonder Why Mar 28 #35

Building software quickly, isn't the problem.... Happy Hoosier Mar 28 #36

He'll have his kiddie hackers generate code with AI HipChick Mar 28 #85

FA and touch my SS & find out you fu*king little Nazis FAFO NotHardly Mar 28 #40

I hope somebody manages to save the existing system. Susan Calvin Mar 28 #41

Already sent to my maga congresscritter. It's daily, now. lindysalsagal Mar 28 #42

I wouldn't trust Elon Musk to build, much less rebuild anything. Initech Mar 28 #43

It can't be said too often dflprincess Mar 28 #44

Great idea -- I did that a month ago, just in case. subterranean Mar 28 #78

My guess, they will host it on Amazon and be client server vs old reliable big iron. LiberalArkie Mar 28 #45

Social Security is not broken. If a thing is not broken, don't try and fix it. Go back to your own damn country Walleye Mar 28 #48

Musk is doomed to fail! Person of Interest Mar 28 #49

He will fail, but he won't suffer the consequences, we will. He will be fine. Walleye Mar 28 #50

Sad but true. Person of Interest Mar 28 #90

That's the point...to fail, so they can claim it doesn't work New Breed Leader Mar 29 #118

If this happens, we're screwed. Joinfortmill Mar 28 #52

Genius is as genius does. dchill Mar 28 #56

I can't even imagine how badly they'd screw it all up. MineralMan Mar 28 #59

Let's break it down though. Did a code update need to happen, JCMach1 Mar 28 #60

In theory they'd have the old system on standby to switch back to if the new didn't work Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Mar 28 #63

I was a COBOL programmer for 25 years lotusblossom Mar 28 #65

To back you up ... sinkingfeeling Mar 28 #106

"Gee folks, we don't know what happened but you won't get a check this month" louis-t Mar 28 #66

Yep....fuck it all up so people will no longer get a deposit Bengus81 Mar 28 #70

They're putting it on Java? jmowreader Mar 28 #71

Sick evil fuckers, fucking up everything intentionally. SamKnause Mar 28 #74

I asked a banker I know if the banking and financial industries have some kind of forbearance program for when dobleremolque Mar 28 #75

These doge hacks can't even build a proper website C_U_L8R Mar 28 #77

There is so much wrong with that, the last of which is that any new system can take years to properly debug, Martin68 Mar 28 #80

"The so-called Department of Government Efficiency" - Emphasis on "so-called" and none on "efficiency." n/t Beartracks Mar 28 #83

Cruelty is a feature. Always remember that. sakabatou Mar 28 #88

IF 68 million plus seniors don't get a check................then we are at war................ turbinetree Mar 28 #89

At my last job I spent the last couple of years replacing an old system. paulkienitz Mar 28 #97

Oh wait, I know... paulkienitz Mar 28 #98

I learned COBAL in the late 70's and SSA was recruiting COBAL programmers back then to update the system. rickford66 Mar 28 #99

Another disaster Meowmee Mar 28 #100

Rule #1: Know your backout plan before touching ONE LINE Buns_of_Fire Mar 29 #113

The intention is not to rebuild a system to service SSA clients. It is going to be built to siphon money into Musk's Ford_Prefect Mar 29 #116

The intention is to break it New Breed Leader Mar 29 #117

Yes but the HOW it is broken means Musk steals more money while it runs into the ground. Ford_Prefect Mar 29 #122

Yep...What are we gonna do? They will blame it on Democrats, of course. But what will we do? Eliot Rosewater Mar 29 #127

Nine years by one estimate. moondust Mar 29 #123

On a basic level, COBOL is better than Java for big math processing. Ursus Rex Mar 29 #124

This is how they break it and take it. Prepare now to lose your SS. Eliot Rosewater Mar 29 #126

They'll break it, then it will be... LudwigPastorius Mar 29 #128

Exactly. I worry that our collective reaction will not be strong enough if you know what I mean Eliot Rosewater Mar 29 #129

MAGA lawmakers are already blaming Dems New Breed Leader Mar 29 #134

When they end it, steal it, they will say it is Dems fault for mishandling it. Eliot Rosewater Mar 29 #136

Prepare how, exactly? New Breed Leader Mar 29 #132

Talking about our REACTION to the nazis...what are WE prepared to do? Eliot Rosewater Mar 29 #135

I've gone back to work part time Kaleva Mar 30 #139

Rep. Don Beyer New Breed Leader Mar 29 #133