Re: MAINFRAME SHOP STANDARDS

From: William M. Klein (wmklein_at_nospam.netcom.com)
Date: 12/10/04 

Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 02:12:08 GMT

Pete,
   HISTORICALLY (pre- "PC" and outside of Unix), the "COBOL file system" often
(usually???) was the Operating System "file system". This meant that data
"stored" in COBOL "files" could EASILY be accessed by any and all other
applications (including those not in COBOL - even those just using "O/S
utilities"). Or at least that is my impression.

Therefore, although I certainly agree that there are advantages to "databases"
(and often - not always - advantages to Relational over Network and Hierarchical
databases) accessibility from non-COBOL was not (historically) one of them. 

-- 
Bill Klein
 wmklein <at> ix.netcom.com
"Pete Dashwood" <dashwood@enternet.co.nz> wrote in message 
news:31sb3bF3h21qoU1@individual.net...
>
> "James J. Gavan" <jjgavan@shaw.ca> wrote in message
> news:6c5ud.473437$%k.409029@pd7tw2no...
>> Lueko Willms wrote:
>>
>> >.    On  09.12.04
> <snip>>
>> Then no doubt you will get a different answer. :-)  Or, having answered
>> the question, do you want him to go into a long dissertation to justify
>> why the application is using COBOL files v (R)DBMS
>>
> No such justification is possible, apart from: "That's the way it evolved;
> that's the way it is."
>
> (OK, I'm teasing... but you have to admit, if it wasn't apparent before, it
> certainly is now, that the advantages of  DBMS go a long way beyond I/O
> performance...Locking your application into the COBOL file system is like
> saying: "Nothing else is ever going to communicate with this system, it is
> never going to communicate with anything else, and if you need to know
> anything stored in it you can bloody well write a COBOL program..." As the
> COBOL star wanes, this argument has less and less weight and power...)
>
> Pete.
>
>
>

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Should COBOL be lockedUP for good?...
    ... You are allowing your emotional attachment to COBOL to blind you here. ... isn't wise to do that with ANY language; it is just computer programming, ... Both Richard and Bill have tried to explain their ... You may think it is fine to use the COBOL file system, ...
    (comp.lang.cobol)
  • Re: COBOL file system was Re: Productivity
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    (comp.lang.cobol)
  • Re: Cobols File System Vs. RDBMs...
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    (comp.lang.cobol)
  • Re: Closed file system was Re: END-IF
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  • Re: COBOL file system was Re: Productivity
    ... people that DBMS was a better solution than the COBOL file system. ... Because RDBMS contain details of the structure of their data they have ...
    (comp.lang.cobol)