-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Absolutely agree about internal documentation. The only thing I would disagree with is that ALL languages need internal documentation, whether it be PL/1, FORTAN BLISS, VAX-macro, BASH (etc), Python or even SQL. You'd have got a flea in the ear from my lecturers way back in the '70s (when disk storage was expensive) if you didn't document internally and adequately. On 06/02/15 15:10, John Culleton wrote: > START RANT. > > One of the biggest mistakes made by CODASYL and its successors is > the gradual annihilation of the Identification Division. In 2015 > as in 1959 programmers love to program and hate to document. The > standard paragraphs in the ID regularize and encourage internal > documentation. The most useful paragraph was 'REMARKS' which was > the first to go. I always judged a programs quality starting with > the Remarks paragraph. Today, lacking an official paragraph wise > programmers create what amounts to a Remarks paragraph and > highlight it by surrounding it on fours sides with asterisks. > Frankly that is a lot more work then just including the standard > paragraph names in the personal template. > > The superb manual by Gary Cutler discourages their use, even if > they are included in GNU Cobol for compatibility with older > programs. > > I would instead encourage their use. I use each paragraph for what > it name says. I use the Security paragraph for my copyright > statement. > > The mavens who create the Cobol standard made and keep making a > serious mistake. We don't need to follow their folly. GMH was > right and she is still right. External documentation in a ring > binder gets lost when management changes or the office moves. > Internal documentation is there forever. This is one of the things > that make Cobol self-documenting and hence raises it above all > other programming languages. > > If a program is moved to a less englightened Cobol environment it > is little work to add some asterisks. they can even be added in > advance. > > END RANT. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.22 (GNU/Linux) iQIcBAEBAgAGBQJU1SDlAAoJEAF3yXsqtyBlQYoQALhTInYDhZMreZjewkWnmIch Okk5pMZ8IlSrnxCRWCyLPj/99yaEeCgmOwI1CkTg2gtKy5VXiw8I45VEPjaSs98s kZTtPlU6fngKNNE+Lcrqm/T3tD2nw3TX462DkI3S2PSkR5pP1OG1DHyCCNLyhrBA NIvRwRM4DFS1knK+8SiwhBlXf/jarPawY0ztCuT/WkXTGAh9YWCx8yZWVikeGxSN Po7XQ7AgP+CbSrG01r+A6m5jkOYd/3eJDrWS1Kh3u53E0oue4raHf68AAv5KSCMM sqQmT2hDIUsswOVl7MFxB9cEQ1n0GPnMN76RCLiJFvTVwPD2fH6pC4LaMpZDsoEm bMQg2Qynj14B5VDSiOtzskTPNR6XWKS9qmQJHS3N9qM+TOavSA81WI/JX6Jojy6g lqy9rcwONFE6ecIYVf9BdgiqgbMfdfRW3oZtZRtnSLXcV/N0a0i8N1apiVNSjTks wxh3ThZGb5mhUzNz20FGEjDr5rkWqdBsWJ4flNVcFQSA36jbBZK7AUuRTgZ22ge1 rNMFamKT4DmbngQ/fa9TcGu3BbozU9en8nHIPVOywvHUEZ68d93TE9F9qxNntvC2 n3aCGsKNMBPdv3qBHU9np6SrMMMJwmgNkxYAqWCaeOwsB0mLlx8/qWkBFotXFL3W 4iBlhiY7UF6DSeeX+azI =rfnZ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dive into the World of Parallel Programming. The Go Parallel Website, sponsored by Intel and developed in partnership with Slashdot Media, is your hub for all things parallel software development, from weekly thought leadership blogs to news, videos, case studies, tutorials and more. Take a look and join the conversation now. http://goparallel.sourceforge.net/ _______________________________________________ open-cobol-list mailing list open-cobol-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/open-cobol-list
